How AK Antony damaged the soul of the Army

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

While Manmohan Singh's personality in the psychological context of the Indians was a perfect veneer for pliability, criminal collusion and subversion of the spirit of Indian Constitution, Antony's assiduously acquired 'clean image' came in handy for 'powers that be' to subvert and wreck the Indian Armed Forces from within.

It may be reiterated here that Manmohan Singh in no sense was an elected Prime Minister and therefore his writ did not extend to picking up his own defence minister. The Prime Minister and the defence minister were picked up by the same authority and for same considerations, the least of all 'integrity'.

In fact, integrity and incorruptibility, financial and moral, were two biggest disqualifications in the previous regime.If Manmohan Singh delivered to his political benefactor and mentor by way of CWG, Coal and 2G; Antony did not lag behind. Never before in the history of India, the three services were targeted the manner in which it was done during Antony's stewardship of the MoD. Never in independent India, had the arms lobby become so brazen and criminal that it dared to manipulate 'chain of succession' of service chiefs.

The Indian Army was deliberately dragged into controversy by fabricating age related issue in respect of an Army Chief. Mr Antony vouched for the integrity of this Army Chief when he reported the Tatra scam to him. When the age issue came up in the Supreme Court, the government of which Mr Antony was a part, submitted an affidavit to the honourable bench, testifying the integrity of the concerned Army Chief.

If the Army Chief was a man of integrity, then Mr Antony must answer as to why did he re-elicit the opinion of the Law Ministry, when it had categorically ruled in favour of the Army Chief. The common buzz is that it was done at the behest of someone, to whom Mr Antony owed his office.The next in the line was Indian Air Force. Once the VVIP Chopper scam was reported from a foreign soil, as is invariably the case, a former Air Chief was made the scapegoat for allegedly being recipient of kick-backs.

The primary fault of this Air Chief was that as demanded, he had given his 'opinion' on the requisite operational parameters for procurement of VVIP Chopper. Even say, this Air Chief was guilty in the reckoning of Mr Antony for having allegedly received a small fraction of the kick-backs, the Defence Minister should have been worried as to who were the major recipients of public money. On this account both the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister were silent, because their puppeteer was in the grave shadow of doubt!

Now was the turn of Indian Navy. More than dozen accidents in a matter of months! It included two submarines. Many serving and retired Naval Officers asserted that the accidents were result of age related problems of the naval inventory. After every accident, the Naval Chief was put under-pressure. Finally, the powers that be succeeded. The Navy Chief resigned.

The desired person was put in Office. Such was the force and osmosis of this new Naval Chief that all age related problems of the inventory have mended without intervention and there have been no accidents thereafter. Very poor script Mr Antony! You and your patron indeed think very poorly of the intelligence of Indians and integrity of people in uniform.

Sadly there were some high ranking personnel in uniform to oblige the designs of your benefactors and the arms lobby. Subversion and sabotage by the arms lobby could not have acquired this new high, but for the indulgence of the dispensation. It was during the decade of the UPA rule that the notorious 'Chandigarh Gang' surfaced as the mainstay of the international arms lobby.

This gang is not necessarily in Chandigarh alone, but nevertheless is centered around it. It comprises some retired Officers, politicians, journalists and prominent newspapers. One of these newspapers, particularly one journalist was on an overdrive during the 'age-row' of the then Army Chief. It had gone to the extent of getting hysterical. Its obsession with General VK Singh continues. Another newspaper of the same ilk, carried the 'coup story' and a full page advertisement on 'Tatra' in the same issue.

The same very 'Chandigarh Gang' has been in the forefront of hyping the Chinese threat and disparaging the DRDO, all at the behest of the arms lobby. The media houses that are the part of this lobby, inconformity with the imperatives of the international arms manufacturers, from time to time bombards the audiences with 'Chinese here, Chinese there and Chinese everywhere' stories. Patriotic citizens should rather rely on the version of the Indian Army on these stories, then being misled by some of the unscrupulous media houses. Heading this 'Chandigarh Gang' was none other than the illustrious colleague of Mr Antony, who it is believed that was desperate to see through a 'succession plan' in the Indian Army.

It is also believed that it was he who prevailed on Mr Antony to re-obtain the opinion of the Law Ministry on the age issue of the said Army Chief.Threat analysis should be a major concern and responsibility of a defence minister. Mr Antony allowed the MoD to be hijacked on this issue. He equally shares the blame for India's sell out at Sharm-el-Sheikh.

As a result of Indo-US nuclear deal, he is equally responsible for degrading India's indigenous nuclear quest by slowing down the process of 'fast breeder reactor' and the 'thorium route'. If there are three ends to the spectrum of warfare, i.e. sub-conventional, conventional, and nuclear, then the entire gamut should be the concern of a defence minister.

If a prime minister is hysterical about only one end of this spectrum, then the motivations are not nationalistic. At the conventional level, Mr Antony did not allow one major arms acquisition even in the face of pernicious security imperatives on one pretext or the other. Indian security became a victim of the murderous internecine rivalry of the various arms lobbies.

At the sub-conventional or proxy war end of the spectrum, the defence minister allowed India's bargaining position to be neutralized vis-à-vis Pakistan by allowing the 'Chandigarh Gang' to implicate Col Purohit for Malegaon and Samjhauta blasts at the behest of international lobbies. The specter of 'Hindu terror' was drummed up by the media of the same 'Chandigarh Gang'. When the Army Court of Inquiry absolved this Officer, the least the defence minister should have done is to honourably reinstate him. This is bound to recoil as one of the biggest scams involving highest levels of the country. An unpardonable act on the part of the defence minister was to acquiesce to the machinations by the arms lobby for inquiry on the Technical Support Group (TSG) to kill the political prospects of Gen VK Singh.

