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Age row: Documents nail govt’s hide to 1951

Centre and not Gen VK Singh wants to change his year of birth.

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The argument against army chief General VK Singh that is whispered aloud in the corridors of power is that he is pressing for a “change” in his birth year to get an extension of service till May 2013. If that was the case, then Gen Singh started very early in his military career to make that alleged “change.”


An autobiography, written by Gen Singh as a young cadet in his first term in the National Defence Academy (NDA), records his thoughts. “I was born on 10th May, 1951, in Poona…” the cadet wrote in 1966. Did the young cadet visualise so early that he would be the army chief one day and therefore, stating 1951 as his birth year would get him an additional year? As absurd as it sounds, this is what the government plans to argue when the case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court.


However, a series of documents accessed by DNA reveal a disturbing picture about the government’s claims. While the UPA’s leadership wants people to believe that Gen Singh sought a “change” in his birth year, the fact is till 2006 he knew he was born in 1951 - a fact accepted by the army headquarters in 1966 when the discrepancy was first brought up by the Union Service Public Commission. In short, Gen Singh never sought a “change”. He was just resisting an effort by vested interests to “change” his birth year from 1951 to 1950.


As reported in DNA on Sunday, Gen Singh’s then English teacher BS Bhatnagar pointed out how he filled in the army chief’s application and the date was erroneously recorded as 1950. 


But within months, several documents arrived that corrected the error. A letter from the 14th battalion of the Rajput Regiment’s commanding officer arrived on August 3, 1965, stating that Gen Singh’s date of birth, “maintained in (his) office is 10 May, 1951.” 


The battalion knew Gen Singh’s date of birth because the practice in the Indian Army is to record personal and professional details of all officers in a list known as “casualties list”. The list becomes part of the officer’s service record, published as the “Part-Two orders” and is the most authentic record of all personal and professional details.


Gen Singh’s father Major Jagat Singh’s record of service recorded the birth of his son in Military hospital, Pune, on May 10, 1951. 


It was duly noted, entered into his service records and a certificate issued when needed. Similarly, the Rajasthan state government’s Secondary School Board issued a school leaving certificate recording Gen Singh’s date of birth as May 10, 1951.


So, when the government challenges Gen Singh’s claims, they are challenging not just him, but also documents that ordinary citizens use to prove their date of birth. If one were to go by the UPA government’s claim that Gen Singh was “lying” about his age, then so are a host of others, including the Rajasthan Secondary School Board, the Birla Public School, Pilani, the commanding officer of his father’s battalion and the Indian Army’s official record keeper, the Adjutant General’s (AG) Branch. By law, what the AG’s Branch says about the personal and professional record of an army officer is supposed to be the last word. 


Senior bureaucrats in the UPA government were as sceptical about 1950 as Gen Singh’s year of birth. On January 25, 2008, Bimal Julka, then posted as a joint secretary in the defence ministry and in charge of all matters related to the army wrote that “it may be recalled that the discrepancy in the date of birth of the officer was pointed out to the MS Branch at the time of his posting /promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General in March 2006. It is therefore requested that a detailed inquiry may be conducted into the matter in consultation with the AG’s Branch”. A copy of this letter is available with DNA.


Julka’s directions are critical because the subsequent stand taken by the same defence ministry would constantly refer back to the “inquiry” ordered by Julka to reject Gen Singh’s claims. But the inquiry was never conducted. Instead, a canard was created and it was believed that since the inquiry was done, Gen Singh’s claims were false. The fact was the only lie in this sordid affair is the supposed inquiry.


In an opinion as recent as February 14, 2011, from the ministry of law & justice, and signed by Inder Kumar, the legal adviser (defence) clearly stated that Gen Singh’s “high school certificate has greater evidentiary value.” This should have been enough to seal the case. 


The UPA government is now touting a letter written by Gen Singh stating that he will accept any decision in the larger organisational interests. The fact is that Gen Singh had also asked the government about the “pressing reasons” that led to the government making this Herculean effort to change his birth date after 40 years in uniform. He is still waiting for that answer.  

For the record

  • Gen Singh’s father’s battalion, 14 Rajput, certified on August 3, 1965, that the army chief was born on May 10, 1951. The army’s official record keeper, the Adjutant General’s branch, mentioned the same
  • What the AG’s branch says is supposed to be the last word. Gen Singh’s birth year as 1950 was published as his father’s Part Two Orders as well
  • The Rajasthan State Secondary Board’s school leaving certificate also says he was born on May 10, 1951 
  • Documents available with the Air Force Selection Board in 1965, when Gen Singh applied first, show his date as 1951
  • Gen Singh’s old school’s scholar’s register records his date of birth as 1951 
  • Legal adviser on defence issues in the union ministry of law & justice clearly stated that the school leaving certificate is solid evidence to prove age
  • Joint Secretary in the defence ministry, Bimal Julka, raised doubts twice about the claim that Gen Singh was born in 1950
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