On 23 April 1961, Lt Gen. P.N. Thapar, the then Chief of Army Staff designate, wrote two TOP SECRET letters to the outgoing chief, Gen. K.S. Thimayya, and Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen. S.P.P. Thorat, as revealed by Mr Anit Mukherjee, an IDSA Scholar, in his article 'No Magic Bullet for Military'.
These letters indicate two issues of contemporary relevance. The first is the widely acknowledged civil-military discord that preceded the disastrous 1962 war with China. The second, less well known, is the deep division that existed among senior military officers at that time.
It is known that recent dispute over the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations has left a bitter legacy between civilian principals in the defence ministry and the military. The civil officials claim, the manner in which the dispute was aired, created a dangerous precedence and undermined civilian control. On the other hand, the Military portrayed the episode as one where devious bureaucrats conspired to ensure that the services got a raw deal.
The present state of affairs ‘smack’ of unsatisfactory leadership, civil and military. And also 'coloured advocacy' by some. All this hurts CMR. We therefore have titled this Post 'No Magic Bullet for Anyone'. Our Research and Analysis ought to be honest and directed towards the norms of upholding our Constitution, and hold sane lessons for civil and military leadership, both.
We all must recall the NDA’s prayer to be followed by all stakeholders: calling for the strength to “do the harder right than the easier wrong”. In hindsight, despite our non-existent and somewhat faulty declassification policy, we are now aware about how civil-military tensions and a divided officer class contributed to the disaster of 1962. To prevent another disaster, it is time for all the stakeholders to engage in an honest and dispassionate critical examination.
Click No Magic Bullet for Military
SvipjaCMRChair
These letters indicate two issues of contemporary relevance. The first is the widely acknowledged civil-military discord that preceded the disastrous 1962 war with China. The second, less well known, is the deep division that existed among senior military officers at that time.
It is known that recent dispute over the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations has left a bitter legacy between civilian principals in the defence ministry and the military. The civil officials claim, the manner in which the dispute was aired, created a dangerous precedence and undermined civilian control. On the other hand, the Military portrayed the episode as one where devious bureaucrats conspired to ensure that the services got a raw deal.
The present state of affairs ‘smack’ of unsatisfactory leadership, civil and military. And also 'coloured advocacy' by some. All this hurts CMR. We therefore have titled this Post 'No Magic Bullet for Anyone'. Our Research and Analysis ought to be honest and directed towards the norms of upholding our Constitution, and hold sane lessons for civil and military leadership, both.
We all must recall the NDA’s prayer to be followed by all stakeholders: calling for the strength to “do the harder right than the easier wrong”. In hindsight, despite our non-existent and somewhat faulty declassification policy, we are now aware about how civil-military tensions and a divided officer class contributed to the disaster of 1962. To prevent another disaster, it is time for all the stakeholders to engage in an honest and dispassionate critical examination.
Click No Magic Bullet for Military
SvipjaCMRChair
