Army Chief General V.K. Singh, who guided the destiny of over the one-million-strong Indian Army for the past 26 months, will retire on Thursday, leaving behind a tenure which witnessed a row over his age and controversy over charges of bribery and corruption in defence deals.
General Singh, who became the 26 Chief of Staff of the Army on March 31, 2010, has made it his life's goal to spruce up the image of the Army. General Singh (62), a third generation officer, was commissioned into the Rajput regiment on June 14, 1970.
He will be succeeded by Eastern Army Commander General Bikram Singh, who will have a tenure of two years and three months. He will be the fifth GOC-in-C from the Eastern Command to become the Army Chief after P.P. Kumaramangalam, S.H.F.J. Maneckshaw, V.N. Sharma and Gen. Singh.
Honest officer
Considered an upright and honest officer, General Singh, as Army Chief, laid down the roadmap to transform the Army into a lean and mean fighting force.
He had also flagged concerns over the shortage of arms and ammunition and impressed on the government the urgent need for immediate steps to shore up purchases.
His tenure saw the rare step of a serving Army Chief taking the government to the Supreme Court, seeking a change in his date of birth in official records. The legal battle ended with the Supreme Court not accepting his contention that 1951 was his year of birth.
In a recent interview to The Hindu, General Singh hit the headlines by alleging that he was offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crore in 2010 by retired Lt.-Gen. Tejinder Singh for clearing a deal for procuring “substandard” Tatra trucks. His allegation also rocked the Budget Session of Parliament.
Gen. Singh's confidential letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reportedly highlighting critical issue of shortages and deficiencies in the Army, appeared in the media stirring yet another unsavoury controversy.
In his latest move, General V. K. Singh has issued a show cause notice to 3 Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag, in line after General Bikram Singh to become Army Chief, for a botched-up intelligence operation in Jorhat, Assam.
Lt. General Suhag, who has been placed under a discipline and vigilance ban, is facing the prospect of not being promoted as Army Commander, a mandatory requirement for him for elevation to the post of Army Chief in 2014, if the Defence Ministry accepts the outgoing Army Chief's decision.
Keywords: Army Chief, Gen. V.K. Singh
The comments on this page stand testimony to the fact that Gen VK Singh
is an honest officer. He has helped change the mindsets within his army.
He will be remembered.
@suresh r.v - Well Said
Thank You for your service Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh. I hope to see and hear from you again. Satyameva Jayate !!
All army cheif are & were respected. Mr V K Singh is the first, who displayed the fighting spirit as army chief & make Indian proud of thier ARMY & their chiefs.
v k singh will be remembered for valiant fight for justice,moral,ethic value, he most fierest act was to held guilt lt general which was very close to general deepak kapoor,for sukhna lake ,his honest enquiry in adarsha society will be remembered as fine example of bravery and conviction of justice,it is very sad,govt ,supreme court did not give him natural justice,he was haunded by vested interested vested lobby of vip politicians ,arm dealers,still his perception is of honest,
Working of Mr V K Singh is mirror to other officer be they are in army or holding any positions in Govt offices.Honesty and intergrity which Gen. V k Singh has shown to us is missing from many of us.
Farewell General Singh.You played a great innings.Thanks for shaking the
corrupt system that exists between the army,babus,politicians and the
defence dalaals.The country needs people like you.Yor should have been
allowed to get an extention to serve,but alas,extentions are only for
retired I.A.S.,I.F.S.,I.P.S. and ofcourse our politicians.Hope 'Bikki'
take up the baton with the same fearless integrity as yours.
''A very Honest & Brave Officer''India needs people like Mr.V.K.Singh in all spheres of Life.
Gen. V. K. Singh has shown mirror to the orthodox & ridiculous bureaucracy
and the neutral behavioured Govt.Not only he is brave by his blood/Genes
being born in a Rajput family but also he is the man of most honest
standards,sine die.Salute to you,General Sahab.
An end of an era .Nothing can change the system, Gen Singh tried his
best but he can't wipe out the evils in an overnight. A salute to him ,
he will always be remembered as a true gentleman and a good human.
General VK Singh will be remembered for his honest and courageous
tenure.I hope every indian will learn some lesson from him especially
our politicians to serve mankind without thinking about their personnel
profit.Let's hope next army chief too will serve honestly and will help
to curb the corruption from indian army.
Gen. V.K.Singh will be remembered as a soldier who did great service to Indian Army and thus India. He is upright, fearless and did not sign on the dotted line as desired by our well heeled burocrats.He will be remembered as a fine soldier who did not bother about career but cared more for this country and the people under him. Hope his followeres will work to complete the tasks he had initiated.
I would seriously advice team Anna to poach his talents for the war on corruption. We do need more upright, straight talking men to tackle our political class.
General VK Singh is a man of honor and courage. He has made corruption in army deals a major issue which until now remained hidden from public view. I don't know if the incoming General Bikram Singh will carry forward the anti-corruption crusade or his predecessor but I hope he does.
I wish General VK Singh all the best and a happy retired life. He earned it.
India needs several VK Singhs to clean up the political corruption.
VK Singh will be remembered for his efforts to cleanse the Army during his tenure and make it an efficient force. It is incorrect to say the Supreme Court refused to accept his year of birth as 1951. The court did not directly address the issue. It felt that since 1950 was accepted as his year of birth for so long, there was no reason to change it. The new chief will have his hands full if he intends to continue the good work initiated by Singh.
A General never retires.He just fades away.
Please Email the Editor