And after the Bangladesh war in 1971, the Chiefs of staff were rank detox level lower than the Comptroller and Auditor-general and Lieutenant-Generals lower than Chief secretaries, Major-General were placed below the deputy Comptroller and auditor-general.
The status of Brigadiers and below, having been left to the states to determine, has led to some strange anomalies. In Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Orissa, Brigadiers are ranked above Deputy Commissioner. However, in Rajasthan, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, Brigadiers rank below Deputy Commissioners. In Rajasthan & Brigadier with 25 years’ service or more is ranked lower than an I. A.S officer with nine years’ service.
But the carrot of protocol may not satisfy the young officers, Majors’ and Captains. They are unhappy over the proliferation of the top brass which has reduced their promotion chances. The remark made is that “it is an army of generals.”
The government has created many posts of Lieutenant-Generals, Major-Generals and Brigadiers. But what it really means is that only those many posts have been upgraded, reducing an equivalent number at the Major level. The result is that many Majors have been reverted to the rank of Captain after having served for five to six years. This affected Captains.
The young officers in the 1965 war against Pakistan did far better than their commanders. Lt. Gen. Harbaksh Singh, then leading operation of the western sector, in his postwar report to the military headquarters said: “There appeared to be a tendency in higher command to succumb to pressure of events and fall an easy prey to dark and gloomy apprehension.”
Every promotion in the army means an automatic extension of two years. Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels retire at the age of 52 while the Brigadiers, two years later, and so on. The up gradation of Brigadiers and above can benefit up to four years.
During the four-year period, some Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels, who are waiting to become Brigadiers, may have to retire, as they will be attaining the retirement age of 52, However, one case of extension of service beyond two years created a wave of protest some time ago leading to 12 statutory complaints asking for similar ‘extension in their cases as well.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 15, 1986
