Clean up this mess

The biggest threat to national security is not the meddlesome neighbour one assumes to be behind every disaster. Not in the least bit. It is the Indian politician’s penchant for fiddling with transfers and promotions. While its fallout on the efficacy of the police is plain to the eye, a far more sinister game is now being played over promotions and appointments in the Army. Promotions in the higher ranks and placing officers in sensitive appointments are being done in the same manner as had been the practice with the provincial police forces. This same lack of wisdom is being enacted in the Ministry of Defence. What this has done is to open another method of securing the next rank, and not the time-tested one of professionalism. While this avenue brings in influences other than those of the service, it also has a proportionate impact on the morale and efficiency of the Army. And therein lies the greatest danger to national security. For when the uncomplaining jawan knows that his superior officers areholding ranks not on account of competence and calibre but of extraneous influences, it is unlikely that there will be any takers for the order to fight and possibly die.

The armed forces survive only on account of that one fact — command is inviolable. But how much longer can this be presumed to hold true? How much longer can the belief of the officers and jawans be sustained that their system of promotion, stringent as it is, is also fair and just? By all accounts, not for very long. Putting an ear to the ground reveals a deep sense of frustration that the average Army man holds against the political leadership. He has been, firstly, made to fight insurgents, and to top it all, the government fiddles with the command structure of his service. In this manner incapable officers are going to hold sensitive appointments and make a mess of things. The country cannot afford to let that happen, and the Army must not let that happen. The Army can help in the process of cleaning up the mess of meddlesomeministers and bureaucrats. It should ensure that its part of the promotion chain is spotless and squeaky-clean. As is obvious from the case of the appointment of the next Eastern Army Commander, there is some cleansing to be done in Army Headquarters as well. There was a time when the Military Secretary’s Branch was the pinnacle of propriety and impartiality. When the MS Branch gets into the business of bending rules and playing favourites, then the culpability for wrongful promotions has to be proportionately shared by the political and military leadership. At every level, the rules governing promotions and appointments are simple and straightforward. Some can make it to the next rank, but most cannot.

Likewise, some are eligible for certain appointments, and some just do not fit the bill. It is for the MS Branch to enforce these rules judiciously, in the process ensuring that windows are not opened to those looking for an opportunity for some fiddling. The smallest opening will let in a torrent ofinterference. And then the image of its leadership will bear more than a passing resemblance to a provincial police service. Surely the Army would not like that to happen. Certainly, India does not.