Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not even spare the country’s army to achieve his political goals as his government started preferring army officers with extremist Hindu views over moderate officers. Professional and moderate officers are being neglected in promotions and transfers. Voices were also raised from within India on the use of Indian forces as a political weapon. At present, four retired army officers hold the posts of governor and lieutenant governor.

Lt Gen (retd) Paranek, who participated in Operation Parakram 2002, was appointed governor of Arunachal Pradesh on February 16, 2023. Lt Gen (retd) Pranayak is also accused of fraudulently grabbing 2009 acres of land in Rajasthan in 2012.

Lieutenant General (retd) Gurmeet Singh, who commanded the 15 Corps based in Srinagar and oppressed Kashmiris, has been appointed as the Governor of Uttarakhand state. In 2017, Admiral (retd) DK Joshi was appointed governor of Andaman and Nicobar in view of growing US interest in the Indian Ocean. In February 2023, Brigadier (retd) BD Mishra, who was anti-Pakistan, was appointed lieutenant governor of Ladakh. The four governors have political affiliations with the BJP and have extremist views against Pakistan.

Lt Gen (retd) Ranbir Singh, who announced fake surgical strikes in September 2016, was appointed commander northern command in 2018 as a reward. In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections, the BJP won a two-thirds majority in the elections through photographs of General (retd) Ranbir Singh.

In April 2019, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had claimed that the Bharatiya Sena was actually the Modi Sena. In 2016, Narendra Modi promoted Bipin Rawat to two senior officers and named him as the army chief. Bipin Rawat had a long-standing and close relationship with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

General Bipin Rawat was appointed chief of defence staff in January 2020. In 2015, the Bipin Rawat-led 3 Corps claimed surgical strikes in Myanmar. Major Gogoi, who tied Farooq Ahmad Dar to an army vehicle in 2018 Kashmir, was openly defended by Bipin Rawat. In 2017, Modi was given political mileage by staging a drama against China at the Doklam border and the Balakot surgical strikes in 2019.

"I wish Kashmiris, instead of throwing stones, fire at us so that we can teach them a lesson," Rawat said. Bipin Rawat had also openly defended the Modi government's new citizenship laws. After the death of General Bipin Rawat in September 2022, lt gen Anil Chauhan, a retired army officer with political affiliation with the BJP, was appointed chief of defence staff in place of the senior-most general MM Nourane. General Anil Chauhan was the mastermind of the Balakot surgical drama in 2019.

In September 2021, during the military parade in Dev Lali, the Indian army removed the aarti and ended the Modi government's appeasement. In another such incident, in September 2021, Srinagar-based 15 Corps congratulated Narendra Modi on his 71st birthday through a cheerful tweet.

In 2021, the navy and air force chiefs wrote letters to the president expressing their reservations over anti-Muslim speeches by Hindu extremists in every event, while the Indian army chief refused to sign the letter. As a result of Operation Soft Retort, the Indian Air Force also claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16 for Modi's political gains. In continuation of the same policy in 2021, Abhinandan was also awarded the Vir Chakra. In 2019, 7 senior retired army officers joined the BJP.

Those who joined include Lt Gen Yadav, Lt Gen Patial, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Lt Gen Suneet Kumar and Lt Gen Nitin Kohli. In 2014, retired army chief General VK Singh also joined the BJP. Indian army officers also regularly attend RSS and BJP gatherings in uniform. In May 2019, the Election Commission complained of pressure from the Indian army to the jawans to vote in favour of the BJP. The ideological commitment, political character and rewards of political positions on retirement of the world's fourth largest army are a slap in the face of the so-called Indian democracy.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP