An open letter to the Prime Minister (English version) Rakshak News 29 May 19
http://www.rakshaknews.com/vishesh/an-open-letter-to-the-prime-minister
An open letter to the Prime Minister (English version) Rakshak News 29 May 19
Dear Prime Minister,
The elections have given you an unprecedented mandate. People from all walks of life have placed their trust on you. Your campaign was not ordinary and filled with promises for the future, but based on nationalism, response of the armed forces in countering Pak’s misadventures, thereby breaking the traditional barriers of religion, caste and creed. You took the decision to retaliate, trusted the armed forces and they delivered.
Simplistically put, your campaign exploited the professionalism of the armed forces. They never let you or the nation down as they have been doing for the past seventy years, yet you were the first Prime Minister who trusted them to deliver, despite the risks on your political career, in case they failed. The credit for the decision is yours alone. I salute you for trusting them.
Now that you are back for a second term, the nation would expect you to care for the silently working members of the armed forces in multiple ways.
Your mandate is unprecedented and hence, your decisions should also be accordingly. First and foremost is the pressing need to reform apex management of defence, an aspect which was commenced by PM Vajpayee, but died a natural death with him remitting office. The MoD being dominated by the bureaucracy has always been a stumbling block, rather than being supportive to the needs of the forces. It has adopted a policy of delay and deny, rather than rushing to implement. It needs to change.
The permanent excuse for not reforming management of defence is political consensus, an aspect which you now would not need to consider, as you possess the requisite mandate. Amalgamating service HQs with the MoD would change management of defence and make the armed forces more responsive and effective.
Appointing a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has been held up in a powerful nation like India on the fear of a coup. Mr Prime Minister, I am sure you trust your service chief’s as you have been selecting them yourselves. You would agree that a coup is neither in the Indian culture nor ever in the minds of the forces.
It is in the figment of imagination of those who seek to push the armed forces down and ensure that the nation can never utilize its full combat potential. Those who propagate such thoughts are anti-nationals. Trust your forces, on whose professionalism you rode back to power, and make them more effective by appointing a CDS. It would enhance the standing and prestige of the Indian military in the international arena.
There are immense shortfalls in capabilities, which the UPA failed to fill. In your first tenure you cleared multiple deals and made up some of the shortfalls. With all procurement in the hands of the bureaucracy, who have no responsibility in national security, in a stand-alone MoD, delays will always exist and frustrate service chiefs. Unless there is an integrated MoD, the nation would be a loser. Threats are on the rise, while capabilities on the decline, hence India needs a capable head of the MoD.
You gave veterans OROP in your last tenure, for which we will always be grateful. It is time to now restore the status of the serving amongst other services. The forces have never sought additional salary but respect and equality.
Non-Functional Upgradation (NFU) granted to other services has caused heartburn, specially since the armed forces have a pyramid and many fall by the wayside early in their career, losing out in status with even their juniors from other services. They desire NFU not for financial reasons, but to regain status amongst all others. You as the Prime Minister can ensure this.
You would now be appointing a new defence minister. May I request you to select an individual who is senior in the government, capable of taking decisions, without looking over his shoulder to the ministry of finance. He should have your trust and be in sync with your vision of what the armed forces should be capable of accomplishing and what its future structures should be like. A humble request is to not make the defence minister’s chair a revolving one.
You have adopted the process of deep selection for service chiefs. In other words, some of those who have risen to the level to be considered, lack some prerequisites. This appears far fetched as their present rank and appointment has also been granted by your government in its earlier tenure. Such action opens doors for politicizing the armed forces, making those vying for the top post to hobnob with politicians seeking favour. This does not augur well for an apolitical armed force. Hence, please screen them well before they are in for selection to the appointment of service chiefs. Let this appointment be solely on seniority.
You represent the nation and the armed forces serve the nation, despite the President being the supreme commander. Hence, you should give an ear to the chiefs, meet them at regular intervals and be their mentor to resolve their problems. There are aspects on which only you can give directions. This small step on your part would be a big boon for the services.
In every visit you make abroad, one agreement always inked is joint military exercises. This indicates that the world respects the professionalism and capability of the Indian armed forces. It would suffer if it lacks the right quality of equipment, is politicised and functions under an unresponsive organization like the existing MoD.
The nation respects the armed forces for its valour and professionalism. Hence, when you care for them and give them their due status, respect for you would only increase. The armed forces have waited for a long time for a leader who possesses a powerful mandate. If even now, major changes are not made, a valuable opportunity may be lost, never to come again.
Many have suggested that despite any government in power, nothing will change in the MoD. However, I have hope and belief that you will usher in change and maybe even respond to this open request.
Jai Hind
About the Author
Maj Gen Harsha Kakkar
Retired Major General Indian Army