‘Justice is My Religion’: The Indian Army Must Remember its Secular Legacy

The avoidance of spiritual godmen/godwomen by military leaders is the unsaid practice.

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi with Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya during an event, in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh on 29 May, 2025.

(Photo: PTI/Altered by Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

In the rarefied air of military cantonments, the naam, namak, and nishan (name/identity, fidelity, and accoutrements) of the regiment are sacred and inviolable. The DNA of a regimental warrior is especially freighted with the timeless traditions and ethos of its regimental forebears.

One such justifiably proud band of warriors hails from the only regiment of Princely India’s State Forces that was fully absorbed as a distinct and separate regiment—the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (Jak Rif). Popularly called the 'Gentleman Soldiers' of the Indian Army for their noble, dignified, and disciplined conduct, the saga of the Jak Rif dates back to the gallant Dogra kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir, under Maharaja Gulab Singh, as far back as 1820.

Its antiquity boasts of fierce but virtuous warriors such as the indefatigable General Zorawar Singh, and the “Saviour of Kashmir” ie, Brigadier Rajindra Singh Jamwal, MVC.

Even in modern history, the heroics immortalised by the ‘Yeh dil maange more’ spirit of Captain Vikram Batra PVC, or Rifleman Sanjay Kumar PVC—both lion-hearted warriors from the ‘Bravest of the Brave’ paltan, the 13th Jak Rif, personifies their unmatched contributions in upholding their heroic traditions and dignified past of the erstwhile Dogra Kingdom.

A Regiment Born of a Diverse, Noble Past

Unbeknownst to many, the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir (ruled by the illustrious Jamwal clan) was the largest princely state in British India—also one of only five to be accorded 21-gun salute status.

Importantly, the princely state’s territorial extent, and therefore its military intake, spanned the Jammu region, the hills of Himachal Pradesh, contiguous districts of Punjab, the Kashmir Valley, Leh-Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Hunza, regions up to Skardu (in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), and even, at one point, the steppes of Tibet, conquered by General Zorawar Singh.,

This expansive domain afforded recruitment into the famed J&K State Forces of Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, and tribal or nomadic communities — all drawn from this diverse landmass.

The Original “Idea of India”

In many ways, the erstwhile princely J&K State and its accompanying military preceded the mellifluously secular, deliberately inclusive, and large-hearted “Idea of India.”

Contrary to the current narrative of the Jammu vs Valley divide, the Dogra Kingdom and its military were avowedly secular and acutely conscious of not hardwiring religious overtones that might alienate the non-Hindu majority.

Unlike so many other regressive royal families, the Jamwal rulers made substantial societal outreaches, reforms, and even independent commissions to understand concerns of non-Hindus, such as the Glancy Commission.

Although Maharaja Hari Singh was a devout Hindu and patron of temples such as Raghunath and Vaishno Devi, he tellingly declared, “Justice is my religion,” to reassure Muslims, Buddhists, and others of his intent to harmonise his governance.

The term “Dogra” itself came to signify not a religious identity, but a regional one —of the Duggar lands (Jammu, Himachal, Punjab, etc)— wherein a Dogra warrior could just as easily be Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh.

Jak Rif: Secular Ethos in Action

Befittingly, the heir to General Zorawar’s gallant J&K State Forces carried on these fine values and chivalry with much aplomb. The regiment's modern history boasts of religious diversity: Honourary Captain Sundar Singh (Ashok Chakra), a Sikh; Major General Pithawala (Ashok Chakra), a Parsi; and Rifleman Arif Khan Pathan, a brave Muslim soldier who laid down his life in the regiment’s finest traditions.

Such inclusive military culture does not accrue by its own— it stems from certain avoidances, outreaches, and the recognition of larger underlying sensitivities.

Common perceptions today are woefully ignorant of how Maharaja Hari Singh had democratised, liberalised, and secularised his administration when he could have conformed to the stereotypical communal profile. His initial desire to remain independent was borne out of a sensitivity to keep his Muslim-majority reassured, even though later-day Kashmiri leaders like Sheikh Abdullah shamefully diminished his stature.

However, the reality of the princely J&K is one of an unsung and forgotten monarchy that was truly secular, modernist, and always first in the line of defence for India, whenever an evil eye was cast over its territorial integrity, dignity, and grandeur, of the civilisational-constitutional “Idea of India."

A Proud Legacy in Safe Hands

Today, General Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM, and an officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, serves as the Chief of the Indian Army.

He also proudly bears the additional responsibility of being the “Colonel of the Regiment” which marches to its motto Prashasta Ranvirta (Valour in Battle is Praiseworthy), upholding the sheer dare, dignity, and the inclusive tenets of the Jak Rif Veterans and its initial avatar of J&K State Forces (as also of the entirety of the magnificent Indian Army), before and after independence.

In wounded times such as these, when society and the nation are reeling under polarisation, division, and “us vs them” narratives, it is the rare institution of the Armed Forces that has stood out like a beacon of secularity and unflinching constitutionality.

The respected Chief had once famously stated that he was “multi-religious” in his personal beliefs, testifying to his regimental beliefs, antiquity, and loftiness. It is also to his credit—and under his direct command—that India recently (and yet again) triumphed over an infinitely poorer “Idea of Pakistan”, which afflicts the Pakistani Army, that is increasingly given to religious pandering.

The institution of the Indian Army retains it sharpness, bluntness and kinetic ability by not falling prey to the vicissitudes, compromises, and leniencies that are common in political leadership.

The Line Between Faith and Optics

That's why it was rare and somewhat odd to see the Army Chief engaging with a spiritual guru at his ashram in Madhya Pradesh.

To be clear, the Army Chief is fully entitled to meet anyone, including any religious leader from any faith. In fact, military leaders often pay obeisance and even seek blessings of their respective regimental deities and places of worship—Jak Rif’s war cry is “Durge Mata ki Jai”—but the avoidance of spiritual godmen/godwomen is the unsaid practice.

For example, gurudwaras or temples are frequently visited and prayed at, but an arm’s distance with the clerical body that maintains the said gurudwara or temple is clinically maintained, as that could potentially drift the engagement from one rooted in personal or regimental belief to one seeped in political or partisan side of faiths.

News of the said guru asking for Guru Dakshina (token of gratitude paid by the student to a teacher or guru) in the form of “retaking the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir” was relayed across the country. While the conflation of nationalism and religious leaders ought to be perfectly fine in their personal capacities, for him to engage publicly with a professional soldier (that too, the Chief) was perhaps avoidable.

That the said guru has been an active part of a religio-political party and has commented extensively on various political issues including polarising issues such as the Ram Janamabhoomi, makes the choice of such public engagement even more questionable.

To suggest that it was a routine call of paying respect to a historic place of worship would be very naïve. The issue would have been the same had the person been from any other religious denomination.

As General Colin Powel once said, “The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow”, is relevant to assess the impact of normalisation of such incidents.

The wise and thoroughly accomplished Army Chief would know better. The merits of deliberately and calculatedly avoiding portents of political religiosity are well-established in the annals of the Indian Army, especially amongst those who trace their lineage to the most secular, virtuous, and progressionist past of Jammu and Kashmir State forces.  

(The author is a Former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry. This is an opinion piece, and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)