In a powerful interview where he issues a strong warning to politicians of all stripes, one of India’s most highly regarded former Army chiefs has said politicians must not politicise the merging of the Amar Jawan Jyoti flame with the torch at the National War Memorial but, equally forcefully, criticised comments by government sources to PTI and other media outlets calling the names of soldiers inscribed on India Gate ‘a symbol of our colonial past’. General V.P. Malik said there was no question of discriminating between soldiers who died in wars fought before independence and soldiers who died in wars fought after 1947. This sort of “political polarisation is creating problems” he said.In a 15-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, General Malik, who was Army chief during the Kargil War, said merging the Amar Jawan Jyoti with the National War Memorial “was the natural thing to do … the right thing to do”. He said “I don’t like the controversy” it’s created. He said this was “unnecessary politicisation” of what he called “a purely military matter”.In The Wire interview, General Malik said “there can only be one National War Memorial”. If there are two “there will be discrimination”. However, he forcefully added “there’s absolutely no disrespect” to Indian army soldiers who died in wars fought before independence under British rule.Speaking at some length about the Army’s history, values, ethos and traditions, all of which go back 200 if not 250 years – i.e. into the times of British rule – General Malik said: “It cannot be dismissed … the Indian soldier doesn’t forget his traditions.”Malik said the army’s values and ethos are part of its history and the army follows them even today. “There are a large number of our values and ethos that comes from the past. There is no question of forgetting.”In a particularly forceful moment in the interview, General Malik said “the Indian army will never forget its values and ethos” which were created and crafted during the years of the British Indian army. At one point he said: “There is no question of forgetting or permitting anyone to forget.”There are many regiments in the Indian army that were founded during the centuries of British rule. The Madras Regiment dates back to 1758, the Rajputana Rifles to 1775, the Rajput Regiment to 1778 and the Dogra Regiment to 1877. General Malik’s own regiment, the Sikh Light Infantry, traces its history to the Royal Sikh Pioneers of 1857.General Malik said the battle honours won by regiments in World War I and World War II and even in earlier battles of the 19th and 18th centuries are honoured and are a source of great pride for the regiments.The above is a paraphrased precis of General V.P. Malik’s interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire. Though recounted from memory, it is not inaccurate. However, there is a lot more detail in the interview and if you want to better understand General Malik’s viewpoint, please watch the full interview.
