New Commanders of Indian Defense Forces

India got two chiefs in their Army and Air Force right from the first day of the New Year. General Bipin Rawat was appointed as the Chief of the Army Staff succeeding General Dalbir Singh Suhag and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa succeeded Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. Both of them are very talented and have a great experience in their service tenure. We hope that  the decision of appointing them as the chief commanders of the two armed forces will take the honor, prestige and of course the strategic importance of Indian armed forces to a new height.

But we saw a lot of controversies about the step of appointing the army general suspending the other two senior commanders i.e. Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi and Lt Gen PM Hariz. Many experts and even armed forces officers commented on this step ironically. Following are the experience of these commanders during their service tenures.

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·         General Bipin Rawat (COAS) has an extraordinary career in the armed forces. He was commissioned into the 5/11 Gorkha Rifles on 16^th December 1978. General Rawat has 10 years of experience in counter insurgency operations in J&K. He also has the experience of fighting counter insurgency in the Northeast and has commanded the 3 corps based in Dimapur which was involved taking out the insurgents from Myanmar. He has been Colonel commanding a battalion on the China front when there were tensions in 1986 and has also held responsibilities along the Line of Actual Control.

·         Lt General Praveen Bakshi is an officer of armoured corps having spent most of his career in Jodhpur. He was the senior most in line of selection for the COAS. He has also less significant tenure in J&K. He is currently commanding the eastern command.

·         Lt Gen PM Hariz has no significant operational area. He is commanding the southern command.

So, there have been a lot of arguments on the step of appointing a general having experience in J&K only and superseding the other two senior talents.

Why should we say that the talent of the two army commanders was superseded? We just needed a commander according to the current situation. So we had one. Moreover, we do not have a military superior to the govt. So whatever the govt. decides is according to the international relationship and diplomacy. And it is wrong to criticize every decision relating it as a political decision.

Many experienced officers from armed forces and many defense experts have written a lot on this step. Some say “this commander was selected for his strategic experience in J&K. But when the war breaks out enemy is definitely not going to attack on mountains. It will attack in plains i.e. deserts. Then how can be the experiences of the COAS utilized?”

But why would we go to the war situation. Our country is progressing being the fastest growing economy. Facing a war now means going decades back in economy. So it is better to control the current situation along LOC and LAC and prevent the country from facing war. And to tackle such a situation on the border we need an experienced commander. Moreover for this reason a general served more time in counter insurgency areas is better than any other commander served in peaceful areas.

This suppression had happened only once earlier in 1972 when General Bewoor succeeded General Manekshaw. Then Lt. Gen PS Bhagwat was sidestepped who was among some Indian Victoria Cross awardees. He was then the next expected Army General. But he was ignored by Indira Gandhi led govt.

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The reason for this suppression is Genral Bewoor saw actions in World War II. He saw army operations in 1965 and in 1971 indo-pak war. Where, Lt Gen Bhagwat had fought in the World War II. So here the importance would definitely be given to General Bewoor. Coz, after 1971 indo-pak war it was very important to tackle the situation along the LOC and General Bewoor was the perfect commander to do so. Because, he knew the enemy better experience. Whereas General Bhagwat could not be appointed only because of his award and he lacked the knowledge about the enemy and General Bewood knew the Pakistanis better.   

Thus we can hope that the decision taken by the govt. will be proven to be a good and strategic decision and this will also help normalizing the tensions along the borders. 

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About the Author: Saurabh Bhoi belongs to Sambalpur, a city in Odisha. He is a B.Com and an Ex-NCC cadet holding C certificate with Alfa grade. He loves mountaineering and do participate in expeditions time to time. Since his childhood he was highly fascinated by the life of an army officer and would like to serve in the army as an officer as soon as possible.