Civil-Military Relations-India
Published in B&E
Down down babudom!
Improved civil-military ties is a must for a nuclear nation
Management & governance are the buzz words in a globalised world. It is not just the corporates who are spending sleepless nights to re-model their structures – the sloth-ridden government is also getting into action to catch up with market forces. The example of this trend is provided by the recently released Group of Ministers (GoM) report dealing with Defence Management. In April 2000, the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaee had tasked the GoM to do a thorough review of the national security. The GoM under the stewardship of L. K. Advani (then Minister of Home Affairs) had constituted four different task forces for the purpose of studying the intelligence apparatus, internal security, border management & the management of defence. The Defence Management task force under former Minister of State for Defence Arun Singh was delegated to look into the India’s Higher Defence Control Organisation (HDCO) and suggest ‘out-of the box ideas’ to integrate the three Service HQs with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) & also deal with matters as important as Procurement Organisation & Procedures; Planning & Budgeting; Defence Production; Defence Research & Development; Personnel Matters & National Defence University. Despite some good recommendations to establish synergy between the MoD & the armed forces, “the hand of babudom is clearly visible in the report. In fact it has a touch of humour. It is proposed that the Defence Secretary & the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) should be treated at par, irrespective of the warrant of precedence, and each should attend meetings called by the other. Similarly, it recommends that civilians in the MoD should be provided certain facilities available to the Armed Forces, like membership of clubs, medical facilities et al, so that they develop a sense of ‘belonging’ to the defence establishments and vice versa. So you will soon find the Army Golf Course and the clubs full of the babus of MoD and their families. That will certainly promote belonging, because after some time, these institutions will belong to them, not us,” Maj. General (Retd.) V. K. Singh sarcastically put across his point to B&E.
There is a historical background to the existing tensions in the civil-military relations. Ever since Independence, one of the major cribs of the defence forces has been their declining status in the national security management structures. During the British period when the Commander-in-Chief (a single head of all the three services was also the Defence Member of the Governor General’s Council), his was the last word. When on August 15, 1947, the C-in-C post was abolished, the job of coordinating & integrating the three services went into MoD’s lap. The Armed Forces, which had occupied a higher position in the government’s protocol list under the British dispensation, have perceived their power and position being severely compromised. Immediately after throwing away the yoke of British rule, the Indian political leadership wanted to consolidate democracy & was surely vary of the army, which had been brought up under the tutelage of British Imperial Defence. However, as the Indian democracy matured, the political trust in the Armed Forces also increased. Although, the army was unable to prove its mettle in 1962 war with China, the event was watershed in the nation’s history, because it made the Armed Forces a part & parcel of the nation-state. Subsequent wars proved the professionalism of the defence forces & their willingness to strengthen the democratic polity. However, despite these efforts the defence forces were kept out of the higher decision making loop. The blame for this state of affairs is shared equally by the bureaucracy & the political class.One cannot dispute the need to solve the civil-military conundrum. Any attempt by the civilian authorities to usurp the perks enjoyed by the forces will only lead to aggravating the problem. The civilians directly involved in defence affairs need to be made more aware of the environment and the conditions under which the forces operate. It is only by creating a more congenial relations that the democracy will be strengthened.
B&E
Management & governance are the buzz words in a globalised world. It is not just the corporates who are spending sleepless nights to re-model their structures – the sloth-ridden government is also getting into action to catch up with market forces. The example of this trend is provided by the recently released Group of Ministers (GoM) report dealing with Defence Management. In April 2000, the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaee had tasked the GoM to do a thorough review of the national security. The GoM under the stewardship of L. K. Advani (then Minister of Home Affairs) had constituted four different task forces for the purpose of studying the intelligence apparatus, internal security, border management & the management of defence. The Defence Management task force under former Minister of State for Defence Arun Singh was delegated to look into the India’s Higher Defence Control Organisation (HDCO) and suggest ‘out-of the box ideas’ to integrate the three Service HQs with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) & also deal with matters as important as Procurement Organisation & Procedures; Planning & Budgeting; Defence Production; Defence Research & Development; Personnel Matters & National Defence University. Despite some good recommendations to establish synergy between the MoD & the armed forces, “the hand of babudom is clearly visible in the report. In fact it has a touch of humour. It is proposed that the Defence Secretary & the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) should be treated at par, irrespective of the warrant of precedence, and each should attend meetings called by the other. Similarly, it recommends that civilians in the MoD should be provided certain facilities available to the Armed Forces, like membership of clubs, medical facilities et al, so that they develop a sense of ‘belonging’ to the defence establishments and vice versa. So you will soon find the Army Golf Course and the clubs full of the babus of MoD and their families. That will certainly promote belonging, because after some time, these institutions will belong to them, not us,” Maj. General (Retd.) V. K. Singh sarcastically put across his point to B&E.
There is a historical background to the existing tensions in the civil-military relations. Ever since Independence, one of the major cribs of the defence forces has been their declining status in the national security management structures. During the British period when the Commander-in-Chief (a single head of all the three services was also the Defence Member of the Governor General’s Council), his was the last word. When on August 15, 1947, the C-in-C post was abolished, the job of coordinating & integrating the three services went into MoD’s lap. The Armed Forces, which had occupied a higher position in the government’s protocol list under the British dispensation, have perceived their power and position being severely compromised. Immediately after throwing away the yoke of British rule, the Indian political leadership wanted to consolidate democracy & was surely vary of the army, which had been brought up under the tutelage of British Imperial Defence. However, as the Indian democracy matured, the political trust in the Armed Forces also increased. Although, the army was unable to prove its mettle in 1962 war with China, the event was watershed in the nation’s history, because it made the Armed Forces a part & parcel of the nation-state. Subsequent wars proved the professionalism of the defence forces & their willingness to strengthen the democratic polity. However, despite these efforts the defence forces were kept out of the higher decision making loop. The blame for this state of affairs is shared equally by the bureaucracy & the political class.One cannot dispute the need to solve the civil-military conundrum. Any attempt by the civilian authorities to usurp the perks enjoyed by the forces will only lead to aggravating the problem. The civilians directly involved in defence affairs need to be made more aware of the environment and the conditions under which the forces operate. It is only by creating a more congenial relations that the democracy will be strengthened.
B&E
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