Lately, Service Chiefs have been praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi especially his strategic acumen and guidance during Operation Sindoor. In particular, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan’s recent books on the transformation of the military and his lectures, including on Subhas Bose ,are ideologically aligned with government thinking. This month in Dehradun, Chauhan made a politically nuanced and factually slanted presentation critical of India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s China policy, especially the Panchsheel Agreement with China. This is the first time the highest ranking military officer has delved into politics though in sync with the establishment line.Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.Chauhan who is to retire in May is fishing for you know what. The Nehru archives reveal that Nehru wrote a letter on May 24, 1949, to General K.M. Cariappa, the first Chief of the Army Staff, after he had praised Nehru’s leadership and government achievements – that the Army should not talk on political matters in public and confine its views to military issues. Seventy five years later, in its words and deeds this government in the last decade has blurred the lines between politics, faith and professionalism in the services, while invoking ancient Indian military heritage whose relevance and utility are questionable. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has even advocated revenge!The Operation Sindoor overreach was witnessed at the recent International Kite Festival in Gujarat, in the Republic day parade and the Beating Retreat ceremony. As a veteran who has fought all the wars and operations after 1957, I dare to say – Op Sindoor was not the Army’s ‘finest hour’ and comparing an 88-hour non-contact engagement with 1971 war is sacrilegious. While the Air Force was indeed the lead performer, excelling itself, it should admit losses and lacunae. The Navy should not count its chickens before they are hatched. Operation Sindoor is being overly politicised and milked because it has the Modi stamp all over it. Civilian control does not mean military yielding on professional issues to political leaders. University of Minnesota professor Ronald Krebs recently presented at Kings College London his paper: ‘Why right wing populist leaders like Trump, Modi and Erdogan love dead soldiers and hate/distrust live officers.’How does Modi fit in Kreb’s headline-grabbing study against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor?Krebs says that these leaders ‘love the trappings of military life, but their romance with the military rarely endures’. Modi is probably an exception; successfully courting the military, wearing their attire and risking difficult terrain to romanticise their sacrifices for over a decade. Modi has mastered symbolism that hugely impresses the soldier. Krebs continues “they seek to control the armed forces, erode their autonomy and professionalism to transform it into a realm of loyalty”. Here Modi ticks all the boxes. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party assumed power, India’s military has been made compliant with the ruling party’s ideology. Even retired four-star rank officers have been muzzled – the manufactured joint silence of General Naravane and his publishers after the recent parliamentary ruckus over his excerpted book was no surprise. While India showcases its strategic autonomy the military has surrendered its internal autonomy.Operation Sindoor’s exaggerated success emboldened the COAS General Upendra Dwivedi and CAS Air Chief Marshal AP Singh to indulge in making political comments. General Dwivedi toed defence minister Rajnath Singh’s recent line, warning Pakistan about changing its history and geography if it did not stop cross border terrorism which is continuing despite being declared an act of war; so Sindoor is on pause. The IAF chief has claimed they had downed 12 to 13 PAF aircraft while dismissing PAF claims of shooting down an equal number of Indian aircraft as “manohar kahaniyan” or fairy tales. Independent observers including French Air and Space Force Chief, Jerome Bellanger have said India lost three aircraft – a Rafale, Mirage 2000 and Su30. An October 2025 US Congressional report on Sindoor has referred to Pakistan’s ‘military success’, mentioning seven aircraft were brought down without specifying who suffered losses. President Trump’s increasing tally of aircraft lost has risen to 11. A Swiss think-tank credits India with securing air domination. India has lobbied extensively for its foreign and security policy successes.Making unachievable claims over retaking PoK has become passé. No similar claims are made any longer on territory lost to China and recent PLA gains in Ladakh are masked as disengagement. After Operation Sindoor, General Dwivedi visited Chitrakoot temple where the seer presented him with a mace and asked him for PoK as ‘Dakshina’. Another recent worrying practice is religious worship in the Army. General Dwivedi’s public display of obeisance in temples accompanying his minister crossed the red line. The minister’s penchant for launching new military equipment with Hindu religious ceremonies has undermined the military’s secular credentials. The Army’s participation in inauguration and flag hoisting in Ayodhya was inadvisable. Every military operation conducted by the military has been wholesomely politicised – with political leadership appropriating credit for it. Surgical strikes in 2015, the Balakot air strikes in 2019 and Modi’s famous ‘ghar mein ghus ke maarenge (we will enter houses and kill)’ and ‘hamara paramanu hathiyar diwali ke liye nahin hai (our nuclear weapons are not for Diwali)’ catalysed BJP’s 2024 election results.Krebs adds “romanticising and mythologizing the military and its operational achievements serves populist leaders’ political interests”. Krebs also notes that populist leaders love and revere “fallen soldiers”. The honour heaped on late General Rawat killed in a helicopter crash was unprecedented; Modi presiding over his last rites, and conferring the second highest national award of the Padma Vibhushan – awarded to a soldier after 40 years. The birth centenary commemoration recently of the erudite former VCOAS, the late Lt Gen. S.K. Sinha, was the first ever official recall of a fallen soldier. Lt Gen. Jacob, an unsung hero of the 1971 war was also recognised but not similarly. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the real icon of the 1971 triumph is ignored because he spoke truth to power.The Indian military has been sufficiently defanged, thus forever ruling out the threat of a coup. This is the reason, Krebs gives, for leaders hating live officers. But what puts the military’s effectiveness at risk is its politicisation and political interference or restrictions in operations, exacerbated by inadequate funding for credible and matching deterrence against China. Symbolism cannot create capabilities and capacities. BJP leaders undermine secularism, the bedrock of cohesion in the services. The love-hate-distrust relations that Krebs underlines diminish civil military fusion. In sum, the title of Krebs’ paper partially fits Modi and “his military”.Ashok K. Mehta, a major general, is a founding member of the erstwhile Defence Planning Staff, now the Integrated Defence Staff.This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.