The government would be looking to Gen Chauhan, who headed the Eastern command, and has served in J&K, to steer this debate to its logical conclusion.The appointment of Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (retd) as the new Chief of Defence Staff ends a nine-month-long vacancy in the most senior office of the Indian military, after the untimely death of the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, in December, 2021. In his 23 months in office, Gen Rawat had dived into the CDS’s mandate for modernisation of the armed forces, especially the creation of integrated theatre commands. This remains the core challenge of the job, and it will be up to Lt Gen Chauhan, as the link between the three services, to take the plan forward. His task, like his predecessor’s, will be to overcome resistance to the idea from within the armed forces, particularly the Air Force. All three services also have concerns about how theaterisation might dilute the role of the service chiefs — Rawat’s push for about five to six theatres to replace the 17 single service commands got stuck due to differences between them. The government would be looking to Gen Chauhan, who headed the Eastern command, and has served in J&K, to steer this debate to its logical conclusion.
The effectiveness of theaterisation is in more than just bringing the three services together, as modernisation demands adequate and appropriate weaponry. It remains to be seen how Russia’s war in Ukraine affects India’s procurement, what diversification Delhi might bring in its hardware purchases, and how much of a say the CDS will have in this. Rawat was an all-out supporter of the government’s push for the indigenisation of weapons manufacture. Chauhan will get an opportunity to cut his teeth on this during this year’s defence expo, to be held in Gandhinagar next month, for the first time as an India-only affair. The CDS’s second hat, as secretary of the specially created department of military affairs, will demand attention for issues of manpower reform. As Agnipath — the new recruitment policy for personnel below officer rank under which the intake of permanent cadre will be far fewer than it used to be — has already been rolled out, the most difficult part is arguably over. Among the challenges awaiting Chauhan, even as he finalises plans for “jointness”, is to ensure that this scheme does not alter the efficiency of the armed forces.
Chauhan’s appointment is the first instance of a three-star general being elevated after retirement to a four-star post. Back in June, the government had amended the service rules to include serving and retired lieutenant-generals under the age of 62 years for consideration to the post of CDS. In the hierarchical institution that is the military and which values its system of promotions and ranks, the new CDS will need to demonstrate quickly that he is the right man in the right place.