The
naivety in the air about the military and Military Intelligence (MI) is
astounding in the stories and discussion in the New Delhi print and
electronic media. The usual tunnel vision on an issue that goes to the heart of the health of democracy in India is troubling to say the least.
The
issue is not the sight of a few retired Army generals and sundry
other ranks on the podium at a recent political rally. The poster-boy of
Hindu fundamentalism and a few retired loose cannons shooting their
mouths off in Haryana is not by itself troubling.
Serving
service personnel have every right to elect their legislative
representatives and ex-servicemen certainly have their democratic rights
to participate more fully in democratic political processes once they
are out of uniform. However, once they don civvies, they have no
business to be flaunting their regimental caps or other military
insignia in the public space at political rallies. This is kosher at
regimental get-togethers and dinners not in the din of political contestation in a democratic republic.
General
BC Khanduri of the Bharatiya Janata Party has carefully navigated these
waters. Referred to the media by his former military rank he is not
known to have campaigned politically with his regimental cap. This is as
it should be.
It is evident that a weak and pusillanimous
political and civilian leadership in the Defense Ministry is responsible
for such liberties being taken by those who should know better. It has
been an enduring fallacy to claim that senior brass hats in the Indian military establishment have not periodically nurtured political ambitions.
Pandit
Nehru was careful to send Geneal K M Cariappa to then faraway Australia
as High Commissioner immediately after the General retired. Nehru was
none too happy with the gratuitous advice he was offered on economic and
political issues.
The 1962 war with China had its moments of
civilian-military tensions and it is to the credit of both that these
differences were not allowed to cross red lines.
The 1971 war
saw a rare synergy between the political and military leadership. Mrs
Indira Gandhi calling the political shots mindful of the military's
autonomy on the timetable of military preparedness. It is to the eternal
credit of General TN Raina that during the Emergency of 1975-1977, he
carefully insulated the army from calls upon it to enforce the notorious
period of authoritarianism by some quarters.
The Ministry of
Defence under the NDA Government quite correctly put to pasture Admiral
Vishnu Bhagwat for questioning the primacy of civilian control. The UPA
government sagaciously similarly put paid to General VK Singh's efforts
to stay on longer.
However, this is not about individuals. The increasing role of the Indian
army in internal security duties far away from international borders is
worrying. The number of ex army generals and intelligence chiefs being
appointed as Governors taking essentially political decisions in
political crises in a state does not augur well for the future of
civilian control and demarcation of spaces in a democratic republic. The
earlier Indian Express story about a convoy of tanks moving towards New
Delhi in January 2013 spooking the civilian establishment tells its own
tale.
The allegations of secret funds being used to topple
elected governments, the bugging of conversations of civilian political
figures, the conjuring up of army organised NGOs needs to be probed
expeditiously and transparently. The practice of using the army and its
resources in issues of development and other civvy areas which are the
eminent domain of civil administration are even more troubling. This in
many ways is old hat for anyone following events closely not only in
Kashmir but also Northeast India. The only surprise is that it too took
so long for these subterranean undemocratic practices to be exposed to
good antiseptic sunlight.
There is an increased resort to force
by the armed forces of the country, whether they are under the control
of the Union Defence Ministry or the Union Home Ministry. Populist
public discourse by ill informed television anchors is creating an
ambience for militarised security solutions to what are essentially
political problems. In the past, professional Generals like BC Joshi had
been careful to remind us about the limits of army deployment, not only
in the heartland but in all counter insurgency roles.
Giving one
a nightmare are other troubling memories. Excerpts of conversations
between one Lt Col Shrikant Purohit and others accused in the 2008
Malegaon blasts published by Tehelka in 2008 is a case in point. The
conversations from the laptop of one of the co-accused were used as
evidence against Purohit, a Military Intelligence (MI) official arrested
in 2009. Another retired Military Intelligence Officer Maj (retd)
Ramesh Upadhyay was suspected of training those who assembled the bomb
that went off in Malegaon. He also headed BJP's ex-servicemen cell
according to Tehelka in another story published in January 2011.
Tehelka
could not have put it better in the two follow up stories, speaking of
Col Purohit it asked, "Whether he was a spy who turned rogue owing to
ideological reasons will need to be investigated. It is also quite
surprising that the investigating agencies chose to close in on Purohit
and Major Upadhyay while letting off the hook other army officials who
were heard talking on the tape."
In the follow up story in 2011,
Tehelka queried "There are a total of eight army officers, retired and
serving, named in the tapes. At least four of them have an MI
background. Apart from Lt Col Purohit and Maj Upadhyay, who are now in
jail, topping the list is Col (retd) Hasmukh Patel. A JNU graduate,
Patel was commissioned into the Infantry Jat Regiment and later detailed
with the MI. After 25 years in service, he retired in 2007 and joined
Reliance. ….".
Col Shailesh Raikar is a retired commandant. He is
said to be a brilliant officer who belonged to the Maratha Regiment.
According to the tapes, Raikar was commander of the Bhonsala Military
Academy in Nashik. He allegedly provided academy facilities to Purohit
and other Abhinav Bharat members for weapons training. He too is under
the NIA scanner.
Others named in the tapes are Col Aditya
Bappaditya Dhar (Parachute Regiment, now retired); Brig Mathur (full
name not known, but he was apparently posted at Deolali Cantonment near
Nashik); Maj Nitin Joshi and Maj Prayag Modak (in both cases, regiment
not known)…."
What is galling is that Col. Srikant Prasad Purohit continues to receive full salary, all perks and allowances from the Army according to an RTI. Hello, Hello. Has the Defence Ministry heard of the dismissal procedures under the Army Act?
And
the enquiry by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into any
possible greater conspiracy has seemingly run out of steam and is now a
damp squib.
In 2009, well known lawyer, Nandita Haksar in her
book "Rogue Agent" published by Penguin detailed the story of the
Operation Leech masterminded by an Indian intelligence officer, Col
Grewal resulting in the extrajudicial killings of 6 Burmese freedom
fighters. The Defence Ministry ordered an enquiry to be done by the CBI.
The CBI was diligent but was stonewalled by the Army. So much for
accountability! And of course, Major Avtar Singh involved in the killing
of Jalil Andrabi had no olive green tooth fairy!
Not just extrajudicial killings, in December 2011, the Hindu reported that, "Military Intelligence paid hundreds of crores of rupees for outdated software..." The story like so many others was lost in the caverns of Sena Bhavan in New Delhi.
The
Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) produced a Task force
report, "A case for Intelligence Reforms in India. Among the many
recommendations the most important related to the legal status of these
agencies. It recommended the introduction of "legislation in Parliament
for laying down the charters, organisations; and provide a legal basis
for different tiers of accountability - executive, financial and
legislative."
What this columnist said in December 2012 in the
SAFMA journal is never truer. "There is a need for a statutory framework
for South Asia's intelligence agencies to build effective oversight and
accountability mechanisms. Whilst national security is highly important
to public interest, it is only one of many competing interests to be
balanced for effective governance." Amen. Or should I say, Roger and
over.
(The author is a Delhi based analyst)
News Updated at : Tuesday, September 24, 2013
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