‘Moustache buddy’ to general: Do what is right

PV Naik, VK Singh

New Delhi, July 26: The head of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, today advised his old “moustache” buddy, General V.K. Singh, “to do what is right” on the run-in with the government over the army chief’s date of birth.

The defence minister, A.K. Antony, last week ordered the army to settle its chief’s date of birth at May 10, 1950, even though the records are unreconciled and the adjutant general’s branch of the army, responsible for maintaining data on its personnel, has the date of birth recorded as May 10, 1951.

“All three services chief at present, including General V.K. Singh and the navy chief, Admiral Nirmal Verma, and myself are from the Hunter Squadron in the National Defence Academy and share a great synergy and spirit of co-operation and friendship in spite of the seniority gaps,” the air chief said recalling an association that goes back more than 40 years, to a time when they were first growing moustaches.

“My only advice to him is: Do whatever you think is right. After all, it is a matter of friendship. What else can I tell him?” Air Chief Marshal Naik replied when asked if the army chief had sought his advice during the controversy over his age.

General Singh is scheduled to retire in May 2012 but if his date of birth is, despite last week’s defence ministry order, recorded as May 10, 1951, he may become eligible for an extension of tenure. That would upset the line of succession in the army.

Army headquarters is now mulling its action after the defence ministry notification. It has already consulted legal experts. There are Supreme Court orders that the matriculation certificate should be taken as proof of age. General Singh’s certificate says his date of birth is May 10, 1951.

The air chief marshal’s reference to the Hunter Squadron emphasises the closeness that he has with the chiefs of the army and the navy. Naik is the seniormost of the service chiefs and chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He is due to retire at the end of this week, on July 31.

All cadets in the National Defence Academy are divided into 14 squadrons in four battalions. The service chiefs have known each other as comrades since they were in their teens.

The Hunter Squadron is unique because it is the only one in which cadets can sport moustaches that they may shave off as they are passing out of the academy. None of the service chiefs sports a moustache anymore.

In another development, the defence ministry has twice returned proposals from the army that its chief, General Singh, attend the latest edition of the Pacific Armies Conference in Singapore that begins on Thursday.

After the proposal was first turned down, a defence source said, the vice-chief of army staff may represent the Indian Army. But the vice-chief had other business, army headquarters informed the defence ministry. It has now been decided that The Director General (Perspective Planning) in army headquarters, Lieutenant General Sumer Singh, will represent the chief.

AA source clarified that this was not meant as a slight to General Singh but was intended to give the signal that India does not want to upgrade its level of engagement in a US Army Pacific initiative to the level of the chief of army staff.

The source said that on five of six occasions, the vice-chief had represented the Indian Army.

But General V.K. Singh’s predecessor, General (now retired) Deepak Kapoor, had attended the conference twice, both as vice-chief and as the chief.

The US Army describes the conference as its “premier theatre security co-operation programme” in its Pacific Command area of responsibility.

India has co-hosted the Pacific Armies Management Seminar (also a US Army Pacific initiative) once, in 2004, and the nodal authority was Lieutenant General (now retired) Shantonu Choudhury who was then the vice-chief of army staff.