If ever there has been a dog’s breakfast made of what is really a non-issue it is the brouhaha over the present army chief’s age and the pathetically transparent display of jockeying for position within the senior ranks. This exercise is evidently manipulated by the parochial interests of politicians and their bureaucratic stooges who now control military promotions at the top level. 

If General VK Singh has earned sympathy it is in the ranks of the armed forces who are appalled by this display of hypocritical piety by the government.
 
Someone should remind the defence minister of precedents that have existed on this issue.

Read the story so far:

Mark Antony’s steps as general writhes in labyrinth

Also read: Cong appears unhappy with Amarinder's letter on army chief

In the first instance an army commander, Lt General ‘Butch’ Garewal reportedly got his date of birth changed for reasons no one knew and thereby continued for an extra year.

Check it out.

In an even more bizarre case, it is alleged that Lt General Jaswant Singh of the Punjab regiment submitted that the village recorder had messed up the date of birth when he was born and, therefore, it should be changed by a clutch of years. This was ostensibly permitted and from being the older brother, the General became the younger brother of his till then younger brother who was also serving in the army at the same time. The story was a great favourite over elbow bending at the bar in the messes of the army and is part of the lore.

But precedents aside, the sermons and soda water pouring forth from the defence ministry are more dangerous because they sap the morale of the soldiers who guard our borders. In short, if the four-star General is a liar then by inference so is the million plus army he commands. If he fudges his record then you indict the military hierarchy. No wonder he is quoted as saying he is being treated like he was the Pak army chief.

In a nation where civilian equivalents are constantly seeking extensions and receiving them as officers on special duty one is hard placed to understand why this issue is so contentious.

Morale in a military context is not a passing fancy. It is integral to performance and it is tangible. 

It is a sobering thought that neither India nor Pakistan, as its obvious adversary, are veterans of combat. There is no soldier or officer on either side who has been exposed to battle conditions, these are both peacetime armies. By that very token if the manpower is untried, so, too, is the weaponry. How efficiently will it actually work in a prolonged state of combat? As much as the Americans don’t really know what will happen if they ever activate their nuclear silos, Indian and Pakistani forces have no idea what will work under the stress of war and how high will be the efficiency levels of man and his machine.

On that blank canvas, morale becomes a vital factor in keeping the military machine greased and in working order for the possibility one day of having to defend its borders. Imagine, if you will, a demoralised force going into combat with China on the orders of the government that does not believe them...and tells them that it holds them in contempt. Never in these sixty-odd years has the old saying been more true:

Gods and soldiers all adore
When in trouble, nevermore. 

If we continue to politicize the senior echelons and make them dismally subservient to the civilian command there will be a blow-back and it will not be a happy one. And this sortie in undergrad embarrassment is unedifying and downright stupid.

Why would you mock the men who have opted to protect you?

You get no cigars for knowing that promotions at the three-star level in the army are often like the Indian cricket team: done on a state by state basis and often reworked from the recommendations made at the army commander’s conference by the def ministry on orders from whoever is in power. The files go back and forth and often enough those who didn’t make it are given a leg up.

Through the years, a favourite game in the armed forces has been second-guessing the next chief. Unless the three-star officer gets caught in a scandal or dies in harness his name is sort of known at least two years in advance and the acolytes in uniform can readjust their ass-kissing propensity accordingly.

A corps commander knows that if his boss is on the shortlist then the chances of his being made an army commander brighten. A division commander knows he is home free and will be a protected species till he picks up his third star. The brigade commander knows he has a sugar daddy and he’ll pick up his second star.

Seeing it from the perspective of faith and trust and the potential damage this current clumsiness over Gen VK Singh’s age can cause, the best decision would be to keep the army chief going for an extra year and sack the defence minister and the defence secretary for cavalierly compromising the nation’s security.