Ministry overruled army

New Delhi: The defence ministry overruled objections from the armed forces in issuing an order on October 18 that downgraded military officers in comparison to civilian officers.

In a note to the ministry, the army has pointed out that in August and September this year it had "categorically objected to the systematic downgrading of defence officers in status/equivalence vis-à-vis civilian officers".

The downgrading of military officers of the ranks of major general, brigadier and colonel to equivalent ranks of principal director, director and joint director - down by a notch in each case - has become an issue largely because of the political and public adulation of the armed forces following the Uri attack and the "surgical strikes" of September 29.

Photographs of soldiers are featured in political posters of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has likened the "surgical strikes" to the kind of action that Israel takes against Palestinian fighters and said in Varanasi that the nation celebrated "Chhoti Diwali" on September 29, the day of the military operation in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Tuesday the order on equivalence was for "functional" reasons. The military, in which the subject of rank is tied with status, is, however, upset with the downgrading. Parrikar has promised to address the issue within a week.

There is an official "Warrant of Precedence (WoP)" issued by the President and maintained by the home ministry. This is a list of government officials and functionaries beginning with the President at the apex. It is meant largely for ceremonial formality, not the daily business of administration.

The chiefs of the armed forces with the rank of full general and equivalent are 12th in the current WoP. Among officials, they are preceded by the cabinet secretary. Vice-chiefs and equivalent of the military and secretaries at the Centre and chief secretaries in the states come in at 23.

Military officers argue that the downgrading of ranks impacts functionality in administration. A colonel explained that so far, he has had two joint directors from the civilian cadre in his directorate. He is the director. But suddenly he finds himself being equated with his subordinates who are now at liberty to disregard his instructions.

"This will increase red tape because the military and the civilian officers will find it more difficult to get along in the so-called 'Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence'," he said.

So acute is the observance of rank in the ministry that the defence secretary, who is officially "responsible for the defence of India", and the service chiefs meet on neutral ground - not in one another's offices in South Block - but in a conference room.

The armed forces, in bureaucratese, are not part of but are "attached offices" of the ministry of defence. Their rank structure differs from the civilian rank structure. For the purposes of functionality, a major general in the armed forces headquarters has so far been accepted as equivalent to a joint secretary. That is also the case in the Warrant of Precedence. But he has in the latest October 18 order of the defence ministry been brought down to the civilian equivalent of a "principal director". The army has in effect lost a rank. A brigadier has been kicked down a rung to the level of a director and a colonel from director to joint director.

Within the military, if this were to be done to a soldier, it would be regarded as a case of severe punishment.