New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) India's well-timed decision post independence to control and diversify its army helped preserve its democracy, or it could have ended up like Pakistan which has seen three army coups post independence.
Yale university professor Steven I. Wilkinson, in his book "Army and Nation: How India's Founders Made its Army Safe for Democracy" - writes that while the Indian Army at the time of independence was dominated by few martial groups, diversification and modifications in its structure helped the country.
"If you inherit an imbalanced army, chances of a coup are high," Wilkinson said speaking about his book at the India International Center Thursday evening.
The author said in 1929, the army had overwhelmingly warriors from Sikh and Gorkha communities, both martial groups.
"In 1947, the army was still dominated by certain martial groups who made 95 percent of the troops. It was still an imbalanced army, as the British recruited troops from martial roots. These officers were also a closely knit community creating more trouble for politicians," he said.
He however added that India was still in a better position in what it inherited, compared to Pakistan, which had 72 percent of its army from Punjab alone, while thereere only 155 officers from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
"The most represented and the least represented (in army) - Punjab and Bengal - were together in Pakistan," he said.
India on the contrary had 32 percent Sikh soldiers, 18 percent from Uttar Pradesh, and 10 percent from erstwhile Bombay province, which he said was more diversified comparatively, while still imbalanced.
The author said, however, India dealt with the issue better than Pakistan.
"India dealt with it better. Pakistan either did not try or did it too late. They could have done a lot in the 1950s," he said.
"India's political leadership felt the army needed immediate attention. (Jawaharlal) Nehru and (Vallabhbhai) Patel were thinking about it as an issue. In Pakistan there was very little thinking about it," he said.
He highlighted that at the time of independence, both Indian and Pakistani armies had a similar background, adding that the Indian Army could have reacted in a similar way as happened in Pakistan had there been political instability here.
"They were trained in the same way, and they kept ties even after partition. Had India slipped into political chaos, they (Indian Army) could have acted similar," he said.
The author also pointed out that despite of the fact that army was dominated by people from Punjab, it was not untill 1961 that the army got its first chief from the Punjab regiment - General Pran Nath Thapar.
Pakistan, since partition, has seen three military coups and several unsuccessful attempts.
It began in 1958, when the first Pakistani president, Iskander Mirza, who had retired as a major general, dismissed parliament and prime minister Feroz Khan Noon, appointing the army chief, General Ayub Khan, as the chief martial law administrator. Thirteen days later, Mirza himself was deposed by Ayub Khan, who appointed himself the president and raised himself to field marshal.
In 1977, Pakistani Army chief General Zia-ul-Haq overthrew prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was later hanged.
In 1999, General Pervez Musharraf overthrew prime minister Nawaz Sharif and and evnetually became the president.
OnePlus' Nord 2T smartphone can be launched in India on this day, know full details
OnePlus Nord 2T Launch Date: OnePlus has officially announced the launch of its Oneplus Nord 2T.
Israel-Hamas War: More than 195 people died in Israeli attacks on refugee camps, Hamas informed
The war between Israel and Hamas is continuously increasing. Many people have died so far during
Russia's special military operation in Ukraine is going on and there is also a sequence of serial
Before the elections in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Kejriwal made a big move. Kejriwal has ma
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNSCR) has said that today completes five years of the exodus
Is Putin's statement on the Taliban a setback for India?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said it is possible to remove the Taliban from the list of t
Liverpool were destined to win after five matches in the English Premier League. They defeated Le
Artificial Sun: This country is preparing to make "sun", know what will be the temperature
Artificial Sun Time: The Korean government is working on developing technology to make Korea's fi
Why is the online introduction of Apple important in the country
Apple stores are the best place to buy the products of the famous company Apple. Perhaps this is
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G: This phone will be launched with a 120Hz refresh rate and OxygenOS 13.1
OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite is going to be launched in India on 4th April. Before that, all the featur
