The birth date controversy has been on the simmer for over a year. The Adjutant General's branch which deals with manpower has issued recorded General Singh's date of birth as May 10, 1951 but the Military Secretary's branch that deals with promotions and postings recorded it as May 10, 1950. General Singh insists 1951 is his correct date of birth and calls 1950 a clerical error but, after considering the stark response of Defense Ministry over his age controversy, Indian Army General V K Singh, in order to save his reputation, has come up with another gambit of a compromising formula for the Government with his recent assertions of terming it a battle for honor and not tenure. The suggestion is that he would resign on time if the ministry accepted 1951 as his year of birth. What a joke!!Well, rumors swirling around the corridors of South Block say General Singh may resign ahead of his retirement date if he feels his battle is lost. But, clearly, the personal crusade has hobbled his options. In 1961, General K.S. Thimayya resigned as Army chief. Thimayya's reasons were never personal. He was dissatisfied with the Army's poor preparation against China and defense minister V.K. Krishna Menon's neglect of adequate equipment. General Thimayya was persuaded to withdraw his resignation by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In the case of the present Army chief, however, things are different. "There is no interest in this case except self-interest," says a senior Army officer.
Whoever wins at the end of this bitter controversy, the outcome will have substantially diminished one of the nation's great institutions. It can lead to what the Army uses to describe a depleted war machine-hollowness.
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