Army

Defense Ministry – Delays in acquisition of critical supplies – Is Antony at home ?

Saint Antony. That is one of the names by which the Defense Minister is known as. And why so ? Because he has a high reputation for honesty that being in the Congress party has not managed to besmirch, and he is also in charge of a ministry that is now appearing in the news on a regular basis, and not in a good way. The confrontation with the Army Chief over the age matter is old news (ever since the Supreme Court did not deny the truth of the general, but did not approve of the confrontation he was having with the Government).
Who else is known to be a paragon of honesty, against whom there are no allegations of corruption ? It is the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. What else is Manmohan Singh known for ? For having the most corrupt Government in modern India, for refusing to act against corruption unless forced to do so by the media or by the judiciary (remember past speeches and comments about the policy followed by Raja being the policy of the Government, and how Kalmadi had the full support of the Government as he spent and spent money on the CWG (accompanied by huge spending by many others arms of the Government)).
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The Army chief causes huge tension to the Government, but what about the real issues ?

Ever since reports came out that the Army chief would challenge the Government with regard to his date of birth row, there was some amount of consternation in the Government and the Congress party. Even though the courts finally advised the chief to let go of his claim (they did not say that he was wrong though technically), there was some initial problems for the Government; further, the defense minister was criticized for letting the situation reach this point. And ever since then, the chief has been causing some pin-pricks for the Government, with 2 issues having been raised so far, one being the bribe being offered for a truck used widely by the army, and the other being the controversy caused by the release of a letter to the PM which claims that defense preparedness is at an absolute low.
There are 2 main problems that come out in this discussion that are not really being addressed. Worldwide, army chiefs are treated with respect, along with the stated position that the military chiefs report into the civilian leadership; in this particular case, the tension that the army chief is giving to the government is causing many politicians (including ruling party politicians) to call for the sacking of the army chief like he is a lowly servant who had the audacity to make remarks against the master. And the Government, which is so sensitive of politicians being called corrupt or criminals, has no problems with such remarks being made against the army chief and it is only a day that the defense minister states that the army chief has his full support. One should not really take actions that look unfair to a large section of the armed forces, the consequences of breeding resentment are not really worth contemplating.
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The confrontation between the Army Chief VK Singh and the Government ..

One really does not know what is the truth behind the age of the Army Chief, whether the year of birth is 1950 or 1951. It is also important to see that the army chiefs in the 2 neighboring nations of India and Pakistan are having a skirmish with their civilian superior agencies. However, as of now, the comparison between the 2 countries is not much of a comparison, since in Pakistan, the army chief is having a skirmish with the civilian authorities over their attempt to challenge the hegemony of the army in Pakistani affairs; in India, the army is much more controlled, with no visible action by the army to resent the control of civilians as part of the defence establishment setup.
One is pretty sure that the relationship between the army (or the other defense services) and the Government will not change, with overall civilian control remaining high. The Indian Army continues to be a disciplined force, serving under the control of the Indian Government, and no one envisages a position like what happens in Pakistan. However, there is something seriously wrong here. It has been known for some time that there has been disagreement in terms of the age of the Army Chief, and that the Army Chief remains dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.
I am no legal expert, but that does not stop people in this country from airing their opinion on an issue, so here goes. In the absence of birth certificates in the year of birth, the standard proof of age of birth is the School certificate (typically the 10th standard one). That certificate mentions the year of birth as 1951, and then there is a lot of confusion about the year of birth marked in later records. Apparently, the Government has sought legal advice from the Attorney General of India, and the AG agrees that the year of birth can be treated as 1950.
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