Civil - Military Relations

We need an Indian Model for Civil-Military Relations. This is necessitated for reasons of our being a comparatively ‘young nation’, emerging quality of political leadership and its ethos, self-serving attitudes all around, rampant corruption, under-development of about 40% of our population, and tensed security scenario in the sub-continent amongst others.

In order that the Indian Democracy develops and flourishes, all stakeholders in the country need to ensure effective and efficient Governance. Political Leadership should vow and act to provide it. Indian Masses cannot wait indefinitely, or else the vacuum in leadership will be filled by certain other type of leadership, Communists, Maoists, or worse by Indian Military to its peril.

Our debate on Civil-Military Relations should focus on ‘concept’ rather than ‘actors’ – needs to be orchestrated at higher intellectual level. It is the transition of leadership from Civil to Military in nations that should be of concern to its citizens who believe in democratic values.

Svipja CMR Chair, http://www.svipjacmrchair.blogspot.com/ , addresses the issue of the Civil-Military Relations in the Indian Context dispassionately. We feel that we need to understand the nuances of the CMR as a nation, and apply them appropriately in our day-to-day interactions in Civil & Military spheres to retain the right balance. The Indian Constitution is then held high.

Shri NS Sisodia (ex-IAS) , Director General, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses(IDSA), could not be more right in articulating ,“This will involve providing greater space to the Armed Forces in relevant decision-making structures, seeking their partnership in national security and defence policy-making and addressing issues of modernisation and ‘jointness’ on priority.” And he aptly remarks: “A democratic polity is not just about civilian control but also about a military strong enough to protect it.”

Civil-Military-Civil Maryada should be the guiding light for the CMR.

After all, the Military pays the price of follies of the other ‘actors’ by its ‘blood’; stature and elan are dear to them.

Read the Article by Ali Ahmed , IDSA, Civil-Military Relations Under Scan

Brigadier(Retired) Sukhwindar Singh
Chairperson, SvipjaCMRChair

Special Powers for Armed Forces - We Need Clarity, Not Emotions

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, better known as AFSPA, has been brought out of wraps at various opportune times – opportune for those who have either something to gain, i.e. the insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir, political parties always ready to fish in troubled waters, with an eye on electoral gains or those who are regular establishment-baiters, who have made it a habit to take the plunge headlong in any controversy with the belief that if it is against an organ of the government, it needed to be opposed!

The insurgents we are fighting today are heavily armed, they act speedily, commit heinous crimes and disappear. Unless the army counters such actions with speed and not wait for orders from higher civil or military authorities, nothing would be achieved.

Also, the soldiers and officers of the army need to be protected from prosecution for consequential action taken against insurgents in good faith as part of their operations. Here too, the Act does contain the important caveat that the army personnel can be prosecuted with the Centre’s sanction, if their actions warrant it. There is, therefore, no blanket immunity from the laws of the land.

The army is designed and structured for fighting external enemies of the nation. Consequently, they are not given any police powers. However, when the nation wants the army to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations, then they must be given the legal authority to conduct their operations without the impediment of getting clearances from the higher authorities.

It is only then that the operations will be conducted in the usual efficient manner of the army and would be result-oriented. They also must be legally protected. It is because these two aspects have been catered for that the army has been neutralising the insurgents and terrorists, so that normalcy is restored and the political leaders and officials can restart governing.

Pse Click to Read the Complete Article: Special Powers for Armed Forces - We Need Clarity, Not Emotions


Svipja Technologies
(The Writer is Former Vice Chief of the Indian Army)