In the Cold

Srinjoy Chowdhury,
Senior Editor, TIMES NOW



Before we begin this quirky little tale, here are the numbers. India, a country of 1.1 billion people has an army of 1.1 million soldiers. Thirty thousand are officers and almost at the top of the pyramid, after considerable winnowing, are left about two hundred major-generals. Sixty of them make it to lieutenant-general and of course, there can be only one chief. But just think, two hundred out of many thousands means drastic pruning at every stage. Men are separated from the well, not so capable men and eventually, just a handful has the right to be called ‘General Saab’.

Even among this elite club of 200, there are a chosen few. These are the three-dozen men with a future, men who get to command a division, a unit of about 12,000 men. And among the divisions, many of which are strung along India’s difficult borders is 3 Infantry Division.

Commanding 3 Division is quite a job. First, it’s not really a division but virtually a corps, a unit that usually comprises three divisions. For, it defends 1,160 kms of India’s border, and perhaps, some of the most difficult areas. The gentleman in charge of 3 Division faces China and Pakistan. And yes, a considerable chunk of the division is parked in Siachen, the world’s highest and most inhospitable battlefield. There is also Ladakh, easily -40 degrees Celsius in winter and barren throughout the year, not to mention the small matter of the increasingly aggressive Chinese army on your doorstep. Siachen, weather-wise is even worse. If soldiers didn’t die in the mid-Eighties because of the shelling, the cold killed them.

One man gets the responsibility to be GOC. And he should be quite a guy: capable enough to handle a division as challenging as 3 Divison and therefore, good enough to do better.

Now, for the sting in the tail. Well, tale actually. Look at the list of the last eight major-generals who commanded the division and you see what the army euphemistically calls 100 per cent wastage. The list begins with P.K. Renjen, a gunner officer. After his command, he held several other posts and faded away. His successor, V.S Badhwar, is remembered for all the wrong reasons, being the general in charge when the intrusions into Kargil unexpectedly happened in 1999. Several thousand Pakistani soldiers had entered and dug in, but his patrols hadn’t noticed a thing till they were fired upon.

Expectedly, nothing much happened to Badhwar, but his successor Sheru Thapliyal’s case is even more curious. He had had a good career but they say you can’t choose your parents. Well, it isn’t easy to choose your bosses either. Both his bosses are remembered as men who rarely gave anything more than 7-7.5 on ACRs of officers, a way of ensuring a long, lingering professional death. Thapliyal and his successor Rakesh Das, who was defence attaché in Pakistan, fell to the same ACR trap and were sent on their way.

A few more good men followed: Ravi Malhan and P. Rajagopal, both paratroopers and ‘Tally’ Sidhu, an armoured corps officer, all consigned to obscurity. That brings us to Anil Lal, just dismissed from the army after being under the scanner for a series of alleged un-officer like activities.

Of the eight, two have clearly messed up for different reasons and needed to be sent home. What defies explanation is why the other six generals were made to walk into the sunset. Sure, you will hear how much of a pyramid the army is—200 major-generals and 60 lieutenant-generals-- but as far as explanations go, it is about the lamest one you can find. The man you send to command 3 Division should be and is hand-picked: he cannot be just any major-general but a man with a future, a man with sufficient capability, with élan to face the Chinese and the Pakistanis at the same time. What’s the bottom line then? You’re either sending a lame-duck for one of the most sensitive jobs in the army or you’re sending a good man and then, shafting him after he finishes a really tough assignment! Or, is there another explanation that no one knows about?

There is something that we do know…. One army commander remembered for leaving behind broken careers courtesy, his tough markings, wrote to his army chief in the evening of his career. He admitted he had been a little tough and could anything be done. Some good did come out of it and a major general marching towards obscurity was rescued but it was too late for a couple of GOCs.

The 3 Division hoodoo has got so bad that some officers, rumour goes, would rather opt out of commanding a division comprising 25,000 troops, 675 officers who are part of 23 battalions, including Ladakh Scouts, ITBP and Vikas units. A normal infantry division has only nine.

The question top officers in the army now ask is: “How long will this run of bad luck continue?”