WHOSE ARMY IS IT ANYWAY

Introduction.

1. The present Indian Army is unique. It started out as an Army raised to serve a foreign master to be used against its own Countrymen. Yet it was never a mercenary Army. The men who came forward to join this Army looked upon fighting or the call to arms as their profession and they fought for their honour. They did not have any other cause to serve. In the following paragraphs I intent introducing the reader to the concepts of a totally Indian Army as this Country needs and deserves. Honour has always been the byword of every person who has joined up to serve under the Colours. The regimental spirit fostered by the British bound the Indian soldier and the British officer in a common emotional bond. This spirit became complementary to the soldier’s code of honour. Even in the changed circumstances of today, the regimental ethos of the combat units of the Indian Army is all important.

2. The Indian Army has always been a volunteer army comprising individuals animated by an attraction for the profession of arms. For centuries men hoped that with time would come progress, and with progress, would come peace. But progress has simply given man the means to make war even more terrifying and horrible. And thus, for the love of war, countries have over the centuries felt the necessity for Armies. War is a brutal game, but a game which is the best, and men love games. Even in today’s cyber world, most games are about war and strategy, and the pleasure boys and men derive from playing these computer games, is truly amazing. But on with our story of the Indian Army. The Indian like his counterpart around the world has the same love of war, adventure, a clean and disciplined way of life ingrained in his psyche. Today the Indian Army has become the largest volunteer army of the World, and for all the reasons quoted above. Churchill referred to the Indian Army of over 2 million strong as “the largest volunteer army known to history”.

3. The Indian Army is the only apolitical Army of the Third World. In the thousands of years of our history there has been only one instance of a military coup. While remaining apolitical, the Indian Army has been greatly influencing political events in the country which have determined the course of our history. The first spark of Nationalism was lit by the Indian Army in 1857.

4. National defence is the reason for having an Army. From the days of our Independence the Indian Army has been defending our long and live frontiers. It has engaged in four wars to defend the country against external aggression. Apart from these wars the Army has been involved in what has now become fashionable to term as “limited wars”. We do not ‘declare’ a formal war but merrily keep at throwing sticks and stones like little boys, at each other. We have had our ‘Kargil’, and the recently concluded inconclusive ‘Operation Parikrama”. Wise men have determined that more often than not a ‘war’ is essentially an excuse to divert national attention away from internal weak or poor governance. Well what ever, the reasons be, the Indian Army has, over the years managed to keep the Country from anarchy and as recently as in the year 2002, acted as a deterrent to external aggression. It is a proud fact of our history that no Indian Government has ever sent its Army abroad for aggression and conquest.

Whose Army is it Anyway?

5. The obvious answer a patriotic Indian would give, is that it’s your Army as much as its mine. But who are the Armed Forces really responsible to? Does the Army owe total unquestionable loyalty to the Government in power, which by extension means the people of India, or does the Army in its apolitical role, owe its loyalty to the Nation, which once again, by extension, means the people of India. This apparent paradox, despite its simplicity has connotations, which must be understood by the reader.

6. All Governments be they democratic, federal, theocratic or dictatorial have one thing in common. They need armies as extensions of their political Will. Armies all over the World have from time to time been guarantors of political systems and have ensured that these systems have stayed in power. In India, the Army is however, purely a means to ensure that foreign aggression is resisted and a guarantee of national integrity. The Indian Army is a people’s army, responsible to defend the integrity of the Nation. But national stability and national defence along with national integration must be collectively ensured and the best means is to use the Army to ensure it. Regrettably there has been a definitive drift away from the chosen path for the Army to ensure this. This has roots in the fact that there has been a sad decline in our ability as a Nation to govern ourselves. The administrative machinery has the police forces as their own extension of the law and order enforcement. The police sadly are not used for the roles they have so efficiently charted out for themselves as is the case in many countries. There has been an erosion of values within the administrative machinery , which has effected the whole nation. There was a time when the Army was comparatively small and the regular officer was above politics and beyond deceit, without exception or qualification. Unfortunately with changing social norms the Army has permitted itself to be coerced and misguided into what is now loosely called National Integration. The need of the hour is therefore to separate the Army and the Police and let these vastly dissimilar forces do what they were originally trained and conceived to do. One cannot use the Army to further the political beliefs of a parochial minded government. We as a Nation need to rise above this malaise. There is a need to further explain the concept of the maintenance of law and order, so very often misunderstood by our esteemed readership.

Law and Order.

7. There are two distinct types of situations in which the civil administration seek the Army’s help -- one, where the use of, or show of, force is necessary, and two, in disaster relief. It would be interesting to note at this juncture that an order was given by Pandit Nehru in 1949 to the then Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Carriappa , to bring the Army closer to the people. The able general went about this in two ways. He started to educate his men and officers on how to deal with civilians of all classes in a Democracy. He also started a series of “Explaining” the Army to the people. He asked the then Government, to lay down the role of the Army, and it was given out as follows :-

PRIMARILY TO DEFEND INDIA AGAINST EXTERNAL AGGRESSION


SECONDLY TO ASSIST THE GOVERNMENT WHEN ASKED TO GIVE SUCH ASSISTANCE,


IN ORDER TO ENABLE IT TO CARRY OUT ITS FUNCTIONS.

