The Army HQ has proposed its ‘Brigadier’ rank be renamed as ‘Brigadier General’. The proposal's been sent to Army commands to gather opinion from the field.
NEW DELHI: It may be more symbolic than anything else. But it represents an increasing tendency within the Indian military to shed its colonial past and adopt western practices, especially those from the US.
The Army headquarters here has proposed that its ‘Brigadier’ rank be renamed as ‘Brigadier General’. The proposal has been sent down to the Army commands to gather the opinion from the field.
Brigadier is a rank that the Indian Army inherited from the British Empire, which not only gifted a generation of well trained Indian officers and an apolitical military tradition, but a host of other practices. Among them are the military ranks in Indian military.
But the Indian military, which is fast developing an intense engagement with Pentagon, is also slowly adopting several of its operating procedures. “Brigadier is a rank that is very a much a British military stuff. Most other militaries including that of the US have Brigadier Generals,” says a senior officer. Anyway, Brigadiers are one-star generals, the first rank among the General Officers, just above Colonel, he adds.
A section in the Army has suggested that the Brigadiers be also given a new insignia, instead of the Ashok Chakra-three star combination on the shoulder-pips of the official
uniform.
The suggestion is to replace it with the insignia of a crossed sword and baton, which as of now only the Major Generals, Lieutenant Generals, General and Field Marshal have on their shoulders. However, sources indicate that this proposal may not easily come through.
Brigadier General rank has existed in the US military since the American Revolutionary War, and was initially a rank strictly limited to an infantry officer who commanded a brigade. In Indian context, Brigadiers command brigades, but officers from the same rank also carry out a huge number of other duties.
The Brigadier General rank existed in the British military until 1922, when they introduced Colonel Commandant but had to be withdrawn in 1928. The simple Brigadier was introduced and stuck. When the British left India, the free country’s military adopted most of the British structures including the Brigadier rank.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}