Lt Colonel protests to COAS over award of PVSM to Lt Gen

L'AFFAIRE ARMY POLO AND RIDING CLUB REACHES CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION

The repeated denial of information under Right to Information Act regarding the activities of the Army Polo and Riding Club (APRC) and the manner in which it is conducting its business using Army resources with virtually no transparency, has finally led to the filing of an appeal in the Central Information Commission and a hearing has also taken place in the case.

The appeal came up for hearing on July 18, 2014 with the appellant, Ex-Major Guneet Chaudhary appearing in person in the court of CIC. The Army was represented by Brig Sumar Vir Singh, CPIO/DDG RTI., Lt. Col. Suryanshi, Nodal Officer and Lt. Col.Rohit Dagar, OC 'B' Squadron of 61 Cavalry.

Maj Chaudhary insisted that APRC is an Army Club and it is using the sources and resources of Indian Army. The Chief of Army Staff was the President and all other officials are also from Indian Army. It has got civilians as members apart from Army personnel. He also presented details of the funds collected from the civilians and army personnel by APRC.

He informed the CIC that the horses of APRC are from the Indian Army and private horses of the civilians are also stabled in the area, which is a defence area. He also raised the issue of organizing the Delhi Horse Show, its sponsorship by the corporate groups and even name the Horse show in the name of corporate Groups. Maj Chaudhary also raised the issue of foreigners being the member of the Club, which itself is a security threat.

The Army stated that it will give  written submission about the status of the Army Polo And Riding Club.

The CIC passed an order of giving two weeks time to the respondents to file their written submission regarding the status of Army Polo and Riding club and thereafter Appellant will take two week time to file  his reply. 

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

The APRC is functioning since 1995 as an unregistered body under the control of the Indian Army. The Chief of Army Staff was the President of this Club till May 2013. After that Quarter Master General of the Indian Army is the President of this Club. This change in the leadership occurred on the basis of the application filed by Major Chaudhary under RTI Act 2005 to CPIO of Indian Army to know the status of the APRC. In response to the RTI Application, CPIO informed that APRC is not a Public Authority, so no information can be given regarding the functioning of the Army Polo and Riding Club.

This reply, thus, makes it clear that despite enjoying all the facilities of the Army and having senior Army officers as its office bearers, the APRC has been deliberately kept outside the purview of a public authority. This raises serious questions about the motive to keep it out of the ambit of public scrutiny.

However, the Army’s reply regarding APRC not being a public body may not stand legal scrutiny on the basis of the following facts:

1.    The Chief of Army Staff was the President of the Army Polo and Riding Club till June 2013.

2.    The Quarter Master General of the Indian Army is the President of the APRC at present.

3.  APRC is located in the premises of the ‘B’ Squadron of 61 Cavalry of Indian Army.

4.       A serving Colonel of the 61 Cavalry, its Commandant.

5.  Army Polo and Riding Club is an Army Club, and has approximately 861members. Interestingly, Army members(retired and civilians are 343) and civilian members are 465 in number.

For a civilian to be the member of the Army Polo and Riding Club he has to purchase an Admission form ( price printed on the form is Rupees 50/-) but it is given for Rupees 150/. The details of the fees collected from the Army personnel and Civilians are around Rs 2,13,90000/- and monthly subscriptions are Rs 10,95,400. 

The basic issue concerning the membership of APRC is whether the Army, being a government body, can allow membership to civilians and foreigners

6.   The sources and resources of the Indian Army are fully used for the functioning of the APRC.

7.      APRC uses the services of RVC Doctors for the medical treatment of the Horses and RVC provides medical cover to APRC during the conduct of polo matches.

8.  There are reportedly a number of private horses are stabled in the stables of APRC. Either they are the private horses of the Officers of Indian Army or the horses of corporate groups. The misuse of ration of Army Horses of 61 Cavalry can not be ruled out for feeding the private horses and private owners are charged for it .The government manpower is used to maintain these horses. How and under what rules, the private horses are stabled in Army Polo and Riding Club? No answer for this. A surprise check can be conducted to see how the government resources are being misused for personal benefits.

9.    The APRC organizes polo season every year from October 15 to December 8. Interestingly, the Club allows team, whose players are playing members of the Indian Polo Association (IPA) through a Club or Associations affiliated to IPA. 

    Interestingly, IPA itself is presently not a recognized sports body by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has admitted this in a RTI reply. Interestingly, Chief of Army Staff is the President of Indian Polo Association. The intertwined relationship of the APRC and the IPA can be gauged from the fact that the Commandant of the 61 Cavalry, is also the Honorary Secretary of the Indian Polo Association (IPA) and Chief of Army Staff is the President of IPA and all other officials of IPA are senior officials of Indian Army.

10.The matches are played at the Army Equestrian Centre in Delhi                    Cantonment, which is located in an area allotted to Army by Defence              Estates. What is the status of Army Equestrian Centre? 

11. Army Polo and Riding Club organizes DELHI HORSE SHOW  every year          and collect huge amount of sponsorships from the Corporate Groups. The        sponsorship is to such an extent that Horse show is named in the name          of Corporate Group ( The Anand, Delhi Horse Show 2013).  As per the              Defence Estate Rules no commercial activity can be undertaken at the            Defence land.

12. A number of Foreign individuals are also the member of the Army Polo            and Riding club, which is functioning entirely in the Defence Area.

13. The APRC officials take the message for the brochure of Delhi Horse Show from the Supreme commander of Armed Forces, Hon’ble President of India, under the cover of being an Army Club. This further reiterates the fact that it is a Army Club.

14. Despite this clear use of Army resources, the Army claims in its RTI reply that the APRC is not a public authority which flies in the face of the definition of public authority under the RTI Act 2005.

