Army postings are made based on a large number of inputs. To the Civilians it may appear like a game of musical chairs, though things are hundred times more stable than the Civil bureaucracy, as there is no political interference.
However our ALL KNOWING PRESS has to project even these things with a twist so as to confuse the layman. When General Mukund Narvane was to be promoted to Army Commander, he was rightly sent to Army Training Command as per vacant place available and suitability.
Now to give him experience of the futuristic likely to be active front, he is being made the Eastern Army Commander.
Lt Gen Mukund Naravane, who was posted as the head of the Army’s Training Command in December last year, would be the senior most officer of the Indian Army when General Bipin Rawat retires next year.
While in the past the seniority principle has been followed to appoint Chiefs, the BJP government had selected Rawat to the top post in 2016 by bypassing two officers.
Now Naravane with experience of ARTRAC will be moving to Eastern Front for a front level operational experience. From there after around 15 months he will either move to New Delhi as COAS or will continue there till superannuation.
His junior, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh posted as the Northern Army Commander in May this year is already looking after an Operational front. He is also a contender for the post of COAS.
Orders have been signed by the defence ministry to shift Naravane to Kolkata to head the Eastern Command that would give him the necessary operational experience.
Successor to Gen Rawat would be decided by the government only months before he retires in December next year.
The current Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Abhay Krishna is being posted to the Central Command that is headquarted in Lucknow. The command looks after the Uttarakhand border with China that has seen an increasing intensity of transgressions.
The shifting around of posts is taking place as two senior officers – the head of the Central Command and the Southern Command – are retiring at the end of this month.
Lt Gens Sanjiv Chopra and PS Rajeshwar are being elevated to the position of Army Commanders to take up the vacant positions in the South and at the training command.
