The Indian Army is steeped in British tradition but Army Chief Gen N.C. Vij apparently believes in making a few changes. This year, he got the entire Army Chief’s room in South Block redone and in the process, a table handed down to his predecessors since first Indian commander-in-chief Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa’s time was thrown out of the room.Cariappa’s table is now being put to good use by General Vij’s military advisor, Brigadier Enyatullah.While the room was refurbished months after Vij took over, the table was moved out apparently because it was ‘‘unwieldly’’. Instead, a new table was ordered for the chief while the old one went to his advisor. Its historical significance is evident from the lettering on the brass strip nailed to the table which mentions the table was first used by first Indian Commander-in-chief of the Indian army, Gen Cariappa.Army Headquarters refused comment but Vij’s immediate predecessor Gen Sunderrajan Padmanabhan (Retd) said there was a suggestion to have the table removed in his time too but he declined. ‘‘I did get the seats changed but not the table because it is a piece of history.’’ He said the table being used by a junior officer does‘‘not look appropriate’’.
