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That dynastic subversion of the Navy - The India Express

Satyindra Singh ()
January 30, 1998

Title: That dynastic subversion of the Navy
Author: Satyindra Singh
Publication: The India Express
Date: January 30, 1998

When the emergency was clamped on the nation in June '75, most of
the instruments of the state had been debauched. Indira Gandhi
had pretty much killed the Congress party, which was one vehicle,
especially under her father, Nehru, of ensuring that a vast
country like India was ruled by consensus. She destroyed the
powers of the chief ministers and damaged the federal structure.
She had pressurised the judiciary and sapped its independence by
appointing mediocre judges and transferring to inconsequential
outposts those judges who dared to assert their independence. She
damaged the independence of the bureaucracy by calling for a
committed civil service. She even politicised the armed forces by
using it for civilian purposes by manipulating promotions. Then
the Sanjay mafia took over.

To sustain Indira Gandhi's regime after a plaint President had
signed the emergency proclamation, her admirers and courtiers,
led by Sanjay, brought crowds; and the roadcrossing in front of
her house at Safdarjung Road became the scene of round the clock
political melas. The crowds' requirements of transport and water
were met by pliant governments in Haryana and UP. Aid was also
sought from the army. Gen T. N. Raina was also from the 'clan'
and had become the Army Chief after superseding at least one
officer senior to him. He came under tremendous pressure, but it
goes to his soldierly credit that he did not succumb.

Sanjay Gandhi's meddling in military affairs in his capacity as
an extra-constitutional authority cannot be ignored. For, we need
to focus on such bizarre occurrences in the wake of Sonia
Gandhi's aggressive rhetoric of the achievements of the Dynasty
and why it should be voted back to bring glory to India.

It was January 1976 and the occasion was the fifth review of the
Naval Fleet at Bombay by the President and Supreme Commander
Fakhruddin All Ahmed. Bansi Lal was the Defence Minister and he
had ensured that Sanjay was positioned as a VVIP in INS Vikrant.
After the usual tea party held on the lawns of the Navy House, a
message was delivered from Bansi Lal and Sanjay who wished to
interview Vice Admirals Jal Cursetji and K L Kulkarni, the then C-
in-Cs of the Western and Eastern Naval Commands. The job for
which this weird selection board had assembled was to select the
next Chief of the Naval Staff to succeed Admiral S. N. Kohli.

A heated discussion took place at Navy House when Kulkarni
objected to this interview. Eventually both the 'candidates'
went. Next morning Kulkarni was livid when he and Jal Cursetji
were kept waiting for hours for the two VVIPs at the Shipping
Corporation of India Guest House. According to Kulkarni, Bansi
Lal told him that Sanjay wished to interview him. He was asked
for his views on submarines and all the queries directed to him
came from Sanjay himself. Jal Cursetji was eventually selected
and served a full tenure as Chief of Naval Staff.

The third candidate in the running, Vice Admiral Krishnan, the
seniormost with considerable operational experience and also a
Distinguished Service Cross awardee in World War II for
outstanding bravery had presumably been eliminated in the
preliminary round itself. The method of selection for this top
job in the defence services was known to Admiral Kohli and was
narrated to me a few days ago by the Western Fleet Commander,
with whom Kulkarni stayed. Even otherwise the story is too well
known to many old timers in the Navy and is indeed remembered
with guilt and shame.

But what is disturbing is the attempted subversion of one of the
ultimate instruments of the state by an extra-constitutional
authority in collusion with a serving defence minister. Here was
a patently illegal order to two senior naval officers, but both
thought that disobedience would have been at their personal
peril.

Sonia Gandhi has to remember that the dynasty has much to hide
and history does not change by turning the faces of portraits to
the wall. Sharad Pawar - the better-late-than-never Sonia
courtier - has described Sonia as a Sanjivini. Sycophancy has
devoured emperors. The Romans knew that.

(The writer is a former rear admiral)


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