Group Captain AG Bewoor (Retd)
They do it irrespective of the political party that forms the government and have been doing so since 1947. The hesitation and fear of being accused of being politicised stopped officers from discussing pertinent matters with their troops before and after Blue Star causing terrible, avoidable damage in our Army. We must not make that mistake ever again. The onslaught of many times false, misleading, fearsome information that is bombarded across the media and received by our Officers and ORs has a deleterious impact on them and their families. Such deceptive data saturates the wives, children and parents of soldiers, sailors, and airmen of our Armed Forces, which in turn has a ripple effect on the serving combatants.
If this reality is not addressed by senior officers, it will adversely affect the fighting potential of the Indian Armed Forces, and to let that happen is gross sacrilege and failure of command. Preventing such an outcome is not being political, but is the protection of our Armed Forces, the one precious entity in India that remains our last bastion of security and integrity of India. The routine netas we have elected in the last 75 years are generally a lawyer, union leaders, activists, land owners, rich businessmen, and that unique entity called the entitled inheritor of political fiefdom.
Most have never worked in an environment where merit, hard work, coordination, accepting orders and obeying them are the norm. Their experience of rising within an organisation with selfless dedication and being worthy of promotion is extremely unlikely, given their predilection to demand advancement on filial connections. On the other hand, fauji officers or Other Ranks (OR), are impregnated with a pure merit-based value system because that is the only method to operate a military unit. The exchange of views through this article is not to worry about the Armed Forces being politicised but to militarise the political culture of India. We thus must examine why these faujis would make that critical difference to the quality of netagiri.
The most potent argument in favour of creating a Soldier–Politician (SP) is that such fellows are uniquely poised to defeat the biggest troubles, ills and difficulties facing our nation. Issues like the growing gap between the ever-so-rich and the wretched permanent poor, and the social divisions between the Entitled Elite and the growing Middle Class. It is the fauji officers and ORs who have learnt the nuances of disregarding the cultural gap that sadly flourishes between elites and commoners. That disregard for where you were born, nurtured, ate, drank, clothed, and married is deep-rooted and ingrained in faujis. You work diligently and do battle along with me, take care of me and let me take care of you, is unique in the Fauj. Be honest and true of purpose for the paltan/ship /squadron/unit/regiment/the Service, then you and I are one.
Such a philosophy will permeate politics when faujis with this work culture enter the political arena; and infect those purveyors of inherited and money power, who today rule our legislatures with little care for the nation or its population. The existing chasms between Delhi and State capitals, between Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, between big metros and provincial cities, between the rural and urban millions, between the local and migrant workers, between corporate conglomerates and small industries, between the Haves and the Have Nots, could best be bridged by the SP. Why? Because and it must be recognised that, the soldier, airman, sailor have tasted and seen the world in the sharpest possible way.
Those, many times harsh and painful emotions, sensations, and dangers both physical and emotional leave an indelible mark on his behaviour and method of analysing a situation in its entirety; and swiftly weighing all factors against and for him and his group. He never ever thinks only for himself. This one attribute makes the SP, a trusted leader who shows the way and walks in front. This is what is meant by the words militarisation of Indian polity.
The SP is the best hope for applying balm on the terrible mistrust that simmers between the ruling party, whichever it is, and all others. While the SP would belong to one political system, he is aware that carrying others with him is the only way to make good things happen. Witness the recurring standoff in Lok Sabha. Would it not have been resolved had there been enough SP on both sides? Readers will wonder whether having SP inside parliament will help. What the doubters have ignored is that the Indian polity has never seriously tried to recruit faujis into their fold, doubting their capability and skills to deliver and ridiculing the faujis ability to operate in a non-disciplined environment. What foolish incertitude and ignoring factuality.
Both Attlee and Macmillan had served in the 1914-18 war with its horrors, deaths, gore, mutilations, fears, failures, victories, camaraderie, disenchantments, sadness, anger, belligerence, melancholy, depression and had seen the devastating effect on British families. Callaghan and Heath served in WW II, with its new technology to kill even more skilfully from far away. There are many more such SPs. None of our current or erstwhile netas have had such exposure. They have no idea at all as to what happens when you see your buddy suddenly turn into a fragmented lifeless body and how it triggers a release of enzymes and hormones that forever alter the way you look at others and how to deal with them.
Faujis who made it in politics
Faujis who made it in politicsDesi netas seldom experience such a phenomenon while serving India. That she could very well have been the one who got fragmented evades her intellect. Such hormones and enzymes never enter a netas bloodstream to cultivate and build character for setting personal examples of unblemished conduct and courageous leadership. For them, self-preservation and disregard for others are the routine standard. So the question is, can the SP bring about a change in Indian polity?