15. The  foreign teams are  also permitted to participate in the polo          matches organized by the APRC. The club is not exclusively for         personnel of Indian Army but also have civilians and foreigners as its member. The basic issue concerning the membership of APRC is whether the Army, being a government body, can allow membership to civilians and foreigners.

16.The APRC also takes sponsorship from corporate houses for organizing polo matches. The sponsorship amount is in lakhs for different matches. There is no independent audit of the funds collected for the sponsorships and all audit is through an internal auditor of the APRC. Needless to say, the counting procedures are in gross contravention to orders, thus undermining the image of the Services.

17. The fund collected by IPA are used for the overseas visits of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other senior members of the Indian Polo Association and Army Polo And Riding Club. During the year 2010-2011 as per the balance sheet of the IPA, Rs 18 Lacs were spent on the visit of the then COAS( Chief of Army Staff) and then Quarter Master General(that too after his retirement) to Argentina.

Interestingly the CEO of APRC Col Navjot Singh Sandhu has gone to Argentina on 02 December, 2013 for attending the meeting of FIPA ( Federation of International Polo Association) on the expenses of Indian Polo Association.

All the above facts make it clear and an independent and fair probe is needed into the activities of the APRC and the IPA in order to ascertain how Army facilities are being blatantly used without any transparency at all.

 16. Interestingly, there is another organization in the name of Army Equestrian Centre, fully controlled by the Indian Army and an Army Establishment operating from the Defence lands and public funds to the tune of Rs 1,18,53000 have been allocated to it by the Army headquarters. 

Interestingly, AEC has no Army Horses neither any staff posted or located for the purpose of training towards achieving any medals at National or at International level. AEC is basically a special purpose vehicle created  for accommodating the civilian members  of the APRC and for organizing  Polo matches, which are being conducted on behalf of IPA by APRC.  This organization provides venue/infrastructure facilities/polo grounds for the IPA and APRC events and it is directly under the control of Quarter Master General’s Branch of the Indian Army. The access to civilians is permitted for the events of IPA. Foreigners can use these facilities under special permission of the Army authorities. 

It is interesting to note that one officer of the rank of Major was court-martialled last year for having contact with a foreign lady visitor to the APRC and disciplinary action was also  taken in the same case against an officer of the rank of Brigadier. It is a big security threat under the present circumstances to give easy access to Foreigners in the high security Military area.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports generally gives grants to the different Sports Federation of India and in its order dated 21 April, 2010, it directed all sports bodies to bring transparency in the functioning of Sports Federation by appointing Public Information Officer for RTI Act, failing which no grants will be given. Amazingly, IPA refused to follow the transparency and did not appoint a PIO without caring for the grants and had refused to take any grants since 2010. It might be argued that the IPA chose not to receive grants in order to avoid appointing a PIO under the RTI Act.

All the above facts make it clear and an independent and fair probe is needed into the activities of the APRC and the IPA in order to ascertain how Army facilities are being blatantly used without any transparency at all. It also needs to be inquired whether there is any complicity of the higher brass of the Army in order to ensure that the dealings of APRC and IPA remain opaque and they are kept out of the purview of the RTI Act for this purpose.

Given the fact that senior Army officers are involved in the dealings with both these organizations, it will augur well for the Service to order a probe immediately on the role of its own officers in these organizations.

WHY IS THE ARMY HIDING ITS 'POLO BUSINESS' BEHIND A FIG LEAF?

Today's blog is about a shocking lack of transparency, seemingly deliberate, involving one of the premier Regiments of the Indian Army, 61 Cavalry and its association with Army Polo and Riding Club and Indian Polo Association. This continuing opaqueness about the functioning of these organisations raises questions of morality and ethics and has been continuing unchecked right under the nose of the top brass of the Army. It primarily concerns the activities of the Army Polo and Riding Club (APRC) which is utilizing all facilities of the Army without having any legal sanction and without its accounts ever coming under the scrutiny of the the Defence accounts Department.

To begin with, the APRC is neither registered as a society nor as a company but it is functioning since 1995 as an unregistered body under the control of the Indian Army. The Chief of Army Staff was the President of this Club till May 2013. After that Quarter Master General of the Indian Army is the President of this Club. This change in the leadership occurred on the basis of the application filed under RTI Act 2005 to CPIO of Indian Army to know the status of the Army Polo and Riding Club. In response to the RTI Application, CPIO informed that Army Polo and Riding Club is not a Public Authority, so no information can be given regarding the functioning of the Army Polo and Riding Club. 

This reply, thus, makes it clear that despite enjoying all the facilities of the Army and having senior Army officers as its office bearers, the APRC has been deliberately kept outside the purview of a public authority. This raises serious questions about the motive to keep it out of the ambit of public scrutiny.

However, the Army’s reply regarding APRC not being a public body may not stand legal scrutiny. Consider this-To begin with APRC is located in the premises of the ‘B’ Squadron of 61 Cavalry of Indian Army and a serving Colonel of the 61 Cavalry, its Commandant, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Army Polo and Riding Club. The sources and resources of the Indian Army are fully used for the functioning of the APRC.

The APRC organizes polo season every year from October 15 to December 8. Interestingly, the Club allows team whose players are playing members of the Indian Polo Association (IPA) through a Club or Associations affiliated to IPA. IPA itself is presently not a recognized sports body by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The matches are played at the Army Equestrian Centre in Delhi Cantonment, which is located in an area allotted to Army by Defence Estates. The matches are held at Jaipur Polo Ground in Delhi Cantonment which is given on lease By the Ministry of Poverty and Urban Development to Indan Polo Association on long lease. Despite this clear use of Army resources, the Army claims in its RTI reply that the APRC is not a public authority which flies in the face of the definition of public authority under the RTI Act 2005.

