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Line of control | The Indian Express

Line of control | The Indian Express

Line of control

General Rawat’s remarks on Northeast and immigration from Bangladesh threaten to disturb a delicate civil-military poise

By: Editorial | Updated: February 23, 2018 8:19 am
The IFSR notes a more than one per cent increase in very dense forests.
General Rawat’s remarks on Northeast and immigration from Bangladesh threaten to disturb a delicate civil-military poise

Speaking at a seminar on ‘North East Region of India — Bridging Gaps and Securing Borders’ in Delhi on Wednesday, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat ventured into sensitive political territory by comparing the rate of growth of Maulana Badruddin Ajmal’s All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam with the rise of the BJP since the Bharatiya Jana Sangh days. Commenting on the political implications of what he termed as “population inversion”, he referred to the rise in the Muslim population in states of the Northeast, particularly Assam. “Finally, what will be the state of Assam, we will have to take a call,” the general said. His remarks are significant, and disturbing. In independent India, a line has been drawn, and respected, between the domestic political arena and serving military officers. This tradition of separation has served this country well, and it has not struck roots in many other developing countries to their detriment. Coming in the midst of the ongoing process of the compiling of the National Register of Citizens in Assam, these public pronouncements by the Army Chief can potentially sharpen anxieties and insecurities. Although General Rawat spoke about amalgamating “all the kind of people that are living there”, his statements, taken together, have the effect of narrowing the options available to the government in an already fraught scenario.
At the seminar, the Army Chief did not just tread perilous ground on domestic issues. Immigration from Bangladesh, the general claimed, was due to proxy warfare undertaken by Pakistan and supported by China. India’s relations with all three countries are precariously balanced and utmost discretion needs to be exercised by the government in addressing diplomatic issues pertaining to them — now the Army Chief’s statements threaten to hurt the balance, undo the gains. Specifically, General Rawat’s use of the German word “lebensraum” in the context of Bangladeshi immigration is problematic given its close association with Nazi policies in Eastern Europe in the 20th century.
The latest comments by General Rawat seem to hold up an unfortunate pattern — they follow his earlier publicly aired controversial views on Kashmir politics and its education system, and opinion on India’s diplomatic stance towards China in the Indian Ocean region. The Army has an important role to play in the external defence of the country, besides supporting the security forces in stabilising the internal security situation when called upon to do so. As the head of an important institution, the Army Chief is bound to have views on matters that directly affect the employment and well-being of his men. But those views must be shared with government officials or the political leadership behind closed doors, not announced publicly. The apolitical nature of the army and its chief is essential to the character of Indian democracy, and any shift in the balance of civil-military relations would be disorienting. While General Rawat must reflect upon his tendency to make sensitive public pronouncements, it is equally imperative for the political leadership to counsel restraint.
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