Why? Rameshwar Why?

THE SYSTEM NEEDS AN OVERHAUL

It does not serve my purpose to make a comparison of the venality in civilians vis a vis officers of the Armed Forces. While the construct of both these separate and native class of people is from the same indigenous environment, their selection, nurturing, training, work ethos, demands of profession and its inherent hazards etc are as distinct and different, as chalk from cheese. “The officer corps is the heart and soul of any military organization and it must be the reservoir of character and integrity, fountainhead of professional competence and the dynamo of leadership”. With this, then, being the fundamental requirement to qualify to become an officer and a de jure leader of men, media expose` on unbecoming acts by officers which stink of a lack of probity and rectitude in their personal and official life respectively is heart rending, to say the least. And, one more such story to spill out in the public domain through the pages of Times of India, New Delhi 28 September 2011 is about the Director General of the Assam Rifles (DGAR), misusing private funds for his wife’s personal expenditure. The story mentions about Lt General Rameshwar Roy spending about Rs 23,000/- from regimental funds for his wife’s clothing, hair dressing ,gifts etc.

Rameshwar and I officially interacted with each other while serving in Army Headquarters, New Delhi in 2002. He was then the Military Assistant (MA) to the Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Training & Coordination) and I was Director Military Training, Section 8. That he grew and rose in the organization within seven years from a Colonel to a Lt General and later as DGAR, is to his credit and demonstrated professional ability. The question which poses itself to me time and again is, how do such senior officers beat the system and get exposed only after having reached their exalted offices. The laundry list of all those who were found guilty of having committed unbecoming acts is replete with the names of those having the honorific of Brigadier, Maj General and Lt General. Of course General (retd) Nirmal Chand Vij and Deepak Kapoor were both an exception, who even brought the institution of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to disrepute by their involvement in and being unsanctioned beneficiaries of the infamous Adarsh Housing Society scam. One can only imagine the hurt and pain which Kipper, Timmy, Sam Bahadur and others would have felt in sharing the Roll of Honor of COAS with these two  Generals, who await the outcome of the departmental inquiry and CBI investigation into the matter.

Notwithstanding the claims of the Military Secretary’s (MS) branch that, our assessment and promotion system is the best which can be thought of, the ground swell of the prevalent culture of sycophancy, spinelessness in the officer corps who negotiate values for success and manage postings, confidential reports and promotions leaves much to be desired. Despite the best intentions of General V K Singh to restore the primordial soldierly values of character driven leadership amongst its officers, the task is quite akin to cutting the Gordian Knot. Extremely difficult to achieve. Because, over the years character has been traded for success, without a thought to the means used for it. The erosion of family, social and professional values in the inclusive National environment, which only pedestalises success, the raw stock of young men and women who make the Army’s officer corps are similarly impacted in their thoughts and deeds. Specialized training and personality development during the formative years, evens out some of these character angularities and builds upon what has been imbibed in the family and schools. Should the stock be wanting in principled upbringing during puberty and adolescence, the likelihood of much being achieved from training alone in character building is rather remote. The train may be moving on the right rails but is going in the wrong direction. So, there is a need to accept our failing in this regard and take unusual steps to correct an unusual situation, wherein our existing SYSTEM is unworthy of sifting the grain from the chaff and precluding the possibility of more and more senior officers abashing the organization.

There is no gainsaying that, leadership in the army is more positional than personal. Therefore, the harm and damage which an unbecoming officer can do to his command is directly proportional to the position he occupies in the military hierarchy. The more senior in rank he is, more is the suffering to those who come within the ambit of his official authority. Moreover, he makes a very poor role model of character driven leadership but yet enjoys a privileged status. The message which reaches out to those aspiring for success in this steep promotional pyramid within the army, is to suck up to such an officer and earn his goodwill. Over time, the entire band of officers is infected and who in their own turn similarly pass on the contagion to others. The likes of Avdesh,  Rameshwar, Deepak, Nirmal, Kaul and others will continue to spring up from time to time and embarrass the army, unless an overhaul is done of the SYSTEM to restore the primacy of character, competence and courage as its keystone.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal,VSM

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National Sports Bodies Must Be Regulated

TREAT THE MALAISE AND NOT THE SYMPTOMS

Hockey our National Game and an Olympics Sport, has mostly remained in the public eye during the last decade for the wrong reasons than the right. The Indian Hockey team’s recent victory in the first ever Asian Championship Cup, is a welcome change from the despondency and many years of frustration, which accosted its fortunes in major international competitions. After having lost the opportunity to host the Champions Trophy in India, this win comes as a shot in the arm for Indian Hockey and augurs well for its chances to qualify for participation in the London Olympic Games 2012.

