Muslim Headcount in Armed Forces

UPA dividing the country and
armed forces: Advaniji

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Shri Lal Krishna Advani spoke at length on the reported move to conduct a survey on the basis of religion in Defence Forces. The full text of his speech in Lok Sabha is published below.

I am grateful to you for permitting me to raise this particular matter. I am referring to the reported communal headcount ordered in respect of the Armed Forces. I am not referring to the other issues to which also I have exception like the appointment of the Justice Sachar Committee itself.

Basically, I believe that poverty, backwardness, etc. are non-sectarian issues and they should not be brought in a sectarian manner. That apart, so far as the communal headcount in the Armed Forces is concerned, I am really surprised how this Government can even conceive of it.

After all, you can see the universal sense of outrage that has been evoked in the whole country, right from the Chiefs of the various Staff – Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Air Marshall Shri Tyagi, everyone – of them – right down to the commonest of the common man and right down to the entire Media in the country. What is the reaction?

Anger in the Army “It is not the Army’s philosophy to maintain such information as per religion. We do not bother where they come from, what their language is or what their religion is”. – General Joginder Jaswant Singh, Chief of Army Staff “This all-wise Sachar Committee has initiated an exercise that is fraught with great danger as it hits at the very notion of fair play. Many former and serving soldiers believe that the data collection is the thin end of the wedge of introducing religion or caste based reservations in the Armed Forces also.” – Colonel (Retd.) Dr. Anil Athale

Never in independent India has any Government ever thought of it. This UPA Government is the first Government – I do not know whether the allies are in agreement with it – to do it. But basically it is something that should not be viewed as a prestige issue.

I would appeal to the Defence Minister, the Leader of the House, present here to view it objectively. What is sought to be achieved by this? I see that it is trying to create a database. Why this database after 58 years? I have seen today, while the Government claims that it has got record but it will not give it to the Sachar Committee, it has got the numbers and the counts but both the Air and Naval Chiefs have denied publicly today that they have not given it. The reaction of General J.J. Singh was very vehement on the very day when the Report had appeared. He said very strongly, “The Army first declines saying this sends wrong signals to the troops who work together”. General J.J. Singh said, “It is not the Army’s philosophy to maintain such information as per religion. We do not bother where they come from, what their language is or what their religion is”. This is the natural and spontaneous reaction. He did not have to think, did not have to consult anyone. I think he as well as the other two Chiefs have taken a bold and correct decision and given a bold and correct response. Therefore, to simply say that our Army is secular and there is no question of any such thing as is being apprehended is not correct.

May I point out that these days there have been books published in America which are pernicious? There is a book written by an American citizen and the thesis is what is the communal composition of the Army in India, because it is the largest coercive force. This is the thesis and he says that because of this kind of Army there is ethnic violence in India, suggesting that because the percentage of Minority in the Army is small, therefore, there is anti-minority climate in the country. This is the pernicious thesis. I was happy to note because a reference was made. The name of the book is, ‘Khaki and Ethnic Violence in India’ and the summary if I were to quote is:

“India’s military, paramilitary and the police constitute one of the largest security forces around the globe. Who constitute these forces? What is the ethnic and religious background of these troops? Does the composition of these forces mirror the diversity of Indian society? Have their composition undergone any change since Independence?”

This I regard as a very pernicious thesis and even though formally the Sachar Committee has distanced itself from this American Scholar’s book, it has allowed itself to be used as a conduit for such pernicious thesis. This is my charge and when I say this,. I have with me an article written by an Ex-Serviceman, a former Colonel, Dr. Anil Athale based in Pune, who expresses concern about this. He says:

“This all wise Sachar Committee has initiated an exercise that is fraught with great danger as it hits at the very notion of fair play.”

After all, all our officers in the Army and all our Generals are proud of the fact that when we take people in the Army, we take them on merit.

Though it may be said that some areas have less representation, I belong to Gujarat and I have always pointed out to my friends in Gujarat that Gujarat has a very small percentage in the Army and in the Para-Military Forces also with which I dealt during my period as the Home Minister. I used to ask how many people are there from Gujarat. But that does not mean as if there is any discrimination against Gujarat or against States from which representation is small. That way, I would say that we have in the country organisations like say Wipro and Cipla and they may be owned by senior minority people.

There may not be a representation of minorities for different reasons. Therefore, this attempt of headcount in the Armed Forces is, as has been rightly said, fraught with dangerous implications. Not only that, this particular Army Officer has expressed a kind of misgiving or apprehension. I think it is a warning. He says:

“Many former and serving soldiers believe that the data collection is the thin end of the wedge of introducing religion or caste based reservations in the Armed Forces also.”

Now this is something which disturbs me greatly. Therefore, I wish the Prime Minister was here because he has lent credibility to this communal headcount by describing this Committee as the Prime Minister’s high-level committee for preparation of a report on the social, economic and educational conditions of the Muslim community in India.

As I said in the beginning, I have objection even to the formation of the Sachar Committee, It should not have been formed. Never before has a Committee of this kind been formed. There is poverty in the country. There is no doubt about it. There is backwardness in the country. There is no doubt about it. All sections of the society must be taken forward and their welfare must be thought of but not in a sectarian manner.

My charge against this Government and against the Ruling Party is that all this is being – I can name so many measures taken during the last one and half years – aimed merely at vote-bank politics. Vote-bank politics has done a lot of damage to the country but to bring in vote bank politics even in the matter of the Armed Forces is something disgraceful. It is something absolutely unacceptable.

Therefore, I would urge the Government to immediately pronounce and tell the Sachar Committee that you should do nothing so far as far as the Armed Forces are concerned. This is my appeal.