NILOUFER BHAGWAT
The Bitter Half

On that foggy winter evening of December 30 in Delhi, when Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat's star faded, another burst into prominence -- that of his lawyer and wife Niloufer Bhagwat. While the admiral refused to make any comment, Niloufer took command. Sitting in the gallery room of Navy House, which features a mural painted by artist Anjolie Ela Menon, a family friend, she pulled a few punches. "The dismissal," she said, "was a political move with wider conspirators involved in the arms supply to the navy."

She did not mince her words or spare anyone. The media campaign against her husband had been personally orchestrated by Defence Minister George Fernandes, she charged, adding that he had come under the sway of the "arms lobby" with the BJP-led Government succumbing to pressure from the Akalis to promote Vice-Admiral Harinder Singh over Bhagwat's objections. Another reason for the action, she noted, was her decision to oppose the Maharashtra Government before the B.N. Srikrishna Commission investigating the 1992-1993 anti-Muslim violence in Mumbai. It was easy to see the pain seep through her barbs but many wondered if she was serving the cause of her husband well.

Niloufer and Vishnu Bhagwat have never been the usual naval couple. They met in Pune when he was an instructor at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla. Outspoken and gregarious, they have never hidden their left-of-centre beliefs nor "militant" secularism. A lawyer of 27 years standing, Niloufer was the brain behind the 1990 petition that resulted in Vishnu's reinstatement to the mainstream of senior officers after he had been unfairly sidelined. But, she maintains, she was pitch-forked into the battle with Singh because he had gone out of his way to attack her, even saying she was a "half Muslim, card-carrying member of the CPI". Singh's highly offensive reference was to her argument of the CPI brief before the Srikrishna Commission. Articulate, she spoke with a passion that the commission found difficult to deal with. But she managed to establish Shiv Sena complicity in one major incident. However, according to one lawyer, her behaviour was "rude and disruptive". Later, as a result of a run-in with Justice Srikrishna, she quit.

This time Niloufer was still in command after the storm broke out, briskly packing household goods as she and her husband were shifting to a one-bedroom flat in Colaba of Mumbai. "The authorities investigated the admiral's assets a few months ago," she says smiling, "they wondered how he'll live after retirement." As for her, there was little problem, the top lawyer was not retiring prematurely. Delhi's loss may well be Mumbai's gain.

--Manoj Joshi

SUSHIL KUMAR
Officer and Gentleman

When he arrived in Delhi from Kochi on December 30 for what turned out to be the most important day in his life, all that Admiral Sushil Kumar had with him were the clothes he was wearing. The first somewhat irreverent thought after the surprise order appointing him chief of naval staff had sunk in was: "Clothes! From where am I going to get them?" But the moment passed as he got down to dealing with what he says was "the most difficult day in my life".

With characteristic generosity, the polo-loving, soft-spoken Christian from Neyoor in Nagercoil district of Tamil Nadu, who was appointed vice-chief of naval staff in September 1996, does not speak about the differences he has had with Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. The friction between the two had been apparent for quite sometime. In March 1998, just eight months before retirement, Kumar had accepted his appointment as flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Southern Naval Command, a principally training outfit. His dream retirement home in the Andaman Islands was ready and Kumar had perhaps decided there was no need for him to take on his increasingly irascible chief.

The extension of the retirement age by two years changed everything. With Bhagwat retiring in September 1999, Kumar, the seniormost vice-admiral, was the top candidate for the naval chief's post. But there was one problem. He did not have the experience of running an operational command -- either the Eastern or the Western Naval Command. Given the situation, he asked the Naval HQ to accommodate him in one of the two commands but got no response. He even filed a redressal petition with the mod. In November, he made a shocking complaint to Defence Minister George Fernandes alleging that Bhagwat had called him and threatened to court martial him if he did not withdraw his petition.

But when the sudden summons asking him to take over as naval chief came, the gentleman in Kumar set aside the rancour. The first thing he did on December 31 was to go over to Navy House and tell the Bhagwats that they could take their time in shifting out. He then had a few words with the media when he spoke of his predecessor's pace-setting vision for modernisation, especially in the area of information technology. The next call was to Kochi to tell his wife Venita to find his woollens and despatch them to Delhi.

--Manoj Joshi