It is characteristic of the way and manner in which, Sports is treated and Sports persons engaged with by the aficionados who administer and manage it in India that, we were confronted by the ignominious news of the players being handed out a pittance as monetary incentive for this victory. The obvious ensued, and the entire hockey team in a show of solidarity, preserved their self esteem and dignity by refusing the reward. The snub was down played and the situation retrieved, when the Sports Minister declared that in pursuance with the Nation’s Sports Incentive Scheme, the team is entitled to a more respectable award of Rs 1.25 lacs per player. The ever active and visible electronic media literally went into an overdrive to churn out hours of coverage on this controversy and yet again put cricket and cricketers into a headlong comparison with the financial plight of hockey and hockey players. Like before, on many an earlier occasion, the debate and programme which ensued on television thereafter, unnecessarily dragged into public domain the monetary benefits accruing to cricketers as against that, of those who represent and play for the Country in our National Game---Hockey. This exercise is not only meaningless but also divisive. Because, in these times of television advertisement for product endorsement and the corporate money which fuels it, both the sport and our current international standing do not lend itself to generate any substantial earnings from the same. Notwithstanding the fact that, the corporate must show some social responsibility by backing Hockey our National sport and help it to achieve centre stage in the world standing, their business sense and commercial pragmatism does not suggest so. And no best practice business model will do otherwise.

 Ironically, the decline and ascent of Hockey and Cricket in the world stage respectively, was contemporaneous. The emergence of the synthetic playing surface in Hockey, greatly benefited the robust and physical style of playing of the Europeans and Australians and which was in contrast to the Asian ‘skill predominant’ pattern of play. Poor vision and management by the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and Hockey India (HI), which continues to remain, and our intransigence to train for fitness and speed endurance in particular, which underlines power play in Hockey, became our failures, resulting in our decline from a position of world supremacy. On the contrary, India’s win in the Prudential Cricket World Cup 1983, cemented the self belief of Indian Cricketers that they had arrived on the World Stage and are there to stay. Some professional and well thought of astute financial strategy and a futuristic vision of the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI), significantly contributed to the professional development and promotion of the game. And the rest, as they say is history. Playing cricket and participating in cricket related activities became a win win situation for all. The financial possibilities which exponentially emerged from selling TV rights, advertisements, publicity, sponsorship rights, merchandising et al, helped make Cricket and Cricketers popular and iconic, respectively. Hockey had been derailed from its privileged position by Cricket. It therefore should not be anybody’s case to grudge what amount of money a Cricketer makes, lest he is wanting in his commitment to the game.

With the Atlanta Olympic Games, Television turned Sports on its head and most major international events amassed huge profits for its Organizers. The volume of people and  popularity for a Sport in India, make it a huge money spinner with accompanying business overtones. While Cricket profited from the environment and put the money it made to good use, Hockey which was on the decline became worse off owing to Government apathy and wanton mismanagement of its parent body, the IHF. The existing federation ie Hockey India (HI) has been dried up of money to such an extent that, it could only afford Rs 25000/- to each player as reward. Mr Maken came to HI’s rescue and assuaged the hurt feelings of a team and players, who are putting their best foot forward to redeem their place and pride. But, unfortunately this is only a temporary measure, which is unlikely to make any significant contribution in the fortunes of the game in India. The answer probably lies somewhere else and for sure must be discovered by the Sports Ministry, its field adjunct the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the parent body of the sport HI. In this, we should not be unduly optimistic about regaining our past glory, but endeavor and strive to promote, develop,  popularize and sell Hockey. Sporting excellence, a complex mix of genetic endowment and the environment, which includes training needs to be nurtured at an all inclusive level, with a no holds barred attitude replete with passion and love for Sports to the exclusion of all else.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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Bikram or Parnaik?

THE ARMY’S BATTLE OF SUCCESSION

Contingent upon the closure of the ongoing controversy regarding the date of birth of the present Army Chief, and its consequent affect upon the chain of succession within the Army, remains a matter of speculation, at present. The two most likely contenders for the privileged rank of General and the next Chief of the Indian Army, continue to be Lt Gens Bikram Singh and K T Parnaik respectively, subject to whether V K Singh was born on 10 May 1950 or 1951. Depending upon which of these dates is finally accepted to be the official one, as prevalent in our social and legal system, will determine the successor to General V K Singh. Notwithstanding, that there can be many a slip between the cup and the lip, whenever the office of the present Chief is finally demitted by its current incumbent,. However, this is a matter of conjecture only and hopefully, must remain as such and not otherwise.

