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An army out of step

Transparency is the order of the day in governance and even India has waken up to this idea. The army will not share information on commissioning choice of arms.

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Transparency is the order of the day in governance and even India has waken up to this idea. The defence ministry, normally the most opaque government department, is also all for transparency in the armed forces. But the Indian army chief General JJ Singh has other ideas. He has made it clear that the army's data cannot be shared even if it comes under the Right to Information Act.
 
The army will not, as of now, share any information on commissioning choice of arms, postings, promotions and even complaints. Sensitivities are involved in all these matters, says the general. Whose sensitivities? Is the army above the law? Secrecy in certain sensitive matters affecting vital national interests is understandable, even necessary. But postings? And arms purchases? The army intelligence wings are not even accountable to parliament. Thousands of crores or rupees in government money are available to them, yet there is no proper system of audits.
 
For that matter, the army does not make public records of previous wars. Perhaps it could explain what security issues are involved here. It is a dangerous trend in a democracy for the army chief to get dragged into any conflict with the civilian establishment. After all, we take great pride that the Indian army, unlike those of many of our neighbours, is accountable to the government of the day. It is a civilian president, not an army general, who is the commander in chief. General Singh seems to have forgotten that.
 
The defence ministry is studying what areas in the armed forces should be exempt from the provisions of the Right to Information Act, but Singh seems to have jumped the gun. There are enough safeguards in the Act at present to withhold information considered detrimental to national security. Singh's action will send the wrong signal to the rank and file. It will encourage them to disregard the law of the land. This would be disastrous, especially in troubled states like Jammu and Kashmir, where the army has often come under flak for its human rights record.
 
The army is one institution that the public has faith in at a time when many other institutions have lost their lustre. In the circumstances, the army should not be seen to be defying India's democratic formalities. In seeking to protect the interests of his institution, the army chief has overstepped his brief.
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