Every step he takes

According to the notice,Dalbir Singh did not take adequate action against troops accused of irregularities during an anti-insurgency raid in Assam,and failed to uphold the military ethos. This is not the first time that V.K. Singh has directed his ire at Dalbir Singh. In March,right before Dalbir Singh was to be cleared for promotion as army commander,V.K. Singh sent the CBI a letter written eight months back by a Trinamool Congress MP,raising questions about his role in a parachute purchase during his tenure as inspector-general of the Special Frontier Force,a covert Tibet-oriented paramilitary unit supervised by Ramp;AW. V.K. Singhs revelation caused some embarrassment,given that it came during Chinese president Hu Jintaos state visit. Dalbir Singh was then cleared by an internal inquiry sanctioned by the cabinet secretariat. Clearly,V.K. Singh wasnt deterred. And so,at a time when he should be focusing on smoothing the transition,ending the hostility and institutional demoralisation of recent months,he has taken this highly consequential step. And what has he achieved by making the internal divisions within the army so plainly visible?

This has been a recurring pattern with the general. He made his own birthday a question of national importance but only after making it to the chiefs office bruising the armys image by dragging the government to court,for the first time in Indian history. Back then,he presented it as a question solely of personal honour and soldierly reputation,up against an insensitive defence establishment. He insisted that he only wanted his own record cleared,and would not interfere with the organisations planned line of succession. Right after that,he claimed he was offered a bribe a year after the event and rang alarm bells over obsolescence. Even as he claims to be only speaking his mind,his timing makes the army look riven with intrigue. It is,in fact,the one place where a shared national purpose takes precedence over narrow loyalties. Military leadership demands a certain dissolving of personal dissatisfactions and rivalries. It is not about big men,it is about those who keep up the strength and solidarity of the institution. By making himself and his friends and enemies so conspicuous,the chief has certainly not helped the armed services.