CDS In Present Avatar - A Challenge For The Forces

The government has announced that Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (Retd) will be the new CDS. The officer ticks all the right boxes for the appointment of CDS. However, his appointment to the new post is rightly causing some concern in the veterans’ community. It not the man, but the procedure of selection of the CDS, that is the cause of concern for the services. In the present form, the appointment appears to be a political appointment and it might adversely impact the functioning of the forces. The process therefore needs to be looked at de novo. The selection process thought out originally was fine but the tweaking of the process by the government later was perhaps not well thought out.?

The guiding light for all officers of the Army is the famous ‘Chetwode Motto’ engraved near the ‘Antim Pag’ in the Indian Military Academy. The motto is known by heart to all army officers. The motto has served the army well for the last 75 years and no one has found a fault with the motto till now. All officers of the army from a lieutenant to COAS (chief of army staff) are expected to follow the motto while serving in uniform.?

The motto reads as under,?

“The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time.

The honour, welfare, and comfort of the men you command come next.

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.”?

You must be wondering as to what the relevance of ‘Chetwode Motto’ to the appointment of the new CDS is? None whatsoever! And that is major problem for the forces. The CDS does not command any troops and hence the appointment has no responsibility for the ‘honour, welfare and the comfort’ of the soldiers in uniform. Thus, most of the decisions flowing out from this office will not have the well being of the soldiers as the prime concern but it will just be one of the factors in decision making.?This can make even the best decisions suspect in the eyes of the soldiers.

The Indian Army is a command-oriented army. It is the performance of an officer in command of troops that decides the promotion prospect of an officer. An officer cannot become a commanding officer without commanding a company first in an outstanding manner. Similarly, officers can become brigadiers only after commanding a unit successfully. That is why the army has laid down AE (Adequately Exercised) period for all command appointment even up to an army commander level. So, the success of any officer in army depends not only on his professional excellence but also on the performance of troops that he commands. This fosters a kind of bond between the leader and the led. However, the government has not laid down any such requirement for attaining the appointment of CDS.?This fact takes away the trust and loyalty fact out of the relationship.

So, the appointment of CDS does not depend on the performance of an officer in a command appointment but on his ability to positively influence the powers that be. So obviously he will be in no way bound to feel any kind of gratitude for the troops but will be beholden to o people who selected him for the appointment. So, the emotional compact between the leader and the led will be broken.?

This can even lead to some friction between the true leaders of soldiers, that is the COAS and the CDS because of conflict of interest. The COAS would be more concerned about the troops that he commands and the CDS will be more worried about pleasing his masters. Such a system can cause serious problems for the armed forces which is not desirable.?

We must keep in mind that no retiree IAS officer has been posted to an appointment senior to Cabinet Secretary. No retired judge has been posted to an appointment senior to the chief justice of India. So, it is bedeviling as to why this experiment is being carried out in the defence forces. ?

Does the government find all its three service chiefs incapable of holding this coveted appointment??

Is it a case of lack of good advice or misguided common sense?

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