Picking the best armed services should emphasise merit in top promotions without a hint of politicization

Picking the best armed services should emphasise merit in top promotions without a hint of politicization

India’s armed services are in the midst of a far-reaching change. To adapt to emerging challenges, the 17 single service commands under the army, air force and navy are to be merged into four theatre commands, each under a single operational commander. The process is expected to take another two years. In this backdrop, there are other changes in the making to bring these organisations in sync with the overarching goal of theatre commands.

A proposal to put greater emphasis on merit and, thereby, not emphasising seniority, at the level of selection for commands is in the works. To be sure, armed forces’ promotions are based on merit as the organisational pyramid narrows sharply. Moreover, chiefs of service are not necessarily selected on seniority. At least two chiefs in the last five years have superseded their colleagues as GoI felt they were the best fit. That seniority need not be the primary criterion to select a chief is not under debate here. The core issue is the selection at the penultimate stage, that of commanders-in-chief.

There are two issues at stake. One, the lack of uniformity in selection criteria between the three armed services. Since the plan is theatre commands under a single operational commander, differences in selection criteria between services need to be removed during the transition. Two, and more serious, is the apprehension that the drive towards a greater emphasis on meritocracy may end up undermining professional ethos of services – in other words, politicisation of senior ranks should not be the unintended consequence.

There can be no argument against a greater emphasis on merit. That’s what underpins promotions in most admired militaries. The way forward is to design a set of criteria that are transparent and geared towards rewarding professional competence. It should be obvious that a professional military cannot afford politicisation. And neither can it ignore a relentless pursuit of merit.