Hoary army tradition hostage to political environment

A time-honoured tradition symbolising India’s strong military ties with Nepal is in danger of falling victim to the security situation in the kingdom. General JJ Singh is likely to become the only Indian Army chief not conferred with the rank of an honorary general of the Nepal Army. And it has nothing to do with mutual relations. The two countries traditionally give each other’s army chief an honorary general’s rank, but Singh has not been able to visit Kathmandu for the ceremony since taking over in February 2005 owing to the political situation there. The army chief, due to retire later this year, has had to cancel his Nepal visits at least twice since taking over after being told by the MEA to wait for an “opportune moment”. With Singh’s retirement close at hand, protocol officers at Army HQ are worried that an important tradition may be broken. Not a happy thought given that conventions are sacrosanct in the armed forces.