Hindustan Times
Should VK Singh be dismissed?
A lot has been written about the age controversy of General VK Singh, the Chief of Army Staff. In fact I was the first one who raised the issue obliquely when I wrote about the Sukhna scam more than two years ago and how it could have been related to General Singh’s birth matter. In fact many still believe that Lt. General Avadesh Prakash, the then Military Secretary who was later stripped of his rank through a Court Martial was in the eye of the storm since he was very close to the then Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor and refused to change the date of birth of General Singh.
Avadesh Prakash is also perhaps seeking judicial intervention to get his name cleared but things would not have reached this stage had General Kapoor shown some spunk. It seems Kapoor was a weak person and did not stand his ground when he should have. In any case if sources are to be believed the Army failed to find any wrong doing in the Sukhna land scam and if Prakash has been stripped of his rank it is on some other flimsy ground such as misuse of official vehicle while on a personal tour in Jaipur and for calling on Gaj Singh, the erstwhile Maharaja of Jodhpur during one of his visits to the city etc. But these are things, which the defence ministry and the Army have to see.
What has totally astonished me is the Army Chief’s decision to go to Court to sort out his age issue as it involved his honour. There can be no greater honour than leading the Indian Army and by going to the Court he has let down his men and those who believe in the discipline and protocol of the Armed Forces. I come from a family where at one single time there were six of my uncles who were serving Generals with different star rankings including one who was elevated to the position of the Vice Chief of Army Staff. My grandfather was a doctor in the Army. All of them were very proud to be part of the armed forces. They always underscored the importance of discipline and could never endorse insubordination of any kind. It was in this atmosphere that Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous poem, “Charge of the Light Brigade” in a way became the essence of how the Armies functioned for me.
I have very high personal respect for General Singh but I do not agree with his decision of going to the Court. He has reached the top most rank and he should not have taken recourse to a legal option. No one believes that he is a liar but if the government of the day has taken a decision which is adverse to him, he should accept it and fade away after his tenure is over.
His action has set a wrong precedent and will have a negative impact on the discipline of our armed forces. He should realize his folly and take back his case. The timing of his petition has also caught the government on the wrong foot. The Republic Day celebrations where the Army has a huge role are round the corner. In addition, the elections in Punjab and Uttarkhand where a large number of ex-servicemen constitute the electorate has also put the government in a fix. Captain Amarinder Singh, the Punjab PCC president and Major General Khanduri, the Uttrakhand chief minister belong to different political parties but have endorsed Singh’s fight for justice’.
I know many may not agree with me but I think the General this time has violated the most important code for a soldier that is questioning the decision of his superior authority. Had he filed his petition after resigning or on completion of his tenure, one could have understood. But as a serving Army Chief, he had no business to do so. The government should in larger interest sack him and appoint someone else in his place. There can be no tolerance for insubordination.
(67 votes, average: 2.55 out of 5)
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Pankaj Ji,
Coming from a military family you have some personal experience of what officers used to be. as a retired army officer, I am saddened to see what this VK Singh is doing to the image of officers in the Army.
Either he lied as a 14 year old, when he falsified his age so that he could get recruited into NDA at an age when he was legally ineligible, or he is lying now, when he wants to extend his tenure as Chief. Either way, he is a liar. And by dragging this controversy on, he is exposing himself as a lying, scheming manipulator to the public and to the ranks he is supposed to command.
he has already lost the respect of everyone who can clearly see that he is a scheming, liar to who the only important consideration is to extend his command and cling on to sarkari gaadi, bangla for another year.
Wither grace, dignity and decorum? Wither integrity, honor and discipline?
He needs to dismissed at once, by the President.
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General has right to go to court.Is this Govt sleeping all these years or may be govt have some weird plan to recruit their people at the top post.All pseudo journalists came out and start favoring govt.Man need good journalism in India although these politicians and journalists make this country a filth and hell and people will go in civil war and pseudo journalists and leaders would be the first who will go to other countries like musharraf and other pakistani leaders.shame on you.Jai hind
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SK Reply:
January 19th, 2012 at 4:56 am
Sanju bhai, Govt was not sleeping all these days. It got written at least two written commitments from the (now not so) honorable VK Singh before he got the last two promotions. He decided to strike when it is convenient. I hope he showed the same knack when dealing with **** terrorists!
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If going to court is insubordination then many people would be out of service. I think the general has a genuine grievance which must be addressed rather than taking extreme positions.
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Our national motto is Satyameva Jayate. The good general was born in either 1950 or 1951. The government ought to have examined threadbare not the question of whether the rule of getting the date of birth was followed or flouted but the actual date on which he was born. If indeed the later date is correct, General V. K. Singh is entitled both to his honour and ten months more at the head of the finest army in the world. That would be true spunk all around. As for the suggestion that he be dismissed for exercising a right that the Constitution confers upon the poorest, humblest Indian citizen, often by writing a simple post card, this is absurd. Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat was wrongly dismissed, let that be the last time in our history that this punishment gets meted out to a serving chief.
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” getting the date of birth corrected… “
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I am taking the liberty of copying and pasting my comment on this subject on another blog on this website.
” Now that the Government has made up its mind to escalate the dispute with General Saab rather than de-escalate it and settle it discreetly, and more muck is expected to be thrown up and an offensive has been launched in the media to discredit Gen Singh . One of the prime arguments is that he should have resigned first rather than defy civilian Executive authority ( i.e the government ) and amounts to contravention of military discipline.
Well how would the proponents of this argument respond to the recent revelations about the 1971 war , when Gen Sam Manekshaw refused to attack and go to war with Pakistan in defiance of PM Indira Gandhi and the CCS. Gen Manekshaw flatly told PM Indira Gandhi that he shall go to war only after the monsoon was over and when he can prepare the army for the the war. He did not listen even to then Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram who tried persuading him.
Here the issue pertains to the Date of Birth on the Chief , a personal detail, and has nothing to do with his obligations and duties as the Chief of the Indian Army. ”
Some have proposed that he should have resigned before going to Court. I think that would have rendered his petition infructuous as he would no longer be in Service.
To even remotely suggest that Gen V K Singh may be dsmissed for approaching the Court , is being more callous and insensitive than the Government , apart from being unsustainable in law.
Gen V K Sigh is fighting against a Government accused of not only finacial scams of gigantic proportion but also challenging and compromising Constitutional Authorities like the CVC and the CAG. We wish him good luck.
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A soldier has no brain, tha is why he remains a sub-ordinate. A General is one who has a mind of his own and who has to think out ways out of trouble. With the reputation that all of our political masters have gained, I would definitely back-up the General in his fight. When the General is saying that he is of 1951, how dare the defense minster refuses to accept it? If the Defense Minstry cannot even trust its own top-most army man in the matter of his date of birth, how can the same ministry, the minister, nay the whole govt and all the 130 crore repose trust in the ability of this general? Would he be able to defend the country when attacked? would he able to make the correct recomendations in the matter of purchasing high-tech and very expensive military equipment. Like the US airplanes or the European make? Shame on the defense minstry for refusing to believe in its own topmost army man.
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