The Chief of a nation's security pitted against the government he serves, can anything be worse than that? When a similar situation arises in the troubled neighborhood of ours, there is not a minute spared to speculate if such an incidence would trigger a military takeover. So, then why doesn't this speculation arise in our case?
The only answer is the ethos and the ethics that the Army carries, outweigh the childish arrogance of the ruling government.
I see people from the Army itself divided over this issue. One of the Lt. Gen.s said that it was extremely disheartening to see the cover page of India Today saying "Self before Service"; and that before embarking on this battle, he should have vacated the office of the Chief of Army Staff. It does seem to be a sane argument, since this government shows a complete apathy towards the armed forces. This was more than evident from the sixth pay commission and how the verticals of bureaucrats were streamlined against those in the Army. Apart from that, this issue would have only worsened the situation of the forces,inviting more apathy with respect to arms procurement, land sanctions, admin changes, etc. However, I don't agree when someone says "The image of the army has taken a beating". That's a bit ridiculous. The Army is respected for its uprightness, the Army is never seen badmouthing the government, even if they have their respective frustrations against the government. An organization which boasts to be high on morale, should for no reason bow down to the government on every issue. There had to be someone who would tell the government, "Please don't consider us as a weak lot, and be thankful that we aren't taking any drastic steps, and that we will play by the book".I don't believe that the Chief has set a wrong precedent. Infact, the retired big mouths should consider talking less I suppose, some of the previous Army Chiefs are involved in illegal sanctions, owning property in an illegal property and so on, is that a good precedent? And here is some one, who has a clean career, and is fighting for truth, honor and integrity!
But should the argument end there?I guess not. The crux of the matter is, why was the Army Chief forced to take such a step! The army chief has the backing of 4 retired Chief Justices, validating the evidences that he possesses to prove his real age. In spite of that, the Army chief offered an olive branch, saying that he doesn't mind retiring if his real date of birth was acknowledged. A compromise solution from a person who has toiled for the nation for over 40 years, who has a distinguished and a highly decorated track record, who doesn't want an extension, but honor and integrity restored.
So why is it so difficult for the government to do the needful? This issue clearly reflects the reach of the ruling government's apathetic behavior towards its citizens. Renuka Chowdhary, a Congress spokesperson, in "We the People", an NDTV program, was seen saying that it is a learning learning curve for them. One can just say that after ruling India for over 50 years, if they are still learning, then the congress is either dyslexic or a terrible slow learner. The fake ration card issued in Sonia Gandhi's name got immediate attention, the son-in-law experiences exemption from frisking at the airport, the ministers move to ban social media after seeing 'content' maligning, mocking the members of the Gandhi family, and citing that this move was initiated to protect the religious sentiments of the people, the list is endless. But, the government didn't find the need to devote some time to communicate appropriately to the Chief, that his honor would be restored, and that the Govt. is committed to it. They didn't find the time or the will to sort this issue at the earliest, being busy first in the lokpal fiasco and now in the state elections.
Only one thing can be concluded from this, no matter what office one hails from, how important and significant one is for the country, so long as the person isn't a GANDHI, he is invisible to the congress government!
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