Time to clean up

The Vishnu Bhagwat episode is becoming murkier and murkier. The former Chief of the Naval Staff has publicly alleged that his dismissal w...

The Vishnu Bhagwat episode is becoming murkier and murkier. The former Chief of the Naval Staff has publicly alleged that his dismissal was the result of a 8220;politico-military coup carried out by the Defence Minister himself.8221; It was quite unusual for a former service chief to go hammer and tongs at the political leadership in this no-holds-barred manner. But then the circumstances in which Bhagwat had to go were also quite unusual.

Even those who find fault with the abrasive manner in which he made charges against Defence Minister George Fernandes, certain top bureaucrats and some fellow servicemen are tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt, for in public perception he has been more sinned against than sinning. After all, Bhagwat has been accused by persons holding responsible positions in the government of serious crime, though without shedding light on the exact nature of his wrong-doing. Thus the most charitable view is that the former CNS has only paid his detractors back in the samecoin.

However, nobody seems to be bothered about the dangerous implications of allowing the fair image of the defence set-up to be sullied. While the public is already privy to a series of allegations and counter-allegations, facts have been at a terrible discount. For instance, some of the charges against Bhagwat are too serious to be ignored. In fact, it is incumbent upon the government to have them investigated and Bhagwat given deterrent punishment. However guilty he may have been, he too has a right to be heard and given a fair trial.

Bhagwat8217;s version may be coloured but many people will still be tempted to believe him for the simple reason that he was once chosen to head the Navy. The persons against whom he has made serious charges are not outside the centres of power as he is at present. Rather, those who sought to inject the communal virus into the service just to nail Bhagwat, and those who leaked confidential documents to shore up their own image vis-a-vis the condemned former naval chief areall holding key posts in the government. They too have violated service rules, ethics and procedures. Their activities have spawned a culture of intrigue and manipulation that is equally loathsome.

There is now ample evidence that politically connected and manipulated appointments lie at the root of the demoralisation in the higher armed forces leadership. This is a phenomenon as old as India8217;s independence. Various governments have fed on the temporary gains of manipulating promotions and appointments. For the country to overcome this recurring malaise, it is vital that a new set of rules be formulated solely for the autonomous functioning of the armed forces.

Already the system has begun showing up as no better than some of the notorious provincial administrations. It follows from this that the government should order a thorough inquiry into the whole affair and bring out the truth so that there is no room for suspicion in the minds of the people and nobody feels that he has been wronged against.Whether the inquiry should be judicial or parliamentary are details that can be sorted out once the decision is taken in principle to hold an inquiry. It will do the government, Bhagwat and the defence service immense good.