Once an officer picks up the rank of a brigadier, he is deemed above the regiment. Thus, an officer of an artillery regiment may be assigned to command an infantry brigade or an armoured brigade. This keeps growing to the level of division, corps and command as the officer gets further promoted to the rank of major general and lieutenant general. There is a prerequisite that the Indian Army Chief must be from either infantry, armoured or artillery arms. So if an armoured corp officer promotes juniors from his arm to higher ranks, it is bound to create a block for officers from other arms. Mudslinging and manipulation hurts many competent officers.
Even in the face of such rifts and rivalries, the Indian Army has earned respect for its rich experience in combat. The young officers prove this every day in Jammu and Kashmir and the country’s northeast. And it has been in full display during Kargil. General V. P. Malik, who was at the helm of affairs during the Kargil War, cautioned the media about verifying the facts which are reported and added that they should be reported in the light of the Army laws which are different than civilian laws. He further added, “We must remain strict on discipline. Any incident of indiscipline should be dealt in two ways. First and foremost, take prompt, transparent and exemplary action. It should not matter whether the person is a general or a jawan. And secondly, we should educate soldiers as to what is correct and what is not.”
Correctness of a soldier is judged by the common man’s yardstick of honesty. Incidents of corruption and motivated rivalries and rifts present a possible shift in this regard. Lt Gen. Raj Kadyan explains honesty to be of two kinds.
He says, “Honesty is of two kinds, individual and institutional. An individual may be corrupt but as far as the institution of Army is concerned, even the Army Chief will not be spared if anything wrong comes to light. The noting on the file on inquiries can lead to action against any officer even three years after his retirement.”
His words appear correct when TSI spoke to an officer who is about to shift to field duty after completing his tenure of staff posting in Army Head Quarters. He said, “Once I join the unit in the field, issues of rifts and corruption barely affect us. In any case, when a bullet brushes past my forehead, what will make the difference between life and death will be courage and my team.”
Major General G. D. Bakshi proposes the criteria of combat experience as the remedy for the malice. He says, “We should select senior officers who are combat-qualified because he will have the requisite judgement on every soldierly issue.” It is likely that such a person will appreciate the need to have high morale and is least likely to engage in corruption or factionalism which is bound to affect the forces’ morale.
Even in the face of such rifts and rivalries, the Indian Army has earned respect for its rich experience in combat. The young officers prove this every day in Jammu and Kashmir and the country’s northeast. And it has been in full display during Kargil. General V. P. Malik, who was at the helm of affairs during the Kargil War, cautioned the media about verifying the facts which are reported and added that they should be reported in the light of the Army laws which are different than civilian laws. He further added, “We must remain strict on discipline. Any incident of indiscipline should be dealt in two ways. First and foremost, take prompt, transparent and exemplary action. It should not matter whether the person is a general or a jawan. And secondly, we should educate soldiers as to what is correct and what is not.”
Correctness of a soldier is judged by the common man’s yardstick of honesty. Incidents of corruption and motivated rivalries and rifts present a possible shift in this regard. Lt Gen. Raj Kadyan explains honesty to be of two kinds.
He says, “Honesty is of two kinds, individual and institutional. An individual may be corrupt but as far as the institution of Army is concerned, even the Army Chief will not be spared if anything wrong comes to light. The noting on the file on inquiries can lead to action against any officer even three years after his retirement.”
His words appear correct when TSI spoke to an officer who is about to shift to field duty after completing his tenure of staff posting in Army Head Quarters. He said, “Once I join the unit in the field, issues of rifts and corruption barely affect us. In any case, when a bullet brushes past my forehead, what will make the difference between life and death will be courage and my team.”
Major General G. D. Bakshi proposes the criteria of combat experience as the remedy for the malice. He says, “We should select senior officers who are combat-qualified because he will have the requisite judgement on every soldierly issue.” It is likely that such a person will appreciate the need to have high morale and is least likely to engage in corruption or factionalism which is bound to affect the forces’ morale.
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