The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : FOR A YOUNGER ARMY

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 22, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

FOR A YOUNGER ARMY

ONE OF THE lessons learnt from the Kargil conflict was the need to reduce the age of combat-level Army officers. Fighting in the cold and vertiginous heights of the Himalayas revealed a worrying number of battalion commanders struggling to cope with the harsh conditions, unable to keep pace with combat personnel they led into battle. The Army's experience of combating militancy over the years has led to a similar finding: ageing officers engaged in the field are a drag on counter-insurgency operations. The greying profile of the armed forces was one of the principal concerns of the high-powered committee that was asked to examine the issue of restructuring the cadre of officers in the wake of Kargil. Led by Ajay Vikram Singh, now Defence Secretary, the Committee submitted a number of recommendations aimed at avoiding stagnation in different ranks and making the armed forces a more attractive career option for youngsters.

The Centre's approval for faster promotions of officers up to the rank of Colonel is a step in the right direction, towards increasing mobility within the Army cadre. Two significant consequences are an augmentation of the Colonel rank through 750 additional places, and a decrease in the average age of Colonels from 41 to 37. Since Colonels have traditionally commanded battalions, these frontline units of the Army will begin to be led by younger men. The new fast-track promotion scheme will cover ranks from Colonel downwards (Major, Captain, and Lieutenant), but the Government's approval is limited in two important ways. First, the scheme will apply only to the Army and not to the entire armed forces as the high-powered committee recommended. The Centre has indicated that the cases of the Air Force and Navy will be taken up later. But this is something it will have to address quickly as these forces are likely to demand parity with the Army. Secondly, the fast-track stops with Colonels. The proposal to introduce the rank of Colonel-General — envisaged as one rank above Lt. General, to be awarded to the six Army Commanders — has not found favour with the Government.

The Government's approval is incomplete in other ways. Decisions on 11 of the committee's recommendations are pending. Among the key suggestions are that senior Army officers should be laterally deployed in Central Police Organisations (such as the BSF, the CRPF and the CISF) and allowed to work in the private sector. These are potentially controversial proposals with the CPOs opposing large-scale deputation of Army officers and private sector participation raising troubling questions relating to independence and security. Another pending issue relates to the introduction of an exit route for officers in the form of a Voluntary Retirement Scheme. Both proposals are intended to prevent stagnation and to give the armed forces a younger profile. The problem the Indian Army faces does not stem from a surfeit of officers — in fact, it is about 12,000 officers short of the sanctioned strength of 46,280. The real difficulty is that most of this shortfall is at the junior level (Lieutenant, Captain, and Major), which makes up as much as 85 per cent of the Army's officer strength. The challenge is to restructure the officer cadre in a manner that provides a better career graph for such junior officers through a faster promotion scheme and through greater opportunities within and outside the armed forces. The larger objective must constantly be kept in mind: making the armed forces a truly attractive career option for officer-level entrants.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

FOR A YOUNGER ARMY

NOT TOO LATE

Bharati and his copyright

Why Tony Blair will fail