The TSG raised for acquiring operational and tactical intelligence in the wake of 26/11. Those who are in the know of the splendid achievements of TSG, very much doubt the patriotism of the characters who questioned the functioning of the organization in order to pander anti-nationals in the Kashmir Valley and their Pakistani benefactors.

How AK Antony damaged the soul of the Army

 

[Hari Sud]

I agree that A K Anthony fell in the trap laid by the arms lobby.

He also was a victim knowingly and unknowingly of ex Generals machination.

Since the time of three last COAS during the Anthony watch prior to V K Singh were helping the corrupts generals in the senior most positions in the army. They themselves got chicest condominiums allocated to themselves in the high rise tower in Mumbai (no names), built for adifferent purpose. Also they turned a blind eye to the land deal known as Sukhna Land signed by one Lt. Gen. just before his retirement. Two generals were known to pilfer on army rations, they were allowed to go with slap on the wrist. Most of the senior generals got themselves hired by the foreign arms merchants to indulge in influence peddling in purchase of army modernization hardware. I hate to believe that money did not change hands in the VVIP Copter deal. List has inumerable instances of generals peddling influence to sell imported military hardware. An instance exists where a LT Gen. reprimands a captain/major for not testing the Arjun Tank properly in public, where the junior officer had done everything by the book. As a matter of fact the general wished Arjun Tank to be rejected on some grounds. In short like a very senior retired general who would be in top ten generals in the pecking order had the guts to offer money to the serving COAS in his own office to push a sub standard deal.

General V K Singh became very vocal about this high handed corruption and decided to do something about it. He ordered court martial of a few and others received desciplinary reprimands. So much so that the old retired generals formed a private lobby to undermine V k Singh. Results are described well in the above opinion paper. His age row was reignited, these ex generals had Anthony's ear and filled it well. That incident of Coup rumours was manufactured to undermine V k Singh and Anthony believed in the rumours.

So it is not only the arms lobby, or a bunch of newspapers alone were undermining V k Singh. The retired general's lobby was doing the same.

So what were the results; armed forces remained under supplied or supplied with whatever the generals wished, also supplied where they got a cut of the commission of their own.

Today if Arjun Tank is the step child of the army or no new artillery has been introduced or LCA is being put thru the ringer etc., it is because arms lobby, retired generals lobby and Defence Ministry Babus are standing in the way in form or the other.

Hear this, hear this, hear this - there is a new Sherriff in town. He has already decided to make as much as possible, arms in India. He is unlikely to be influenced by the generals lobby. All those arms merchants with their blue glossy brochures are likely to pack up and go home. Defence Ministry Babus are already are running scared. Mr. Anthony you should be in the dock to answer all that was happening during your watch.

 

[roma]

I agree that A K Anthony fell in the trap laid by the arms lobby.

He also was a victim knowingly and unknowingly of ex Generals machination.

Since the time of three last COAS during the Anthony watch prior to V K Singh were helping the corrupts generals in the senior most positions in the army. They themselves got chicest condominiums allocated to themselves in the high rise tower in Mumbai (no names), built for adifferent purpose. Also they turned a blind eye to the land deal known as Sukhna Land signed by one Lt. Gen. just before his retirement. Two generals were known to pilfer on army rations, they were allowed to go with slap on the wrist. Most of the senior generals got themselves hired by the foreign arms merchants to indulge in influence peddling in purchase of army modernization hardware. I hate to believe that money did not change hands in the VVIP Copter deal. List has inumerable instances of generals peddling influence to sell imported military hardware. An instance exists where a LT Gen. reprimands a captain/major for not testing the Arjun Tank properly in public, where the junior officer had done everything by the book. As a matter of fact the general wished Arjun Tank to be rejected on some grounds. In short like a very senior retired general who would be in top ten generals in the pecking order had the guts to offer money to the serving COAS in his own office to push a sub standard deal.

General V K Singh became very vocal about this high handed corruption and decided to do something about it. He ordered court martial of a few and others received desciplinary reprimands. So much so that the old retired generals formed a private lobby to undermine V k Singh. Results are described well in the above opinion paper. His age row was reignited, these ex generals had Anthony's ear and filled it well. That incident of Coup rumours was manufactured to undermine V k Singh and Anthony believed in the rumours.

So it is not only the arms lobby, or a bunch of newspapers alone were undermining V k Singh. The retired general's lobby was doing the same.

So what were the results; armed forces remained under supplied or supplied with whatever the generals wished, also supplied where they got a cut of the commission of their own.

Today if Arjun Tank is the step child of the army or no new artillery has been introduced or LCA is being put thru the ringer etc., it is because arms lobby, retired generals lobby and Defence Ministry Babus are standing in the way in form or the other.

Hear this, hear this, hear this - there is a new Sherriff in town. He has already decided to make as much as possible, arms in India. He is unlikely to be influenced by the generals lobby. All those arms merchants with their blue glossy brochures are likely to pack up and go home. Defence Ministry Babus are already are running scared. Mr. Anthony you should be in the dock to answer all that was happening during your watch.

i likes your post not because i necessarily agreed with what you said - indeed my knowledge on the subject
is a definitge - " i dont know "

but i lke the fact that you wrote your views ( which i feel is the way to go for this forum )
and not just cut and paste someone else's opinion
although there is no harm in doing that either - especially for a lead article - as is in this case

nevertheless a few paragraphs of original opinion as you have done is what i prefer
........ plus you wrote very well ! cheers !