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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