The Inside Truth-III
Admiral Bhagwat’s status reports aroused resentment

From B L Kak

The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and his over-active Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, will not be able to live down the monstrous wrong they perpetrated in dismissing Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat from the post of Chief of Naval Staff (CNS). True, the dust has fallen on the Bhagwat episode. But the episode has again drawn attention of various individuals and organisations, with the circulation of the book-Betrayal of the Defence Forces: The Inside Truth.

The book, according to its publishers, Manas Publications, seeks to demonstrate how the Vajpayee Government violated the provisions of the Constitution, Navy Act 1957 and Navy Regulations (Statutory) in what has been termed as "an unprecedented political act", against the disciplinary framework of the Armed Forces, while dismissing Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat.

Soon after he had taken over as CNS, Admiral Bhagwat gave directions to revive a practice he had instituted as Deputy Chief in 1992-94-that is, to send monthly status reports on cases pending to the Defence Secretary and Additional Secretary with a copy to the Financial Advisor (Defence). The practice was refined, using a new computer format, using red papers for cases over five years old, yellow sheets for cases pending for over four years, blue sheets for cases over three years in the mill, and so on up to six months.

Admiral Bhagat says in his book: "I began to send these status reports, every month, to the Minister, to start with Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and later Mr Fernandes. These status reports aroused resentment and were perhaps seen as an intrusion and ‘interference’ in the working of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), whereas any positive, constructive officer would have regarded them as a sound monitoring device, to help speed up decision-making".

"This is the prevalent culture of the Ministry", the book regrets. It says: "The real power, however, lay in postings, transfers and promotions. This is where the Ministry excelled in creating a constituency, encouraging individuals to tell talks about others, their seniors, their colleagues and the system as it operated".

The book also regretted: "The bureaucrats had not a clue as to the content of a job, but even postings of Captains (Colonel equivalent) in the Navy and Air Force had to go through the Ministry for ‘approval’ and were ‘approved’ at the Additional Secretary level, whereas at the Service Headquarters they had been approved at the level of the Chief. To beat it all in the Army, the Chief of the Army Staff approved the transfers and postings up to the level of Brigadiers, though not promotions".

When Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Defence Minister, the Chief of the Air Staff and the CNS took up with him the case to delegate the administrative powers to the Chief in line with the Army. The bureaucrats, according to Admiral Bhagwat, put up a stiff resistance. However, the Minister approved the Chief’s proposal.

The bureaucrats in the Ministry of Defence again put it up noting that elections had been announced and the Minister might not find time to apply his mind to this important matter. The then Defence Secretary, Mr Ajit Kumar, the book revealed, wrote the final obituary on the file stating that the Ministry would lose all control over the Navy and Air Force, if this proposal were approved.

The book has emphasised that the Defence Service regulations clearly stated that the Chiefs were responsible to the President, through the Central Government, for the operational readiness, preparedness, training organisation and administration of the Services. Mr Mulayam Yadav, finally, signed and approved the file on March 12, 1998, with the comment that he was not at all convinced with the logic of the Ministry of Defence, and the proposal of the Chief of the Navy Staff and the Chief of Air Staff on this subject was approved.

Interestingly, however, the Defence Minister (Mr Mulayam Yadav) had forgotten to put the date under his signature, though the out-diary number and date (12.3.1998) was clearly put on the margin of the Minister’s note. Mr Mulayam Yadav’s approval was not honoured, because the new Government took office on March 19 and mr Ajit Kumar, according to Admiral Bhagwat, knew he could simply lock the file away.

After Mr George Fernandes took over as the country’s new Defence Minister, Admiral Bhagwat informed him that his predecessor (Mr Mulayam Yadav) had approved the proposal. "The Defence Minister heard and nodded, grasping the logic, the Secretary (Mr Ajit Kumar) pretended not to hear, and the minutes of the very first meeting failed to record this point", Admiral Bhagwat says and adds: "I patiently reminded the Minister at the next morning meeting in April and he said he would call for the file and look into it".

Admiral Bhagwat and Air Chief dutifully reminded Mr George Fernandes in every alternate morning meeting and the response was always the same. It never seemed to be happening. And Admiral Bhagwat’s confession: "So they won, we lost! They had mastered the system in spite of this being my 7th tenure at Naval Headquarters and now although a Chief the bureaucracy still won, as it almost always did".

Admiral Bhagwat’s book has an interesting piece of information: The Air Chief had once at dinner told the previous Minister of State, Mr NV Somu, and even Mr George Fernandes that Pakistan we could take care of; how do we deal with our ‘friends’ in the Ministry who were always on the other side.

And the book laments: "This has been the sad story and it is getting sadder. Most senior officers of the Services take it, while away their tenures, and learn to enjoy other pastimes. The message is ‘massage the ego of the civilian’. If you can, keep you spine, if you have any left, away from the scene".