8. Incidentally the above is enshrined in the Constitution of India. The Army is called out only when the State Police, the Central Reserve Police(CRPF) and the BSF are unable to cope with a situation. Its success from such missions can be judged from the fact that on many occasions people of effected localities have themselves requested for the Army instead of the other law enforcement agencies. Lack of confidence in the forces at the disposal of the State and, the impartiality of the Army was the reason given in every case. Though this is an indication of the esteem in which the Army is held, it must be remembered that the employment of the Army on such chores too frequently, may lay it open to the same suspicion as the civilian security forces, are nowadays treated with. Many Indians will appreciate that, more often than not, the collapse of the administrative machinery has been the cause of internal disturbances in our country. The Army’s disciplined approach to every situation has been a boon to the Nation in emergencies, such as National calamities. But is ridiculous to expect the Army to rush to the aid of civil authority for every rail accident or industrial calamity that occurs in this Country. So despite the cliche, Whose Army Is It? we the people of India need to wake up to the need for a proper method to deal with our national problems instead expecting the Army to help resolve them from time to time. The Army has ventured forth in many civilian areas including sports and adventure activities of national importance. It has been the active participant in the Antarctic expeditions starting in 1982-83. The Army has been active in peace as in war and therefore we arrive closer to the answer of our original question, Whose Army is It Anyway?.

Army and Politics.

9. The Army- Civil equation has hardly changed since 1971. The Army remained aloof as ever from politics. The success of its counter insurgency operations in various parts of the country has been largely due to this aloofness. The change of Governments at the Centre has not made much difference. Even during the Emergency the Army stayed aloof. It is noteworthy, that, in the proceedings of the Shah Commission, set up by the Janata Government to investigate the ‘atrocities’ of that period, no reference was ever made to the Army. There have been efforts by naive Government representatives to change the colour and complexion of the Army, but to no avail, since an Army has traditional ways ingrained in it. The recent Tehalka exposition or shall we term Inquisition, served only to high light the efforts of naive men in power to denigrate the colour and complexion of the Armed Forces in general. Not that the Army has a holier than thou image. No system is perfect, but when governments forget the rules and roles that have to played by various participants within the overall machinery there are bound to be aberrations.

10. The existence of democratic traditions in the Indian polity since ancient times has also played its part in the healthy development of Democracy. Aloofness from politics however does not mean renunciation of interest in the subject. After all every officer and jawan has a vote, and is expected to cast it intelligently. One must never forget the near disaster that resulted from the then Defence Minister, Krishna Menon’s efforts to politicise the Army.

Conclusion.

11. In concluding I would like to tell the reader about what Field Marshal Wavell said, and he was no prophet. Besides being an unquestionably great soldier who admired the Indian Army, Indian troops fought under him while he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East during the Second World War. He was also the Commander-in-Chief India before he became the Country’s Viceroy. When he relinquished office in 1947, he broadcast a message to the people of India on 21 May 1947 and made special reference to the Indian Army. “I believe”, he said, “ that the stability of the Indian Army may perhaps be the deciding factor in the future of India. It has shown how all communities may work together to meet common danger with comradeship and devotion”. The Indian Army has lived up to Wavell’s forecast. Its stability has been crucial in the history of this Country since the very first day of Independence.

12. Divisive trends, based on religion, language, region and caste have unfortunately been growing. These have not only become a strong force in politics but have also infected the civil services, including the police. In this vicious atmosphere, the Army stands alone as a symbol of unity. It has staunchly maintained its tradition of not mixing caste, religion, language or region, with duty. Alas, this cannot be said of the present Indian Civil Services. Before 1947, the Indian Civil Service was the steel frame on which the British Empire rested. The same should have been the case in Independent India. Yet it is common knowledge that the very organisation designed to govern this Country has lapsed into a state of lethargic neglect and cannot by any stretch of imagination be called a service with a steel frame.

13. Today if any single organisation can claim to be holding the Nation together, it is the Armed Forces, though they do not go proclaiming this from housetops. The security that the man on the street enjoys is largely the Armed Forces gift to the Nation. As we move further into the 21st Century with pride in our hearts on every Republic Day celebration, which in essence honour our Armed Forces, let the public and those who form public opinion, realize that a strong national base, is an important pre-requisite for successful defence. The base consists of the Country’s economic strength, its industrial potential, the sturdiness of its people and last but not least their moral fibre. History has numerous examples of nations defeated due to moral degradation. There are dangerous trends becoming visible nowadays which cannot but damage the moral fibre of our Country, and, which are on the increase. Our Army cannot therefore remain aloof, and therefore the answer to the subject is simply that the Army is my Army, our Army, and our Nation’s Army.




Lt Col Sukhwant Singh
(Retd)
Jan 2003

PS.  I  wrote this after retiring and a lot  in it  relates to today's tirade by all and sundry against  the  Armed Forces.