The answer is an emphatic yes. We all have been through the infamous answer from the office of any private or public organisation that, the person who you seek is ‘not in the seat’. This is not how any system should function; the Next ManTakes Over attitude is unique to the military, with a chain of command explicitly defined, ensuring that a decision-maker is always available. There cannot be any recusing from giving a decision, so common with the judiciary. Such responses are not desired solutions, and politics demands the creation of a problem-solving environment and ensuring decision-making is never interrupted.
Who but faujis can demonstrate this trait and infect all netas, like a contagious virus, for the well-being of India? The example of General VK Singh as a minister, being present on site for the Yemen evacuation is a case in point. Would any of our entitled netas have gone to Yemen? The Armed Forces veteran has experienced the world in the acutest and most incisive possible way and would add significantly to the values that netas must display. Faujis are temperamentally suspicious of political dogma, and observing the behaviour of netas since independence, the fauji’s reticence to join an ill-disciplined political crowd is understandable.
The scenes in any State recently are a glaring illustration of uncontrolled farcical protests with no one in charge. The fauji knows that eventually, his discipline will get slightly dented by politics, but for India and Indian politics; having slightly dented but highly disciplined netas is the only itinerary to bring sanity, correction, control, self-respect, and pride in the polity. Indian polity is badly tarnished and needs refurbishing and polishing. An infusion of disciplined military and police personnel can achieve this aim. Our political leadership must encourage this idea.
What we wish to see is not the politicisation of the Armed Forces from within but from without. The Indian political ocean needs to be injected with fauji blood that spreads uncontaminated patriotism born out of recurring exposure to the risks of violent combat and where getting killed is not unusual. This is not the patriotism of rhetoric, flag hoisting and condemning opposition. Our military man/woman is possibly the only class of leadership in India who have lived cheek by jowl, day in and day out, in severe climates and in very close proximity with each other. The remarkable dimension of this leadership is that they amalgamate and blend without an imperious blanket of class, caste, religion, faith, creed, colour, language and family.
The religion of the officer is always the religion of the men he leads. The Fauji eats, sleeps, plays, and trains with his compatriots yet never once questions the antecedents of any man or woman. The thought of One Nation, One People, Collective Victory is deep-rooted and well-established in the fauji; sadly, it is unseen in today’s professional netas. The faujis have valuable governance skills, which are rare to find in Indians from other professions. The SP’s dharma is, Be OK, whatever the outcome. The Indian military leadership adheres to the dictum that the duty of the shepherd is to Shear his sheep, not to Skin them.
The fauji needs to be politicised to join the governance of India, and his entering politics will be priceless, and over a period of time, a cleansing of the polity will happen; let us not be sceptical and shy away from fear. The false bogey, scurrilously repeated by inspired authors with predisposed agendas, that Indian Armed Forces are being politicised and it is gravely dangerous for the nation needs to be thrown out of the window. A few imperfect deceitful military officers, who prefer to take underhand channels for personal gain, pose no threat to our country.
The resilience of our countrymen, the robustness of our institutions, and the uncontaminated loyalty of our Armed Forces guarantee that such scoundrels cause little damage. The current incumbents in our military hierarchy are working hard to rebuild the Armed Forces’ weaponry, technology, manpower, and satisfaction levels to fulfil their aspirations. They have little time for skulduggery. To then cast aspersions on their integrity by shooting off randomly accusatory arrows; hoping some will hit unsuspecting senior military officers and prove that India’s military is being politicised, is unacceptable, scandalous and disgraceful. But when veterans resort to this type of accusative prose, then most definitely, one must doubt that veteran’s intelligence for questioning the loyalty and moral soundness of the serving officer. Indians must become aware that their Armed Forces Prefer to Be Trusted, Rather Than Celebrated; they Prefer a Strong India rather Than a Loud India.
Our armed forces, and especially the Indian Army, have been entrusted with so much responsibility, and at the same time, it is being distrusted so much? It is time to expose those who resort to this vilification without any proof and cause, and exposing in full public light the inflated egos of the imputers of this canard. But as has been abundantly demonstrated; our informed and proud citizenry knows that the Armed Forces will never fail them, nor will they permit the erosion of the Safety, Honour and Welfare of Indians and India.
About The Author
Gp Capt AG Bewoor was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in 1965 into the transport stream. He was one of the pioneer members to induct the IL-76 into the IAF. He flew the first IL-76 into Male during the abortive coup in Maldives in 1988. This, along with the other operations, earned him the Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) in 1990. He took premature retirement in 1993 while serving as the COO of 3 Wing at AFS Palam. He is the son of former Army Chief, Gen GG Bewoor, and lives in Pune. He regularly contributes to military journals and magazines. He can be reached on Email: bewoor45@gmail.com
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