Admiral Bhagwat has also placed himself on record as saying: "If we are lucky we don’t see a war; though I daresay even the price being paid by the soldier in several parts of the country where plain poor governance has alienated the people, is heavy enough. Who cares, as long as media management is good we’ll get by, so look after your favourite journalists who will report what you want them to. It never pays to tell the truth to others. Behead the ‘messenger’ who dares tell the truth".

(To be continued)

Know thy enemy

By O P Modi

One may hope that after what the Talibans have done to the historical statues of Lord Buddha in Bamiyan (Afghanistan) the real face of India’s enemy would have become manifest to the NDA government at the Centre. It is the same mindless human’s face which despite India’s unilateral cease-fire continues to march straight into security forces camps, opens fire and gets killed in the hope that it would go to the heaven after killing the "infidels".

Despite vehement international outcry and appeals by the Islamic countries, against the demonic resolve of the Talibans to destroy the world heritage of the tallest statues of Budhha the monstrous regime in Afghanistan has shamelessly announced that it has completed the barbaric assignment entrusted to it by its chief Mulla Mohammad Omar.

It is this Pak-US Frankenstein that has entered J&K in large numbers and is now spreading its tentacles far and wide taking advantage of the unilateral cease-fire. It is he who mutilated the bodies and gouged the eyes of our valiant soldiers who had become Pakistan’s prisoners of war in Kargil. Let New Delhi realise that we are up against a most ruthless, mindless, barbaric and determined enemy. He does not understand our language of peace and cease-fire. He is vicious and cannot be won over by any sweet talk, compassion and love. He has to be dealt with firmly and ruthlessly.

Loose Talk

"Sky is the limit", said Narasimha Rao former Prime Minister in respect of solving Kashmir tangle. " The issue could be settled within the ambit of Insaniyat", said Prime Minister Vajpayee. "There is no cease-fire, it is only a cessation of combat !", says India’s Home Minister Advani. Having said this the Home Minister repeatedly says that the cease-fire should not be taken as a sign of weakness! "We are giving a chance to peace", say the leaders of the NDA government.

All these and many more lax statements are off and on made by some Indian leaders while referring to the complex Kashmir problem. And all this is said despite an unanimous resolution passed by the Indian parliament declaring whole of Jammu & Kashmir including PoK and Northern Areas as integral parts of the Indian Union. Is there any scope for statements of this sort when the Prime Minister himself says that there cannot be any compromise over the integrity of the country?

In fact the cease-fire is not proving to be a chance for peace. However it is turning to be an opportunity for the militants to organise themselves, bring in heavy weapons and establish their bases in the state. Security forces are being attacked in their camps. Officers and men are being killed. Hundreds of civilians have been done to death and many more have been rendered home less during the cease-fire. Migration from even Rajouri and Poonch has started by both Hindus and Muslims. Where is the peace then?

Such dilly-dallying attitude towards the most consequential problem of Jammu & Kashmir has not only emboldened the enemy it is also demoralising the security forces and confounding the people at large.

Arjuna’s syndrome

The fact is that the NDA government is suffering from Arjuna’s syndrome.The malady persists. During the last millennium of abject surrender to the aggressors, the Indian society has exhibited the same symptoms which Arjuna displayed when the Mahabharta war was about to start. On seeing his kith and kin, gurus, and friends arrayed on the opposite side, Arjuna vehemently argued before Lord Krishna against the war; though it was precipitated by the Kurus by refusing to part with the empire which legitimately belonged to Arjuna and his brothers. Getting no favourable response from the Lord he sat down on the seat of his chariot and abandoning his bow and arrows said, "Should the sons of Dhrtarashtra with weapons in hand slay me, unresisting and unarmed in the battle, that would indeed be better for me" ( Gita:I. 46,47.) To this the Lord said, "Whence has this unmanly dejection come upon you, at this juncture, O Arjuna? Yield not, O Partha, to feebleness. Cast off this petty faint-heartedness. Wake up, O vanquisher of foes!" (Gita:1,2 II)

Through out the discourse in the Gita the Lord exhorts Arjuna to discharge his duty fearlessly, selflessly, and without any attachment for the results. The escapist mentality is decried and as the death is inevitable for the one who is born, one should not be afraid of it. The Indians failed in their duty to protect their motherland from aggressors during the past millennia because the message of Gita was lost upon them. To face the growing threat to the sovereignty of their country from the fundamentalists of all hues the Indians have to go back to the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. The greatest sin, of course, is to lose freedom and value slavish mentality. The message of the Gita is clear and is profoundly applicable now as never before.

No war, much less a proxy war, can be won without firmness in words and deeds. Finding that at the ground level the unilateral cease-fire is working to their advantage it is but natural that Pakistan and its agents should consider it a sign of India’s "weakness". The challenge of a savage and heartless enemy can be effectively met only when we stop believing that he is weak and that he can be won over by pep talk of peace and friendship.