11-09-2008, 09:53 AM
There is no doubt that the incident needs a full investigation. However, at present it appears to have turned into a Media Exercise. The thinking within the Army gets reflected in the following article in The Telegraph:-
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Army headquarters has pulled an iron shroud over itself follow- ing the arrest of a serving offi- cer for the first time on char- ges of terrorism and the chief, General Deepak Kapoor, has asked for reports on the con- tacts of Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit.
The total clampdown on information is not only an indi- cator that the army is trying to protect its own. It is also the beginning of a counter-intelli- gence drive that has alerted everyone in the chain of com- mand to mount a surveillance. In the Intelligence Corps, to which the lieutenant col- onel belonged, information is shared on a need-to-know bas- is and the impression that the officer would have much greater access is unfounded, army headquarters sources insist.
But even before Maharashtraâs anti-terrorism squad and the Intelligence Bureau have given their reports to the army, officers in the top hierarchy are squirming over the taint that the charges of religious fundamentalism can mean in their operations.
âThis (the army) is the last resort of the state,â said a lieutenant general. âBut now we are being dragged into a game even before investigations are complete. I wonder if the police have not been indiscreet and waded into political mudslinging.â The officer was speaking on condition of anonymity after the Congress and the CPM alleged that RSS-sponsored elements were seeking to âsaffroniseâ the army. In a statement yesterday, the CPM said âHindutva infiltrationâ in the army had âdisturbing implications for national securityâ.
The only public acknowledgement of the embarrassment in the army so far has come from one of its deputy chiefs, Lt Gen. S.P .S. Dhillon. But like serving and retired officers, he has dismissed it as a âfreak incidentâ. Earlier, he had admitted: âThe Indian Armyâs prestige has been hurt after our officerâs name came up in the Malegaon blast case.â In army headquarters here, officers are annoyed that the ATS is leaking information on possible arrests. They refuse to confirm or deny that two or three more officers, including a major general, is under the scanner.
âThis is not the Pakistani army. We have strong secular traditions,â said an officer, referring to the Islamisation of Pakistanâs military that began in earnest under former President General Zia-ul Haq.
âIt is unfair to say that the complete image of the army is tarnished,â said General (retired) V .P. Malik, who was the army chief during the 1999 Kargil war. âThe army contin ues to be the most trusted in stitution in this country and I am sure that it has internal mechanisms and a counter-in telligence system that will have alerted everybody con cerned. This matter should not be politicised.â The political charges fol lowing Purohitâs arrest worry the army top brass the most because they could affect ope rations. For example, Muslim officers would be under severe pressure if charges that Hin dutva outfits are influencing the officer cadre gain ground.
Many of them working in sensitive positions â such as the divisional commander in Baramulla in Kashmirâs in surgent Valley â have to man both the border and deal with law and order disturbances.
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Army headquarters has pulled an iron shroud over itself follow- ing the arrest of a serving offi- cer for the first time on char- ges of terrorism and the chief, General Deepak Kapoor, has asked for reports on the con- tacts of Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit.
The total clampdown on information is not only an indi- cator that the army is trying to protect its own. It is also the beginning of a counter-intelli- gence drive that has alerted everyone in the chain of com- mand to mount a surveillance. In the Intelligence Corps, to which the lieutenant col- onel belonged, information is shared on a need-to-know bas- is and the impression that the officer would have much greater access is unfounded, army headquarters sources insist.
But even before Maharashtraâs anti-terrorism squad and the Intelligence Bureau have given their reports to the army, officers in the top hierarchy are squirming over the taint that the charges of religious fundamentalism can mean in their operations.
âThis (the army) is the last resort of the state,â said a lieutenant general. âBut now we are being dragged into a game even before investigations are complete. I wonder if the police have not been indiscreet and waded into political mudslinging.â The officer was speaking on condition of anonymity after the Congress and the CPM alleged that RSS-sponsored elements were seeking to âsaffroniseâ the army. In a statement yesterday, the CPM said âHindutva infiltrationâ in the army had âdisturbing implications for national securityâ.
The only public acknowledgement of the embarrassment in the army so far has come from one of its deputy chiefs, Lt Gen. S.P .S. Dhillon. But like serving and retired officers, he has dismissed it as a âfreak incidentâ. Earlier, he had admitted: âThe Indian Armyâs prestige has been hurt after our officerâs name came up in the Malegaon blast case.â In army headquarters here, officers are annoyed that the ATS is leaking information on possible arrests. They refuse to confirm or deny that two or three more officers, including a major general, is under the scanner.
âThis is not the Pakistani army. We have strong secular traditions,â said an officer, referring to the Islamisation of Pakistanâs military that began in earnest under former President General Zia-ul Haq.
âIt is unfair to say that the complete image of the army is tarnished,â said General (retired) V .P. Malik, who was the army chief during the 1999 Kargil war. âThe army contin ues to be the most trusted in stitution in this country and I am sure that it has internal mechanisms and a counter-in telligence system that will have alerted everybody con cerned. This matter should not be politicised.â The political charges fol lowing Purohitâs arrest worry the army top brass the most because they could affect ope rations. For example, Muslim officers would be under severe pressure if charges that Hin dutva outfits are influencing the officer cadre gain ground.
Many of them working in sensitive positions â such as the divisional commander in Baramulla in Kashmirâs in surgent Valley â have to man both the border and deal with law and order disturbances.
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