Political scientist Samuel Huntington observed that for much of American history, its military had retained “the outlook of an estranged minority”. The same could be said in the Indian context, too. The sense of diminishment of the institution of the Indian Armed Forces vis-à-vis its civilian/political masters is not new. A cursory look at the official Warrant of Precedence revised periodically over the last 75 years is a story in itself. It’s a story of a consistent slide, irrespective of who holds the government reins.
Today, despite inflated attempts at almost wrapping themselves in the tri-colour ("desh ka sipahi jo muh tod jawab deta hai", or, "India's soldier who gives a fitting response"), enlisting garrulous veterans as ‘newsroom warriors’, and ‘Bollywood-ising’ the olive-green folks (“How’s the Josh?”), the politico-military dissonance, especially amongst the ranks of apolitical (but politically aware) veterans, can barely be concealed. Something seems amiss.