After fulfillment of One Rank One Pension (OROP) demand, the next long-standing demand of Indian Armed Forces is the formation of the office of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), a position for the operational head of the Indian Armed Forces as a whole, which will integrate the service headquarters to the ministry.
In the modern era, the concept Chief of the Defence Staff or Commander-in-Chief over the services was first introduced by the British, after World War I. The Gallipoli disaster taught not only the British but also the world nations, the need of integration and coordination between the services for enhanced efficiency in case of a conflict and as well as in peace. By the end of World War II, almost all the countries had a position for the Chief of the Defence Staff, though the nomenclature is different. During the British rule, perhaps India was the only country to a have single C-in-C for the tri-services (army, navy, and air force). However, in 1947, this arrangement was discarded and an own C-in-C was appointed to each service, making India the only major country not to have a CDS. This step was and is sometimes regarded as the brainchild of Nehru, who feared a military coup d’etat in the infant nation.
The concept of CDS was once again back in picture after 1971 Indo-Pakistani War (Bangladesh Liberation War). Indira Gandhi, for his exemplary leadership, decided to promote Sam Manekshaw to field-marshal and subsequently appoint him as the Chief of the Defence Staff. But the latter was dropped after several objections from the bureaucracy and the commanders of the navy and the air force. Once again after the 1999 Kargil War, a task force headed by Arun Singh, a former Rajya Raksha Mantri (RRM, Minister of State for Defence),was set up to study and report the conditions for setting up a higher defence formation in the country. The task force recommended an establishment of combined service headquarters and subsequently the appointment of CDS. Though the recommendations were accepted, its implementation has been tardy.
In later time, the appointment of Chief of Integrated Defence Staff has been made. However, the holder of this position is a three-star officer with limited authority to synergize the tri-services on critical issues. Besides the position of Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, it is acclaimed by some that the coordination carried out by the existing position of Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) is adequately enough, which is completely false. The position of Chairman COSC is non-permanent and rotational. It goes to the senior most serving chief, consequently the term is short. In one case it was precisely thirty days, and because the chairman has to run his own service, he has limited time to devote to the task of promoting inter-service coordination and cooperation.
If the position of CDS is created, it would be the first major military reform by Modi government in the organizational structure of the forces. Benefits of CDS include:
- It will provide the much needed break from the bureaucratic domination of defence.
- It will function as Chief Advisor to the government on military matters and policy making.
- The creation of cyber and space commands, for instance, both accorded as top priority by the government, would be incomplete without a CDS.
The fears if a CDS is appointed include:
- Military coup d’etat is always the first fear that strikes one’s mind, when about CDS is heard. A coup is completely impossible in a country such as a diverse as India. The position of CDS is placed parallel to the Defence Secretary in the hierarchical structure, so that check and balance of power is always there. Moreover, the chances of overruling all the three service chiefs (COAS, CNS, CAS) is non-viable.
- Second one is the fear of smaller services; the navy or the air force getting dominated by the army. CDS will be a rotating one between the services. To put such fears to ground, the first two appointees ought to be from the navy, then the air force, and then from the army.
As per the recent media reports, it was observed that the government was in favour of establishing a Permanent Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, which has been reportedly redacted by the Cabinet Secretary (Pradeep K.Sinha), the NSA (Ajit Doval) and the RM (Manohar Parrikar). At a time a senior government official was heard saying, “The whole idea behind appointing a PC COSC is to break down silos within armed forces and create synergy in the fighting force. The problem with the existing separate military headquarters is that there is a turf war between the three wings with each seeing things with its own perspective and requirement.”
Eventually, it is better that India doesn’t remain the only country without a CDS. The fact that India is now a global player and an emerging superpower must not be ignored. For a better and for the best synergy between our esteemed forces, CDS is must. However, the fears of coup or some or the other may be eliminated by setting up a definite policy and protocol.
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