Not only Indian but even foreign teams are permitted to participate in the polo matches organised by the APRC. The club is not exclusively for personnel of Indian Army but also have civilians and foreigners as its member. For a civilian to be the member of the Army Polo and Riding Club he has to purchase an Admission form (price printed on the form is Rupees 50/-) but it is given for Rupees 150/. The membership fees per person is Rs 50,000. How and under which rule civilians are made the members and how their admission and monthly subscription is decided, no one is aware about it. The basic issue concerning the membership of APRC is whether the Army, being a government body, can allow membership to civilians and foreigners.

The APRC also takes sponsorship from corporate houses for organizing polo matches. The sponsorship amount is in lakhs for different matches. The prominent sponsors of this year are Yes Bank, Royal Salute of Chivas Brother, Jack Daniels and they have given the contract to Equisports Management Private Limited for getting the sponsorships for polo matches. Equisports management is also managed by some members of APRC. There is no independent audit of the funds collected for the sponsorships and all audit is through an internal auditor of the APRC.

Needless to say, the counting procedures are in gross contravention to orders, thus undermining the image of the Services.

The intertwined relationship of the APRC and the IPA can be gauged from the fact that the Commandant of the 61 Cavalry, Colonel Navjot Singh Sandhu, is also the Honorary Secretary of the Indian Polo Association (IPA). The IPA is a society registered as a ‘welfare body’ and not as a sports association under Section 20 of Societies and Registration Act 1860. Legal experts say there is no provision for a sports body to be registered under the Section 20 of Societies and Registration Act 1860.

IPA itself is not recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Affairs which is the main body looking after sports in India. The fund collected by IPA are used for the overseas visits of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and other senior members of the Indian Polo Association and Army Polo And Riding Club. During the year 2010-2011 as per the balance sheet of the IPA, Rs 18 Lacs were spent on the visit of then COAS to Argentina. It is also surprising that though IPA and APRC is responsible for the promotion of Equestrian sports and they have not been to able to train any individual or team for Asian or Olympics meet.

Interestingly, there is another organization in the name of Army Equestrian Centre, fully controlled by the Indian Army and an Army Establishment operating from the Defence lands and public funds to the tune of Rs 11,85,3000 have been  allocated to it by the Army headquarters. It conducts training and tournaments for Army Polo players and provides venue for the IPA events.  This organization provides venue/infrastructure facilities/polo grounds for the IPA and APRC events and it is directly under the control of Quarter Master General’s Branch of the Indian Army. The access to civilians is permitted for the events of IPA. Foreigners can use these facilities under special permission of the Army authorities.

IPA collects funds as subscription fees from members, clubs and spends money as per the liking of Honorary Secretary and Army Polo and Riding Club get sponsorships for IPA for polo matches and other events. All this leaves enough funds at the discretion of Honorary Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, who in the present case is the Commanding Officer of the 61 Cavalry.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports generally gives grants to the different Sports Federation of India and in its order dated 21 April, 2010, it directed all sports bodies to bring transparency in the functioning of Sports Federation by appointing Public Information Officer for RTI Act, failing which no grants will be given. Amazingly, IPA refused to follow the transparency and did not appoint a PIO without caring for the grants and had refused to take any grants since 2010. It might be argued that the IPA chose not to receive grants in order to avoid appointing a PIO under the RTI Act.

All the above facts make it clear and an independent and fair probe is needed into the activities of the APRC and the IPA in order to ascertain how Army facilities are being blatantly used without any transparency at all. It also needs to be inquired whether there is any complicity of the higher brass of the Army in order to ensure that the dealings of APRC and IPA remain opaque and they are kept out of the purview of the RTI Act for this purpose.

Given the fact that senior Army officers are involved in the dealings with both these organizations, it will augur well for the Service to order a probe immediately on the role of its own officers in these organizations.

MS BRANCH-JISKI LATHI USKI BHAINS?

The recent judgement of the Chandigarh bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal has once again laid bare the manner in which those who know how the system works are able to take advantage of it.

The shenanigans which take place in the MS branch has time and again been laid bare by the judicial system yet no measures have been taken to ensure that careers of officers are not harmed because of the loopholes in the branch.

I had some time back written a blog on this very issue pointing out how MS branch plays with the careers of officers.

Senior officers cannot escape the blame by pointing out the collusion of those down below the chain of command. The onus of seeing that the MS branch functions properly is not only with that of MS but also that of the Chief of Army Staff.

If deserving officers are losing out on promotions because of faults in the system then it is high time that the system is corrected. Else, the adverse effect on the morale of the officer cadre will someday be too obvious to ignore.

Given below is the time line of the case in hand pertaining to Brig T Parshad of the JAG branch and it lays bare the callousness with which deserving officers have got sidelined while he got all the favours.

May 2012   -   One additional vacancy of Maj Gen in the JAG Branch announced taking the total vacancies of Maj Gen to two. There were now 4 contenders for the two vacancies out of which Brig T Parshad (Dy JAG Central Command) was the junior-most.

June 2012   -   Brig T Parshad floats a statutory complaint stating that his ACRs should be expunged and he be granted relief in his career profile.

Sept 2012   -    Selection Board for the rank of Maj Gen of JAG Branch was supposed to be held in Sept 2012 but is postponed.

15^th Oct to 19^th Oct 2012 – Selection Boards of various Arms and Services scheduled and Board for the two vacancies of Maj Gen in JAG Branch was supposed to be held on the second last day, that is, 18^th Oct.

