The announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the rampart of Lal Quila on our 73rd Independence Day to appoint Chief of Defence Staff is a decision in the right direction to further strengthen our Forces, a decision which was pending for since many decades. From the defence point of view this decision is important in many ways. Once it comes into effect India will come in the category of major military powers such as United States of America, China, Britain, Japan and France where this hierarchy in Defence Forces is already there. Many member nations of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) also have the same system in their Defence Forces.
Although the recommendation to have a Chief of Defence Staff was made after the Kargil war when the necessity to have better coordination between three forces the Army, the Navy and the Air Force was felt. If you go into past, the need to have a CDS was also felt and discussed soon after Independence in 1947.
At the time of Independence a proposal was put before Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of the British Empire and his Chief of Staff in which it was requested to have one Commander-in-Chief for each of the three services and to have a Chief of Staff Committee for better coordination between the Centre and the Defence Forces. But this proposal was not implemented after Independence and the government appointed three chiefs of staff for each of the three services namely the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Power of all the three defence services was vested in President of India who is the chief commander of the Armed Forces.
After Independence the three services were working under their respective commander-in-chief. But nomenclature of commander-in-chief was changed in 1955 when it became Chief of the Army, Chief of the Navy and Chief of the Air Force. Till 1960 the command of Navy and Air Force was under officers holding three star rank. Whereas the command of the Army was under officer of four- star rank indicating the importance of the Army in our Defence establishment. But after the 1965 India-Pakistan war the command of all the three forces namely the Army, the Air Force and the Navy was under the officers of 4 star- rank. The forces were brought at par.
This is a fact that the need to have a Chief of Defence Staff was felt after the Kargil war. The Vajpayee Government discussed the matter but no decision could be taken in this regard. The importance and necessity to have a Chief of Defence Staff though was under consideration of the government earlier also after the two major wars India fought against China in 1962 and against Pakistan in 1965. It is surprising that the government had noticed during the war with Pakistan in 1965 some degree of lack of coordination between the three forces which had come to light and was a subject of discussion after the war was over. Yet no decision was taken to appoint a Chief of Defence Staff then. The lack of better coordination was found when decisions relating to the Army were being taken without due consideration of the Army vis a vis the Army’s requirement of the day. Defence Officers and Defence Exerts at that time had made it clear to the government no political objective was bigger or greater than the nation and the Defence Forces.
It appears that jaundiced mindset of some and lack of will on part of the political leadership during that period did not allow the government to take a decision on appointment of CDS.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Independence Day it is clear that steps to be taken to strengthen our Armed Forces would go beyond appointment of CDS which was in the mind of Prime Minister soon after assuming power at the Centre in 2014.
In 2016, the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said that he was in favour of appointing CDS and a decision in this regard would be taken soon. This matter was raised in Parliament a year later in 2017 but due to ill health he was not able to expedite the matter any further.
Due to some reason or the other appointment of CDS was delayed even after first recommendation to create the post.
In 2001 a Group of Ministers was formed with L K Advani the then Deputy Prime Minister as its Chairman which recommended creation of a post of CDS. It was felt then that had there been provision of having a CDS during the Kargil war the country would have suffered less casualties and damage in the war with Pakistan.
It had come to light then that because of lack of better coordination between the Army and the Air Force we went for air strike in the Kargil war little late. Had we used Air Force at the early stage of conflict we would have won the war much earlier than we did at the end. The Army was operating in the war as mission ‘Vijay’ while the Air Force code was ‘Safed Sagar’.
The then government had taken this matter seriously because the two wings of our forces were engaged in the same war with two different missions and two different strategies they were fighting against the enemy. Despite the recommendation of the Group of Ministers headed by Advani the creation of the post of CDS was shelved due to difference of opinion among the three Services Chiefs on the matter. It remained confined to the Chief of Staff Committee that did not have much power.
At present the Chief of Staff Committee is Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa. The appointment of CDS was shelved because of the then chief of Air Force Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy’s objection to create the post of CDS whereas the then Chief of the Army Gen. Bikram Singh and the then Chief of Navy Arun Prakash were in favour of having a CDS.
As a natter of fact the Chief of Defence Staff is a post which will be held by an officer of 5-star rank above the rank of the services chiefs who are four star rank officers. The CDS will not only oversee the operation during war but he will also have a say in modernization of the Armed Forces. He will be directly in to touch with the Prime Minister. This will enable Prime Minister to get all necessary input and information from one head instead of interacting with three services chiefs. It will have long term positive outcome particularly in the wake of recurring intrusion of terrorists from across Pakistan and in situation created by China like the one in Doklam when all the three services were engaged in keeping vigil on the border. We will emerge more powerful and strong to take on hostile forces in future.
R K SINHA
(The writer is a Member of Rajya Sabha)