With the stated position of the government, to be guided by the principle of seniority only, in the matter of promoting and appointing a Service Chief ; Bikram and Parnaik have both made themselves deservingly eligible for the singular honor. There is no professional/personal blemish or else reason for either of them to be overlooked to become the next Chief by the Cabinet Committee for Appointments, as and when they are respectively considered. They are not in competition against each other, because the principle of seniority provides for nomination rather than selection. Unfortunately, the Government’s decision on the matter of General V K Singh’s date of birth being in conflict with the officer’s justifiable perception and interest, has conspiratorially sprung up rumors which are both divisive and detrimental to the Army and Nation’s interests. The Government’s decision on the uncalled for controversy, is now being colored with a political and communal motive. The secular and professional fabric of the Army is being strained by the gossip amongst its officers, who see a design in this entire quibble by the Government to not take a final and decisive position in the matter and instead play politics. With the matter having come out in public, there are growing undertones amongst members of civil society, which specifically includes retired service personnel who are able to mobilize and flesh out an opinion, not necessarily objective and correct but judge mental for sure. Thus, we have a situation wherein Bikram and Parnaik are both being compared and their spoken reputations put to subjective scrutiny, for no fault of theirs. This is not a good situation to have, when the Army is trying to come out of its corruption and scams tainted phase and building up on its once battered reputation, for its own good.

Having subjected the professional standing and spoken reputation of both these officers through a tooth comb scrutiny and forming an opinion about one being better than the  other, it is likely to bring in motivated lobbying to influence decision making by the Government. Not only this, the Government too has its own expediency to attend to and  guided by, which detracts consistency and fair play.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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Lead From the Front

WILL THE CHIEF DISCIPLINE HIMSELF

It was when the present Chief of Army Staff was the General Officer Commanding in Chief of the Eastern Army that, the squabbling about his date of birth was brought into the public domain by the media. This controversy was fuelled with an ulterior motive in the Army Head Quarters (AHQ) by the Military Secretary’s (MS) Branch, then headed by the infamous Lt Gen Avdhesh Prakash, who awaits a court martial for his complicity in the now popularly known ‘Sukhna Scam’. The then Army Chief,  General (retd) Deepak Kapoor was also party to fan the flames of this issue, because of his differences with  General VK Singh on the stand taken by him to proceed against his MS and thus show defiance to the institution of the Chief. General VK Singh stood his ground on what  was premised on principles and legally correct. The round went to him. And, he brought with him into the arched corridors of South Block and his present Office,which he occupied after Deepak Kapoor demitted it, a whiff  of soldierly probity and rectitude.

Soon thereafter, when the ghost of the shameful ‘Adarsh Housing Society Scam’ haunted the high and mighty including three ex chiefs and many other one, two and three star general officers, General VK Singh took centre stage and displayed tremendous moral courage to initiate an inquiry against the alleged officers, which included his immediate predecessor, Deepak Kapoor also. The Army had got its soldier Chief in General V K Singh, who dared to show spine and the courage of his convictions. A popular sentiment, which engulfed the hearts and minds of the military fraternity was indeed that, of  General VK Singh ‘Being the Right Choice’ in the prevailing circumstances of venality in public life and a pervasive military environment. He had come to clean the ‘augean stables’ of the Army and resurrect its pride and prestige in the public perception.