16^th Oct 2012  -  Out of the blue and totally out of turn, Brig T Parshad is given relief and his ACR as was challenged by him, is expunged. Normally the Army HQ/MoD take about 6 to 12 months to dispose statutory complaints related to ACRs but in this case, the same is done in about 4 months out of turn whereas complaints for redressal of many officers of various Arms and Services who had filed them much earlier than this officer were pending as on date and some remain pending even today.

17^th Oct 2012   -  The order granting relief to the officer is sent to the MS Branch on the eve of the selection board and the new career profile is inserted into the dossier and record of Brig T Parshad stealthily thereby improving his record to enable him steal a march over the others by shifting the goalposts of the selection. Over the day, evening and night, the records are changed whereas policy clearly provides that all records are supposed to be frozen 5 days prior to the Selection Board meaning thereby that records were to be frozen and could not be tampered with after 10^th October 2012 (15^th Oct was the first date of the Selection Board process). If we take the last date of the Board, that is, 19^th Oct 2012, then the records were to be frozen by 14^th Oct 2012, both dates are prior to the date on which even the relief was granted to the officer thereby rendering the inclusion of his changed profile in the board, illegal.

18^th Oct 2012  -  the Selection Board for the rank of Maj Gen of JAG is postponed by a day. The insertion of the changed profile of the officer is completed in a clandestine manner and the MDS (Master Data Sheet) is also illegally amended.

19^th Oct 2012 – Selection Board is held and Brig N Khanna (the current ADG Litigation) and Brig T Parshad are empanelled for the rank of Maj Gen. As a result, Brig T Parshad, based on his freshly changed profile, supersedes his two seniors – Brig Dinkar Adeeb and Brig PK Sharma. The members of the Selection Board are however not informed that the profile and marks of Brig T Parshad were changed overnight in contravention of rules that too after granting him out of turn relief again in contravention of policy.

Points which emerge:-

(a)   How could the policy letter No A/17151/MS 4 Coord dated 25/28 April 2009 (which provides that no inputs or change in profile can be taken on record 5 days prior to the board) be so brazenly contravened and flouted without any inkling to the military top brass or members of the board?

(b)  How could the officer be granted out-of-turn relief in just about 4 months in contravention of policy letter No 04480/MS Policy dated 26 Sept 2005 whereas the cases of many other army officers remained pending for a period of more than 6 months to one year with some complaints not even being decided for years together.

(c)  Is it a fact that since JAG officers are controlling major key appointments in the Army HQ including the Military Secretary’s branch (MS Branch) an element of manipulation, deceit and tampering of records and policy is creeping in especially in the case of JAG Branch? Why does the top military and ministry brass remain unaware of tampering and interference of records by JAG officers, is there no system of checks and balances or has nepotism encompassed the entire system?

(d)  Similar flouting of policy and manipulation in the selection board for the rank of Brig was pointed out to the AFT by officers of the JAG branch after which the MoD took suo-moto action and cancelled the board and ordered its re-convening. (Also Recorded in an earlier Court order) thereby giving relief to affected officers, why weren’t checks and balances introduced at that time.  

(e)  Many petitions concerning nepotism in the JAG Branch remain pending before various benches of AFT, has the system taken note of the allegations and ordered any inquiry or corrective measures?

(f)    What message are the seniors who are indulging in flouting of policy and rules and manipulation giving to young officers of the organisation? Jiski laathi uski bhains? Is this the future of the younger generation, especially of the JAG Branch?

AFT ORDERS MS TO APOLOGISE TO WAR VETERAN

Delivering a sharp rap on the knuckles for not adhering to a judgement given by it and causing undue harassment to a petitioner, the Kolkata bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal has directed the Military Secretary, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain to express regret to the petitioner.

Giving its directions in a contempt application field by Col Arun Dattaji Patole (retd), naming the Military Secretary, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain and the Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh as respondents, the AFT bench has also come down very hard on the Col MS (Legal) for not taking the matter seriously. The bench has found his attitude to be "callous" and recommended action against him by higher authorities, if they so desire.

The genesis of the order lies in an order given by the bench earlier directing the MS to hold a special promotion board of the officer to the rank of Brigadier and intimate the result to him with complete reasoning. He was also directed to provide a personal hearing to the Colonel if he was not satisfied with the reply.

The Army did hold a special promotion board but communicated its result in a perfunctory manner without giving any detailed reasoning:

"I.  Ref WP 15548(W)|2OO3  filed by you in the High Court at Kolkata.
2 . Consequent  to  the relief granted by Kolkata High Court in WP 1,5548-w/2003  vide order dated 2 Feb 2, you were considered  as Special  Revielw  (Fresh) case of the 1971 batch of AOC by the No. 2 SB held from 06 to 0B Apr 2011,  under the previous system of selection  (value judgement) and not approved  for promotion  to the acting rank of Brig."

When the officer reminded the MS of the directions of the AFT bench and that he wanted an interview with him he received an arrogant reply which bordered on dismissive attitude:

"  In case you want to  have personal hearing you must intimate  the date so that date is fixed and case be
explained about non  empanelment along with  the reasons as directed by  the  Hon'ble Armed Forces
Tribunal.  lt is clarified  that you have to come on at your own expenses  for the said interview,  as no funds are allocated for  calling retired  officers for  personal hearing."

Clearly, not pleased with the action taken by the MS Branch in pursuance of the orders given by it, the Bench passed the following hard-hitting order.

