The recent controversy surrounding former Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir Four Stars of Destiny raises questions far beyond the ensuing political one-upmanship.
The gravest threat is to the future of the Constitutional institution of the Indian Armed Forces to remain apolitical. The proverbial “sword-arm” of the sovereign simply cannot succumb to partisan passions. The institution’s apolitical perception is not maintained by the restraint of the soldiers alone; it is upheld or undermined by the conduct of the political class—both from the ruling and the Opposition benches.
However, as India’s political discourse is becoming dangerously 'militaristic' and inflicted with 'muscular' passions, appropriation of the 'Indian Soldier' under partisan flags, is always susceptible. With the stifling air of hypernationalism all around, such an unwarranted co-option of the apolitical institution into political exchanges comes with a long-term cost.