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Smooth and well-oiled, the army could be under new chief

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Lieutenant General Sundararajan Padmanabhan's appointment as army chief is expected to reduce the differences within the force.

It would also pep up counterinsurgency operations, especially in the Kashmir valley, where the present general officer commanding of Southern Command has spent several years overseeing numerous crucial operations, army officials say.

General Padmanabhan, an artillery officer, is expected to correct the "step-motherly treatment" that the artillery wing, India's saviour during the Kargil conflict, receives.

Though army chief General Ved Prakash Malik showered praise on artillery officers for their role in Operation Vijay, he is accused of ignoring the interests of this important division.

General Malik is an infantry officer.

Artillery, the key component in any war and which provided effective fire cover to infantry during the Kargil operations, has till now got step-motherly treatment not just in the technological front, but even on appointments.

Army circles are abuzz with General Malik's favouritism towards infantry officers. This is was evident in the key appointments he made in the last couple of years, several of which went to infantry officers.

At the technological level, artillery has been demanding sophisticated support systems to equip itself for 21st century warfare, in nuclearised environment. In Kargil, the absence of such weapons was very visible.

Though the army is now in the process of ordering new equipment, sources familiar with the procedure say that it would take time. "Perhaps, this comes from the fact that the top brass is mostly from the infantry," feels an artillery officer.

General Padmanabhan would be able to remedy this and provide the artillery its due share in the army budget, believe many officers.

Another advantage that 'Paddy', as his colleagues fondly call the general, would bring is regarding Kashmir. He is one of the army's most experienced commanders there.

As the 15 Corps commander he had overseen the Hazratbal shrine siege operation in 1995 and the subsequent surrender of militants. Besides heading the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, General Padmanabhan also commanded the Udhampur-based Northern Command, which is responsible for the volatile borders of the entire state.

"He is our best Kashmir hand," says a senior army officer who, like many of his colleagues, believe that the general would be able to bring spectacular gains in counterinsurgency in Kashmir.

General Malik, though he successfully commanded Operation Vijay in Kargil, failed to navigate the army from its traditional outlooks in the nuclear era. The force is still to find its definite role in the nuclear environment, with a lot of its time and energy consumed by petty squabbles -- most glaring are the open differences between top army commanders, some of whom differed with General Malik even at the height of the Kargil war.

General Malik is also criticised for his decision not to honour the three battalions that were stationed in the Kargil area when the intrusions took place. He refused to recognise the contribution of even a single soldier from these battalions, despite several brave acts from them. Such questionable actions have led to demoralisation in some quarters.

The proposal to create a unified defence headquarters, to avoid the overbearing dependence on bureaucracy, has already evoked resentment from the navy and the air force. It is left to General Padmanabhan to iron out these differences.

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