 "We direct that MS, during his visits to various Command HQs. including Pune and Kolkata (where


the appricant  usualy resides)  must intimate the applicant  and grant all possible facilities  to give him a personal hearing in which all aspects must be explained  to  him in detail within the limits of security.  The applicant  should be apprised  as to why he was low on merit and whether ail points that were to be covered
have indeed been covered  while considering  his case in the special  board. subsequent  to such a personal  hearing,  it will only be appropriate  for the MS on behalf of the respondents to express  regret to the war veteran for the delay and agony thus caused.  Thereafter,  the MS shall pass a speaking  order in writing explaining  the detairs of the interview and the reasons  for non-empanelment  of the applicant  in the special
board that was conducted  on the order of this Tribunal".

SHOW CAUSE NOTICE TO COL G SRIKUMAR OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

Here is the Show Cause notice given to Col G Srikumar, former Commanding Officer of 3 Corps Intelligence and Surveillance Unit and now posted in a Infantry Division, which lead to the eventual award of 'Severe Displeasure' to him by the Chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh.

The officer has approached the Armed Forces Tribunal bring these documents, thus, to the public arena. It is important to note that Para 3 of the Show Cause notice is missing which is a legal infirmity. Also, the mandatory 30 days reply period, which can be cut down to 15 days in exceptional cases, has been deliberately truncated to 10 days so that Gen VK Singh could award the censure before retirement.

Interestingly, the officer was on leave and has still been held responsible for an incident which took place in his absence! Should not the officiating CO be responsible for this? How have the BGS (Ops) and the Corps Cdr been held responsible for the lapse of a Havildar or at the most, the OiC of the raid? Is it a clear case of vindictiveness or that of instant justice? You decide.

THE SILENCE OF THE GENERALS

One is a little perturbed by the relative lack of comment by retired senior Army officers in the various publications on the Nyoma incident and the implications/fall-out it has had on the service in particular and the image of the officer cadre in particular.

Ordinarily, the Generals-turned-columnists are rapid to address any issue in the public domain which pertains to the defence forces/Army, but this time around, their silence is deafening. Is it a studied silence or is it a case of closing the ranks in view of incident which they find is too shameful to refer to? In any case, many would take refuge in the plea that "it was too early to comment", or the more common "let the inquiry finish, let the facts come out". In many other instances where they are quick to write a 2000 word article, such pleas are curiously missing, even when circumstances say they could have been circumspect.

This post on the blog is not about the incident. The details have been in the public domain for a long time now and the bare facts of the case are known to all. How it happened, why it happened and how a cover-up was launched to pass it off as as a"scuffle". Motives are being ascribed to anybody who questions the official line, but then many of us are quite used to it and it now is a great source of mirth to us.

But the silence of the intelligentsia is indeed perplexing. It goes on to show, and, to me at least, prove that the retired officers think-tank pick and choose which issue they want to raise and which they want to conveniently ignore. Issues or incidents where there is very less scope for a damage control exercise, they just side-step with an ease which would put a Gentleman cadet on drill square to shame.

It was left to just two retired officers, Lt Gen Raj Kadyan and Lt Gen RK Sawhney to take up the barrage of questions on television while the regular faces on TV remained a safe distance away. Both officers did a commendable job, needless to say, in putting forth the facts as per their perspective.

But for an average person, a layman, so to speak, the view of the 'other side of the hill' is missing in this incident which took place at Nyoma. It should be interesting to note how the military intelligentsia reacts to this and what faults it finds or what recommendations it has to make. But sadly, we are bereft of their take on the issue at hand.

Reams can be written about the age controversy of the outgoing COAS, words in their thousands can be typed out in belittlement of the media when it takes on the wrongs that afflict the military today, scorn can be heaped page after page on the politico-bureaucrat nexus which is damaging the military, but stone deaf silence prevails when it is time to do some introspection on how a section of our officer cadre in the Army is treating our jawans.

Silence is the only recourse when the situation demands that some urgent analysis and introspection be done on the shortcomings of the training system and mentoring of our officers which allow aberrations to take place in individuals who mistreat their subordinates and assault their own CO.

Make no doubt about it, this silences impinges upon the credibility of the military intelligentsia who address the issues pertaining to the military in print and electronic media. Keeping mum will not help, hunkering down will not make the problem go away. And as Vinod Mehta says in his autobiography, "Credibility is like virginity, it can only be lost once".   

AT WHAT COST

I really did not think there would be a day when politicians would dare to publicly demand the resignation of the Chief of Army Staff. I certainly did not ever imagine that I would see on national television, politicians openly spewing venom against a COAS and accusing him of doing politics in uniform and having a desire to fight elections.

But all this has indeed happened. Articles have been written in the media which would have been unthinkable just a few years back, openly making strong allegations against the Chief of Army Staff. And it shows no sign of ending.

What started as an age dispute at a tactical level......has finally come down to bitter hand-to-hand fighting on the street. This is no longer a theatre operation. It has all the hallmarks of a fight for every street, every house, every room. And a Chief of Army Staff should not be taking part in fighting at this level.

But unfortunately, this has happened. The Chief of Army Staff has allowed himself to fall in the classical trap of listening to the wrong kind of advice from the right kind of people. And if he imagines that this is a personal fight, then he is wrong, I'm afraid. It was never a personal fight even when he dragged the government to the Supreme Court over his date of birth. Because once you assume the office of the COAS, your persona blends into the office you hold and they become one. It is impossible to make them appear as two. No matter how much you try.

I am also of the view that the COAS has not come into this fight with clean hands. He had concealed weapons which he has used and which show that there was malafide intention when it came to the line of succession. The complaint to CBI regarding Lt Gen DS Suhag proves that. As does the late reaction to the bribe offer. You cannot remain silent and then become vocal when the time suits you. You have all the time in the world to walk into a police station to register an FIR against a journalist when he claims that you were born in 1949 but you wring your hands in despair after being made a bribe offer.

