Jan 18, 1999

Post-Bhagwat it is incumbent upon the government to protect soldiers from babus.

However advisable it may have been -- and the argument will long continue -- the dismissal of Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat is now a fait accompli. For those who may have felt it was in jeopardy, the supremacy of civilian and political authority over the armed forces has been well and truly established. Rather than wallow in the controversy, it would be judicious to consider the issues of tomorrow. It can't be disputed that the abrupt removal of a naval chief and the public bickering between senior officers and their wives has been detrimental to the average soldier's morale. That the only punishment meted out to the defence secretary -- a prickly customer against whom all three armed forces had complaints -- has been his transfer to the equally important Industry Ministry will only accentuate the sense of injury. After all, the nub of the problem is the bureaucracy's kink-like desire to subordinate and on occasion humiliate the military brass.

For a country which hasn't remotely been in danger of a coup, the insulation of the armed forces from strategic decision-making is mystifying. The defence minister's announcement that "by this month-end there will be an integration of the ministry with the forces" is welcome but also long delayed. It is a step that should have been taken by an earlier government years, even decades, ago. The contentious issue of senior appointments should be sorted out directly between the service chief and his minister. To reduce the defence secretary to a cipher in these matters would be a good idea. An institutionalised participation of the service chiefs in the meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Security is also recommended. The Bhagwat affair places civil-military relations at the edge of a precipice. Muffed up, it could lead to the politicisation and inevitable destruction of the armed forces. Tackled sensibly, it could rid the gallant man in uniform of pestilential bureaucrats -- and give him his place in the sun.

Thackeray's No Ball

If Shiv Sainiks don't want to watch cricket they may be better off in prison.

At the height of the Bodyline series, Bill Woodfull, the Australian captain, snubbed the English manager with one of the more acrid remarks in sporting history: "Mr Warner, there's only one side out there playing cricket." It was a simple but biting response to MCC captain Douglas Jardine's intimidatory bowling tactics. Jardine's pertinacious quest for victory ended up causing a diplomatic incident between London and Canberra. It is unclear as to who will feel more slighted if Bal Thackeray is bracketed with Jardine. Yet, the Shiv Sena chief's resolve to disrupt the upcoming Indo-Pakistani cricket series is as much a reflection of a bullheaded mindset as was Bodyline. The Sainiks have already drawn first blood as it were by ensuring that no match is played in Mumbai and literally queering the pitch in Delhi. Far from helping his country's cause, Thackeray will make India the laughing stock of the world.

It is easy for common citizens to dismiss "confidence-building measures (CBMs)" as foreign-office jargon. In truth, CBMs are not some arcane exercise; they involve such mundane phenomena as tourism and cricket matches. It is nobody's case that Islamabad and Delhi can sort out all their differences in a day -- or even in a normal human lifetime. Nevertheless, hosting a cricket series can only help this endeavour, not take away from it. By pointing to Pakistan's role in Kashmir and in the Mumbai blasts of 1993, Thackeray is implying that those who are pro-cricket are somehow betraying India. In one preposterous move, he has declared patriotism a Shiv Sena monopoly. The idea that an acute sense of nationhood and a desire to watch an agreeable game of cricket are not mutually exclusive is perhaps too sophisticated for the man. When logic doesn't work, the truncheon does. The India-Pakistan series has to be played. If the Sainiks don't want to watch it, they may be better off behind bars.

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