While it is to the credit of the present Chief that, no eye ball catching financial scams have since come out in the public domain, but it will be premature to predict whether this has ushered in a culture of implicit morality in the Army, driven more by character than the fear of being discovered and resultant punitive action. So far so good. However, in the recent past, both the electronic and print media have with  regularity reported on the spat the Chief and the AHQ are embroiled in with the Raksha Mantri and the Ministry of Defence, respectively. With the facts of the contentious matter as written about in newspapers/magazines known to all, the subject has been referred to the appropriate competent authorities and an opinion/ruling obtained there of and accordingly communicated to the aggrieved parties. Given the status and dignity of the institution of the Chief of Army Staff, it seems rather puerile and oafish on the part of both, the individual and the organization to fight and contest the decision/ruling. Without getting into the technicalities of the case, the presence of two dates of birth, one with the records as maintained and held by the Adjutant General’s Branch and the other by the Military Secretary’s Branch, is an anomaly which should have been resolved and settled by the officer himself, long before in his service career. It is my case that, what was the officer doing ever since he was commissioned into the Indian Army and was duty bound to report any discrepancy which had come to his notice. Ignorance in the matter is not an extenuating circumstance to mitigate the officer’s culpability. At this point in time and stage of his distinguished career, it does not behove of the Chief of the Indian Army to exhibit such truculent behavior and get into a stand off with the Ministry of Defence. Conceding to the officer his service privilege and statutory rights of representing against any perceived grievance, his case has been examined in keeping with the facts on the matter and adjudicated upon. Military prudence and discipline must not be repudiated and ignored by General V K Singh, by directing his staff  to fight his case under the technical guise of the AG branch being the legitimate custodian, on matters of personal details of officers. General VK Singh should not get carried away by the opinion of Justice Verma, former Chief Justice of India, on the matter. Who, strongly feels that the corrupt lobby of officers which was smitten by VK Singh’s earlier principled stand against their interests, is behind the move to force him to demit office earlier. Notwithstanding the legality and judicial interpretation in the matter by Justice Verma, the fact remains that he does not enjoy any constitutional status or official authority to arbitrate in the matter. The decision of the Defence Minister and his Ministry is binding and must be respected. In a parliamentary democracy the Army is subordinate to the civilian government and any insinuation of intransigence by non other than the Chief himself, when it concerns his personal  interests is most unbecoming of this institution.

The message which is being given to the 1.13 million strong Army by this obduracy of the Chief, to accept the decision of a superior authority, is most unbecoming of this exalted service institution. It smacks of indiscipline and violates the spirit of  ‘Good Order and Military Discipline’. Should General VK Singh feel so strongly about an injustice being done to him in this whole episode, then his most preferred course of action  should be to offer his resignation to the Government. And after doing that, fight his case on its merit in the courts of the country, in accordance with the law of the land.  Do that and he will only enhance his reputation. Should the Chief  not be guided by wise counsel and instead charge his staff to continue with the engagement and get two bites at the cherry, by speaking to the media on the grave inequity being done in the matter. It will be an unfortunate day in the history of our Glorious Army, which is limping back to redeem its lost pride in the wake of the several scams, which have assailed its reputation in public perception

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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It is a Bikini

THE SURVEY IS DELUSIVE

(TOI New Delhi, September 06)

The media’s penchant for sensationalizing information and making it seem larger than what it actually is, continues to hound institutions.  A sliver of data is padded up to become a full fledged story, making exciting reading for the laity. An ‘Unfit Army’? Survey finds 30% Overweight; is indeed one such story which is very likely to attract the attention of the discerning public and unleash a spate of unwarranted skepticism about its worthiness. While, we do owe a great deal to the print and electronic media in recent times, to investigate acts of institutional and public criminality and mobilize an opinion against wrong; there continues to remain a whole lot of hyperbole in its reporting with the express intent to just catch eyeballs.

In an Army of 1.13 million persons, a sample survey conducted upon 767 ‘healthy personnel’ by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is not considered to be a representative group for the purpose of whatever study they wished to carry out. Of this number, only 130 are officers and the remaining recruits and personnel below officer rank (POBR). From an existing strength of about 10,000 officers (excluding those above 50 years of Age), the sample group comprises a niggardly 0.076 %, which is too miniscule a number to arrive at any worthwhile and revealing statistics, for the purpose of research/study. The numbers included for study from the recruits and PBOR, the aggregate strength of which is exponentially greater than that of officers, will make the sample group even less representative and probably redundant. Therefore, it is my case that the findings regarding the health parameters as stated in the ‘Study Report’ are not a credible reflection upon the state of  the Army’s Fitness.

It is said that “ statistics is like a bikini, which reveals what is interesting but hides what is vital”. Therefore, even if one is to disparage the findings of the above mentioned Study and put it in the ‘trash can’ for entirely different reasons, the need to delve into the prevailing state of the Army’s Fitness cannot be over emphasized. It is an imperative which deserves the due attention of none other than the Army itself, because the cumulative tally of about 300 suicides by Army Personnel in the past three years speaks for itself. And the verdict is ‘Poor’. Fitness implies the ability to withstand the demands and rigors of one’s functional environment and perform efficiently therein. That such a situation obtains, which adversely impacts the fitness of our personnel and impinges upon the health of our personnel, is an apt reminder to the Army Head Quarters to focus upon more important issues than just the controversy involving General VK Singh’s Date of Birth (DOB).