There is no point discussing the leakage of letter written to the Prime Minister since it has been discussed at all forums ad nauseum. But it is quite clear who did it and why. But let's not get into it. It may have been a clever attempt but it backfired, as have many tricks backfired during the past few months.

The political leadership has once again proven to be weak. We always knew it but it is always painful to watch it again. Decisive moves earlier in the day would have prevented things from reaching such a passe.

The repercussions of this fracas will last longer than the tenure of the present COAS. The damage is permanent. A cost the country will have to pay.


(Picture courtesy India Today)

GO HOME, THEN GO TO COURT

Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major (retd), had a word of advise for General VK Singh, Chief of Army Staff, the other day. Speaking to a newspaper over phone from Bangalore, the former air chief said he was of the view that the General would be better off if he took off his uniform before taking on the government in court over his age issue.

While no one can deny that as an individual, Gen VK Singh has the right to every legal recourse available to him, the fact remains that for a man in uniform who is at the apex office of his organisation, rights can often get limited. Not because of law, but because of tradition and a sense of honour or 'izzat', which the General himself has evoked in his confrontation with the establishment over the age issue.

It is already looking pretty bad with the Army Chief having filed a statutory complaint over the controversy. And it will look worse if he goes to court in uniform. And while the General may say this is all about 'izzat' and 'integrity', the fact remains he will have much more of both if he does this while out of uniform.

Enough has been written ad nauseum over how the disparity over the age came up so we can skip getting into that because everything is well documented. No one can deny that the disparity should have been corrected many, many years back. But now the issue is of the COAS taking on the government over this alleged anomaly.

For many years we, who have been associated with the defence services in one way or the other, have laughed at the feeble attempts of those in the IAS or the IPS to 'correct' their age while at the fag end of their careers or when they have reached the top. To see the COAS do the same is painful to say the least. irrespective of the merits of the case, it still looks suspiciously as if he is trying to get extra mileage. He has said categorically, he is not doing so, but public perception is fickle, sadly.

The government too should try to look at the situation from the General's point of view. Being pig-headed will not do anybody any good. This should not degenerate into a slugfest. The Army is the last bastion of integrity in this country, and if it falls, all will fall.

And all those politicians who are jumping in to help Gen VK Singh do not understand that they are doing more harm then good. Capt Amarinder Singh's letter should also be seen in this context, though he may have written it with all the feelings of an ex-Army Officer. And the fact that he had to issue a clarification that he wrote it in his personal capacity, shows that his intentions were taken amiss by the 'party high command'. And I am attaching a copy of his letter, which is doing the rounds in the media, to show that it was written on the letterhead of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. So much for "personal capacity".

Air Chief Marshal Fali Major may indeed have a point. If convictions are strong enough then perhaps the right thing to do may be to quit and then fight the good fight.

THE WAR OF GENERALS GETS UGLIER

I've never been a very big fan of Gen JJ Singh. Even when he was the Western Army Commander and I was working with Hindustan Times in Chandigarh, I had a few run- ins with his MGGS who used to be very unhappy with my news coverage. And then there was the famous crying incident which took place when he held a press conference after his elevation as COAS was announced and every effort was made by his staff to persuade me not to write about it. I went ahead while my counterpart in a national daily wrote such a glowing piece that it seemed that it was not the General who had shed tears but the Pakistan COAS!

Be that as it may, I am disgusted to read open allegations being made about how Gen JJ Singh, now the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, was guided by religious sentiments in ensuring that Gen VK Singh retires on a certain date so that another Sikh, Lt Gen Bikram Singh could become the COAS. What were earlier insinuations have now become open allegations. Assisted no doubt by the fact that the government has had a very dim view of the protestations of Gen VK Singh about the change of his date of birth.

I would not go so far as to say that the directions for unleashing this mudslinging campaign against Gen JJ Singh have come from the very top. But what I would certainly like to believe is that the spin doctors who are managing the media campaign in favour of Gen VK Singh's assertions have now decided to take off their gloves and brace themselves for a knuckle fight.

It is a matter of time before the mudslinging acquires another dimension and also involves mediapersons of different media houses. For all we know the spin doctors may start targetting those journalists who are not taking a stand in their favour in the age-issue.

Be that as it may but the fact remains that the reputation of a former COAS is being trashed as it it were of now value. Gen JJ Singh is perhaps keeping mum because of the Gubernatorial appointment he holds but the fact remains that it has now been decided in principal to malign him and to attribute pro-Sikh sentiments to him. The fact that he was the first Sikh COAS is now being used to denigrate him.

If there is proof of him having deliberately run down Gen VK Singh then go to court and get it decided. It will give the Governor a chance too to rebut the arguments and defend himself. But what some of these uniformed spin doctors are not realising is that such malicious campaigns are harming the organisation more then any individual. Not only are you running down a former COAS but you are also casting an aspersion on the reputation and character of a current Army Commander just because he is a Sikh.

These are dark days for the senior leadership of the Army. It may just slip into an avoidable free fall if the war of words escalates and the mud-slinging attains a momentum which becomes difficult to control. The government needs to look at these developments seriously and needs to check them. An institution which has several hundred years of proud history must not be held to ransom by a few individuals who have their own personal priorities fixed firmly in their sights.

Service before Self must not change to Self before Service.

ARMY'S DOUBLE STANDARDS ON WITHHOLDING PROMOTIONS

When the Adarsh scam came to light, and there was great dirt flying about, most of it directed in the direction of the Army's top brass, serving as well as retired, the Army went into damage control mode. And quite rightly so. It was the need of the hour to save it's reputation and the COAS himself gave went to his anguish over the fact that the highest office of the service too was under the scanner.

