Army Chief General Rawat asked Pakistan to adopt secularism last week despite knowing it very well that secularism though bench mark of politics in India for the last seventy years is in threat in his own country (India). Perhaps ignorant about the fact that Pakistan is called “Islamic Republic Of Pakistan” and India claims to the symbol of secularism in the world the army chief is least bothered about the renaming of the historical cities by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP’s pledge to change the name of Hyderabad city in Andhra Pardesh if the saffron party is voted to power. So General Rawat is trying to ask Islamic Republic Of Pakistan to pursue secular politics which is not the bench mark of politics in that country but chooses to be silent over the slow and steady death of secularism in India the country which has been preaching secular politics for about last seventy years. Usually uniformed men don’t talk about politics till the time they remain in active service but General Bipin Rawat is perhaps the only army chief who while in active service talks about controversial political issues without showing any respect to the professional neutrality he has to maintain as army chief.
Though it is for the Prime Minister and Defence Minister to restrict the army chief from passing on remarks over the working of political institutions in other sovereign states but unfortunately the incumbent government at the centre does not bother to put on notice the authorities who don’t have the mandate to speak on issues concerning country’s relations with the other sovereign states but they speak without caring for the institutional and administrative accountability.
A government which allows country’s army chief to speak on contentious political issues can’t have any concern for professional integrity of the highest military office of the country. Prior to his sermons on secularism to Pakistan the army Chief has attracted a lot of criticism over his remarks on the conduct of teachers in schools in Kashmir valley. The top public functionaries working under the command and control of an elected government in a country like India cease the right to speak on any contentious political issue which could attract criticism from any other country. Though it is for the Prime Minister and Defence Minister to restrict the army chief from passing on remarks over the working of political institutions in other sovereign states but unfortunately the incumbent government at the centre does not bother to put on notice the authorities who don’t have the mandate to speak on issues concerning country’s relations with the other sovereign states but they speak without caring for the institutional and administrative accountability.