Good health does not presuppose absence of sickness, but instead implies a state of  positive well being encapsulating physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social features of an individual’s personality. The medical touchstone of blood pressure, cholesterol and lipid profile are indicative of the state of health and presence/absence from organic disease and is a definitive measure of physical well being. But, the physiological parameters are best determined and established by the body’s ability to withstand the demands of exercise and physical activity.  Therefore, a ‘healthy person may not be fit’ and a ‘fit person not healthy’.  The, essence of developing and maintaining a healthy and fit profile is an inclusive endeavor of a balanced diet, exercise, moderation in habits and value based living. The Army will be well advised to consider this suggestion and instead not yield ground to the scientists of the Defence Institute of Physiology and Applied Sciences (DIPAS) and ICMR, who for want of doing something better, continue to flog the dead horse of ‘Sample Surveys’ upon Army personnel and espouse delusive details which are not only misleading but also inconclusive.

It is time that the Directorate General of Military Training  in Army HQ reflect upon the ground swell which has emerged in the past and even now, and examine at length the reasons for this poor perception about the Army’s Fitness. The Army should not yield its turf to any other organization and task its own integral resources to analyze, evaluate and establish its functional doctrine, which sustains and promotes Fitness. It is too serious a business to be left only to the scientists/doctors/ generals/trainers, but instead requires a collective application of mind to overcome the adverse reputation, of being perceived as  ‘UNFIT’ .

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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Why? Sports is Languishing In India

MAKEN’S DILEMMA

Now, that we have a Sports Minister, who has shown the required acumen to draft a Bill for the good of sports and games in the country---the political lobby which administers and manages the several sports associations in India, has risen up in arms against any such move to rein in Sports Bodies. Regulation or else restraining the autonomy of these National Sports Federations (NSFs), which have literally become the fiefdoms of the powerful and the rich, has devastated Indian sports, to the chagrin of the people. It is the case of  the NSFs that, the charter of the International Olympics Committee (IOC) does not allow or permit any government regulation/ interference in their internal management. Therefore, the government which represents the people of the country does not have a mandate to exercise any supervision/regulation over these NSFs, irrespective of their performance and continuous inability to lift and improve the standard of sports in the country.

We had a situation in the recent past, wherein the highest forum of the country’s representative democracy was literally brought to its knees, by the people. This because, the people, who are supreme in any permutation and combination of democratic arithmetic prevailed. It becomes rather difficult to understand and digest the stand of these NSFs on the issue of either regulation or autonomy, only because it is loaded with chicanery and is bereft of any worth. When it is everyone’s case that the bottom line for tenanting any office of authority must be premised on accountability and delivery, the constant ranting and raving of the office bearers of the NSFs  in the backdrop of the IOC’s Charter, is nothing but a charade. It genuinely surprises me that the Government has been duped  by this ruse played upon it, by a clutch of politicians who benefit from the authority and privilege which accompanies the office of Sports Bodies.

Should the Government not be guided by its sense of equity and responsibility to the Nation, in the matter of reining in the NSFs and bringing about  a closure to this entire matter. The loudest and biggest votary of autonomy for the NSFs---Suresh Kalmadi, is the Frankenstein who has created this cacophony amongst the Sports Bodies, who continue to threaten the death of Indian Sports, should there be any move to regulate their functioning and management. Mani Shankar Aiyyar too had sometime back, articulated a Draft Sports Policy with the same objective of demanding accountability from the Office Bearers of the NSFs, but he demitted his office soon thereafter and brought glee into Kalmadi’s face. There is an inextricable political link in the ceaseless efforts of the Sports Bodies to resist regulation and any suggestion of treading upon their autonomy. The Country has been witness to the massive blunder created in the organization of the Common Wealth Games 2010, by leaving almost everything to Kalmadi and which resulted in unprecedented corruption. As there was no visible political will shown to fight corruption in public life, till Anna arm twisted the Government to show a resolve in the Parliament; similarly there appears to be no political will in the matter of regulating the Sports Bodies.

It begs of the Government of India to show some political sagacity and dare the hollow claims of  the IOA/NSFs, of facing an International boycott from participation in all IOC  sponsored sporting events, by going ahead with what is considered best for the promotion, development and management of sports in India. This includes regulation and reining in of their functional autonomy. However, it is imperative that those who step into the vacuum so created in the IOA/NSFs are professionals who understand sports and are driven by genuine love of sports than all else.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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