Accordingly a Court of Inquiry was ordered to probe into the affairs relating to the Adarsh scam and the principal officer facing the brunt of the inquiry was Maj Gen RK Hooda who was the latest officer to have demitted the office of GOC MG & G Area and was now serving in Army HQs. He was approved for the rank of Lt Gen, but because he was facing a Court of Inquiry he was put under a Discipline and Vigilance (DV) ban and his promotion put on hold. All this was perfectly by the book and this was how things happened.

In due course the inquiry got completed but in the meantime, Maj Gen Hooda attained his age of superannuation and had to retire from the service in the same rank. The Army Chief has recently made some statement in Poona regarding the culpability of Maj Gen Hooda fixed by the inquiry but that is not the crux of our story.

What we need to focus on is that in yet another case involving a Maj Gen, the Army did not follow the rules and in fact let him get away virtually scot free to his next rank.

Lt Gen SA Cruz was serving in the rank of Maj Gen in HQs Western Command in Chandimandir as MG (Medical) when a Court of Inquiry was ordered against him by HQs Bengal Area. The genesis of this inquiry lies in days when the General officer was commanding a military hospital in Panagarh and the allegation of private practice levelled against some of his subordinate doctors. Now, after a stay in the high court had been vacated and the two officers court martialled, evidence had come forth incriminating the General and so, to investigate the allegations and give him a fair chance of defending himself, the Army ordered a Court of Inquiry against him.

The General, like Maj Gen Hooda, was approved for the rank of Lt Gen but in his case, no DV ban was put on his promotion. He was allowed to pick up his rank in complete disregard of rules and precedence and today he is serving as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Medical) in New Delhi.

I am told this this is not an isolated case in the Army where rules are bent to favour a few. There are enough examples which go on to show how some officers manage to get away while others suffer. Why this happens is not known. I had sent a query to the Army but they did not bother to reply.

And so while the Army goes about boasting about how the General found partially guilty in the Adarsh Court of Inquiry has been punished by not allowing him to pick up his next rank, it is conveniently not addressing why yet another General facing an inquiry has been allowed to get promoted.

Silence is not going to make the questions go away.

Crises of Leadership

A lot has been written about the controversy surrounding Gen VK Singh's date of birth so there is really no need to get into all that once again. Except perhaps to recount the latest revelation that an MP has written to the Defence Minister citing the General's year of birth to be 1949 and not 1951 as he is claiming or 1950 as is mentioned in some records. And the MP has obtained a birth certififcate from the Kirkee Cantonment as a proof of his assertions.

It is unfortunate for the Army's senior most officer to be embroiled in such a controversy at a stage of his career. It is also unfortunate for the Army as a service to see it's chief being involved in a unsavoury controversy.

The Ministry of Defence is trying to solve this 'age-old' mystery but given its incompetence in resolving it before the Chief came to hold this office, not much speed should be expected from it this time around.

However, General VK Singh has to accept the blame partly for precipitating this crises. It was widely believed that the entire thing had been solved to his satisfaction. And then came the RTI application and the Army's super cleverness in referring it to the Law Ministry. Reminds me of the couplet by Majaz:

"Meri himmat dekhna, meri tabiyat dekhna

jo sulajh jaati hai guthi, phir se uljhata hun main"

If Gen VK Singh had acceeded to the solution found when his predecessor was holding the office then he should step up and say that I am satisfied with the solution found and that I accept it.

If he was unhappy with the solution propounded at the time, he should have made sure it was solved to his satisfaction before he assumed office of the COAS. Now, at this stage, when he is half way through his tenure, to let this crises take over the centre stage when there are more pressing issues at hand, is simply not done.

All he had to do was to have stepped forward and issued a statement saying that he is happy with what the organisation decided for him. But his very silence means that he is not happy and that he feels that he has been wronged. That may well be true, but he should have thought of all this before assuming the highest office of his service. Personal organisational grievances at the level of COAS do not augur well for the image of the service for which he is the custodian.

And if worst comes to worst, what if it is proven that his real year of birth was 1949 and that he was never eligible to become the COAS? Imagine the catastrophe it will be for the service? What disgrace? And what punishment can one inflict upon a COAS who may have indulged in such a thing, even if it was way back in his career?

For all the spin being put out by the official spin doctors of the Army, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI), the Army Chief's image has taken a battering, and so has , by default, the image of the Army.

Had this happened with a junior ranked officer, even if his rank was that of Lt Gen, a court of inquiry would have taken place and a result had withing a span of few days. However, nothing of the sort can be done with the COAS because of his rank. And, ultimately, the call has to be taken by the MoD.

It is very important not to sully the image of the COAS but if there is enough evidence at hand that the office of the COAS has been sullied by an individual, then expemplary action must be taken.

Only Gen VK Singh knows the truth. And if there is not a single shred of evidence against him then he should simply state the facts to the Defence Minister and insist, nay demand, on a quick resolution in interest of the service. But if there is even an iota of truth in the allegations against him, he should quit. This is the least he could do to save the image of the service.

A General Conspiracy?

