This is how Chief of Army is selected

Bipin Rawat takes charge as the new Army Chief.

There are rumblings within the army over the selection of the new army chief, who has superseded two of his senior officers.

By doing this, the Centre has departed from decades old tradition of selecting only the senior-most officer as the army chief. This has happened once in the past.

Several officers within the army are unhappy with the increasing political interference in this high level appointment. Some have expressed fears over this involvement trickling down to the selection of army commanders.

Another thing which didn’t happen this time is the timely announcement of the new army chief by the government. The Centre usually announces the new chief two months in advance.

The selection of an army chief is a lengthy process which begins three months in advance to the appointment.

Usually the announcement of the chief is done two months in advance. But the announcement of Lt Gen Bipin Rawat as the next army chief was done on December 17. He is to take over on December 31.

Text: Shaurya Karanbir Gurung