Fwd: military Coup in India
ss sohi
From: harwant singh <gen_h...@hotmail.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 5, 2012 at 11:19 PM
Subject: military Coup in India
To: Anil Dere <apde...@yahoo.co.in>
It has some relevance for those who continue to hold out to the political class the fear of a military coup and for the latter to grasp the reality of Indian setting.
With best wishes. Harwant.
A Military Coup in India
‘Acting against the will of the nation: there will be nine in ten against you.’ Presbyterian cleric.
Lt-Gen Harwant Singh ( Retd )
Some time ago a national newspaper, of considerable repute, raised on its front pages, the spectre of a military coup. It informed us that the move of two units, one from the parachute brigade at Agra and another, a mechanised infantry unit from Hissar, towards the national capital region ( NCR ) sent alarm bells ringing at Raisina Hill: more so in the ministries of Defence and Home Affairs. This happened to coincide with the day on which the army chief had approached the Supreme Court, in his age row case. The paper noted that the army had moved these units without observing the protocol (alleged to be operative since 1984 ) of obtaining prior approval of the MoD. Further we were told that this move was picked up by ‘spotters’ deployed around Delhi. The defence secretary, who was away to Malaysia on an official tour, was told to rush back to Delhi. At midnight he called the Director Military Operations to his office and queried him on the move of these units and why no prior permission was taken! The PM too was awakened in the early hours and informed of this development. These two units were ordered back to their respective locations. That is how the story was put out and since then no one categorically denied the details.
When the parachute brigade from Agra was dispatched to the Maldives, there was some delay in its move. The brigade commander barely managed to retain his job. During Operation Parakram, consequent to terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament, there too was delay in mobilization of troops, though for reasons outside military’s control. Since then greater stress is being laid on speedy mobilization. Consequently, this brigade and many other units periodically mobilize under varying conditions etc as a routine activity. In this particular instance, mobilisation was being practiced under foggy conditions which otherwise considerably slows down movement of convoys. It is alleged that the IAF was not informed. This IAF angle was added to enhance the secrecy component in the alleged coup attempt. Since the parachute unit was not to go into Indian Air Force’s airfield and embark in the C-130 planes etc, need to inform the IAF was not necessary. But this IAF bit did add to the gist. Together these two groups comprised just over thousand men.
In Delhi cantonment are stationed nearly thirty thousand troops and an equally large number come to Delhi during the Army Day and Republic Day parades. There was no reason to get paranoid on discovering move of additional thousand odd troops towards Delhi, but it does bring out the deep seated suspicion of the military, purposefully injected into the political class by the intelligence- bureaucratic combine. The news paper informed us that intelligence agencies are required to provide periodic inputs on such, otherwise, inconsequential military movements!
The fact that, members of Parliament summoned the Defence Secretary and the Vice Chief of the Army Staff to explain the movement of these troops towards the capital, does point to the authenticity of the story on one part and on the other the existence of a deep seated suspicion bordering on paranoia in the political class. Interrogation of these two worthies failed to allay fears of the members and atleast two from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence demanded that the Army Chief be summoned before the panel. Such is the extent of the politico-bureaucratic mistrust of the military.
While the Defence Minister, denied the report that the movement of army personnel towards the capital on the intervening night of 16-17 January 2012 was a breach of protocol, the Prime Minister observed that this report is alarmist and should not be taken at face value. The Chief of the Army Staff has termed the report as absurd. Yet none of them have specifically denied the occurrence of the episode and consequent reactions at various places.
Ajit Doval, former Intelligence Bureau director, states that the agency is mandated to counter coups and that, ‘there are government instructions regarding spotting of troop movements near Delhi.’ The newspaper also informed us that ‘lookouts,’ were activated, columns identified and were being tracked, and contingency plans to delay such a move were put in place.
The larger issue is the deep seated suspicion that persists from the days of the first Prime Minister of India that the Indian Army could and may stage a military coup and to that end contingency plans have been worked out. Why else should there be a protocol for the military to inform the ministry of defence of routine movement of troops towards the National Capital Region, systems of instituting checks to keep an eye on key formations and their commanders, particularly those in the Southwestern region, posting of ‘lookouts’ and plans to delay the columns by erecting barricades.
In the event of an actual coup, these so called delaying methods by putting up barricades etc would be like throwing a banana peel to stop a road roller. Equally, the Defence Secretary (and some others,) instead of calling the Director Military Operations to his office at mid-night, rather be seeking a place to hide!
Fortunately the Indian military is completely apolitical with no ambitions, other than to do its duty by the Constitution and the country: in the best traditions of soldiering. Therefore, any one who harbours the fear of a military takeover in India needs early psychiatric help and a thorough check-up by a neurosurgeon. However, keeping alive this fear and constantly sowing the seeds of suspicion in the minds of the political class, against the military, suits the bureaucracy and is one way to stifle the military. Such baseless stories do create suspicion and disaffection in the public mind against the army, which at another plane creates different set of dangers. It is this fear instilled into the political mind that forms the basis on which bureaucracy argues against having the Chief of Defence Staff and amalgamation of army HQ with the MoD
The unflinching loyalty of the military apart, no military coup is possible in a country of India’s size, complexity and diversity, where there would be no public support for such an act. That makes the Presbyterian cleric’s saying so much more relevant in India’s case. It could be argued that the public at large is fed up with the all pervasive and soul destroying corruption along with uncaring and inefficient government functioning. To this could be added the socio-economic churning amongst the ever multiplying population and rising expectations and a revolution may be in the making, of which the military could take advantage. But public at large has not reached that stage where it is totally disenchanted with political class and the system. It seems to be comfortable with corruption and even crime, else so many corrupt and others with criminal record would not find place in the state legislatives and the Parliament.
Indian military is
patriotic and is inexorably loyal to the Indian Constitution. So harbouring any
suspicion of its loyalty and intentions is completely unjustified and is
reflective of a biased and mischievous mind. A country aspiring to be a great
economic and military power and desire to exert influence not only in the
region but in all international forums, draw large investments from abroad, can
not portray itself as living under the constant fear of a military coup. India is no
banana republic where a military coup can manifest itself any time.
Politico-bureaucratic mind needs to disabuse itself of the fear of a military
coup and instead focus on strengthening the national security set-up.
It does raise a pertinent issue and that is, whether the Indian bureaucracy is so naive as to genuinely believe that Indian army, as it is composed and given its unblemished record, would ever attempt a coup or its merely a ploy to create that fear and suspicion in the political class. In order to retain his clout and indispensability a ‘Babu’ can go to any length and in any case, over the years military has allowed itself to become a soft target for him.
While we need not ‘shoot the messenger’ (newspaper) it was inappropriate to give such wide coverage to news of a coup that never was. It would be pertinent to recall that when, soon after the 6th CPC, the service chiefs had instructed units to pend action on some government instruction, till certain related issues, taken up with government, were adequately resolved, this paper had put out a vituperative and damning article against the service chiefs and demanded their immediate sacking. Now this story, covering the entire front page of the newspaper, does sow seeds of suspicion in the public mind against the military and bares the paper’s hidden agenda. Finally, why this façade of, ‘salute the soldier,’ by this newspaper, when there exists such deep seated prejudice against the military and army’s image periodically tarnished by it.