Amidst all the news reports about the Chief of Army Staff, Gen VK Singh's date of birth, the Chief himself has maintained a stoic silence. Very apt too, because it would be beneath him to join publically in what may eventually turn out to be a ugly affair.
While murmurs of a conspiracy can be heard in the corrdidors of power, there are more important questions to ask. If, like the reports suggest, the COAS had in 2009 agreed to accept the decision of the then Chief, why is the age issue being raised now? Would it be proper for the government to address the issue afresh at this stage, thus affecting the entire line of succession of Chiefs, so to speak? And, lastly, but more importantly, who is the issue being raised through the backdoor via a RTI query?
To begin with, Hindustan Times has brought out a letter written by Gen VK Singh in 2009 to the then COAS pointing out that the matter ends as far as he is concerned. But then the wording of the letter is very clever. It clearly brings out that the matter has ended at the directions of the COAS. It also goes to to say that the MS has clarified that the matter is dealt with AG. Now, it is in public domain that as per AGs records the General was born in 1951 and not 1950.
It would not be out of place to suggest that the letter written by Gen VK Singh in 2009, in his capacity as Eastern Army Commander, was in reply to one written to him by the COAS, Gen Deepak Kapoor. The tone certainly suggests that. But the Hindustan Times has not obliged us by getting that letter, if it exists.
This now brings us to the issue of the government re-opening the issue of Gen VK Singh's age at this late stage when he has finished half his tenure. However, it is not clear why the General did not get this anomaly corrected in the early part of his career? We certainly know that he tried to do so for the first time in 2006 and all that which followed, but what about when he was a subaltern or a Lt Col, Col, Brig, Maj Gen? Indeed if he had raised the issue at any of these stages of his career, the matter would have been sorted out by now. This does not take away his right to raise the issue in 2006 but it does give raise to a lot of questions. Also, why was the matter not settled once and for all when he was to be appointed as the COAS? The government should have taken legal opinion and ended all speculation instead of waiting for a RTI query to pop up when the General has already served more than a year into his tenure.
This brings us to the very suspicious looking RTI query. From what we can gleam from our sources, the query emanates from Kolkata and is written by a civilian gentleman. A very innocent query seeking to know the date of birth of some Generals. But for the curious route the answer to the query takes, all would have been well. The Army could have responded decisively by saying that the Gen VK Singh's date of birth if X or Y depending upon the record they hold. In which case, as the letter written by Gen VK Singh indicates, it is the AG who would be the repository of the correct age i.e. 1951. But the Army instead refers the letter to the Law Ministry. Which then says that the 1951 date should be taken into account as it was in his matriculation certificate. Maybe the Army PIO was treading carefully. Maybe he was trying to stir a hornet's nest. Maybe something is afoot.
The other affected party in the case, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, the present Eastern Army Commander, really does not have much to say at this stage. He is next in line to the COAS but this would be confirmed only when the ACC confirms it. Till then he has to sit tight and expect the best.
I have a feeling that Gen VK Singh is going to get this issue sorted out once and for all despite whatever undertaking he may have given to the previous COAS (at his directions). It may not look good on paper but this exercise will have to be done and, if Hindustan Times, is to be believed the government has started doing just that.
This sort of a thing has happened in IAS/IPS many a times. Perhaps it was just a matter of time before it happened with the Army.

THE ARMY NEEDS PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFRS, NOT POOR RELATIONS OFFICERS

The Army, for some reason or the other, has been saddled with rather a unfortunate choice of PROs in the Ministry of Defence for the past several years. Apart from some notable exceptions where the person holding the office really did try to establish a rapport with the media and get the Army's point of view across, the average PRO has miserably failed to perform his task.
Yet again now, the Army has a PRO, who seems to have no inclination in getting about and performing his duties as per the parameters required by them. He has had an honourable career as an infantry officer and he must have been a very good officer and a soldier in the OGs, but he has unfortunately failed to get a grasp on the situation in the South Block.
While this blog is not against an individual, per se, iI would rather keep it that way, but still there are some examples which need to be cited as to how the mismatch between Army PRO and media can create bad vibes. This gentleman, holding the office right now, has been averse to the very presence of the media in his office. The first thing he did was to close the door to his office that remained open like those of PRO-Navy and IAF! I, fortunately, did not have to deal with him for long, but even in my short interaction, I realised that he was distinctly uncomfortable in the surroundings where journalists milled about in his office, which he shares with the APRO and the clerical staff.
Why have such an officer as the PRO in the first place who is uncomfortable with civilians? It is not his fault that he cannot mix-up with them. After spending a lifetime in the uniform, there are very few career soldiers who would be comfortable talking in an unrestricted manner with journalists. But then why did he volunteer for this job? Did he want a last posting in Delhi? Is that the only criteria left for appointing officers as PRO-Army in MoD? That you have got to be on the last leg posting after your career has come to a stand still? Why so? This appointment had officers who were promoted to the rank of Brigadier while holding this appointment, so what's wrong in getting someone who is still in reckoning for his next rank?
This way at least he will have his heart in the job and will not go about halfheartedly handling the media, as if this was the biggest punishment inflicted on him ever since he got commissioned in the Army.
This PRO, now, does not even want journalists to grab a bite in his office. The basic chit chats which take place over such informalities and which breed good relations and foster friendliness have been tossed out of the window. Had it not been for the good humour and affection of the DG (M&C) and the APRO, the Army would have been getting a lot of flak in print just because it is trying to put a square peg in a round hole.
It is hoped that the new COAS will take stock of this problem and do something about it. The Army needs to project its image in a positive mannr in the media and for that it needs a positive individual as the PRO. Not someone who is sour-faced and laced with a dour attitude.

Have we heard the last of the MS saga?

I think not. this is not the last we will hear about this sordid affair. for the simple reason that it is the sympton of the problem and not the problem itself. The discord between the Army Chief and two of his Army Commanders (Lt Gen Panag and then Lt Gen VK Singh) will reverbate long after he ceases to be the COAS. The damage done to the institution is immense because never as any Chief been pilloried to this extent in the media and his reputation put in tatters before the average citizen of the country. But then, such are the consequences when you try to defend the indefensible and try to brush things under the carpet. Slowly, but steadly, more skeletons are going to tumble out. More scams are going to make their presence felt. And all this will be before the COAS, Gen Kapoor, hangs his uniform. For more, you will have to keep an eye on Headlines Today!!