When men in olive green don political hat

Pratibha Chauhan

Valiant soldiers from the state have been making supreme sacrifice for the nation. Himachal is also known as “Veer Bhoomi” and more than 3 lakh retired and serving defence personnel constitute a sizeable chunk of the electorate.

The state has had the tradition of senior Army officers making successful political careers, be it from the BJP or the Congress. It is for this reason, that the two main political players have decided to play the “fauji” card in the Lok Sabha poll and fielded Solan MLA Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd) from the Congress and sitting MLA Suresh Kashyap, who has retired from the Air Force, from the BJP.

Whether it was Capt Somnath Sharma, the first recipient of the highest gallantry award — Param Vir Chakra (PVC), or the heroic Capt Vikram Batra, a youth icon whom the nation reveres, the men in olive green from Himachal have always done the nation and the state proud.

Despite there being conflicting opinions on whether or not to raise the issue of Army’s action in the elections, there seems to be a political slugfest on it amid the poll din. BJP leaders are openly taking claim for the Army’s action and crediting PM Modi to be a strong and able leader. On the other hand, the Congress leaders are condemning the BJP for politicising the Army, while arguing that such action was taken even during the Congress regime, but the issue was never highlighted and no effort made to seek credit for it in the political arena.

The districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilapsur and Una have a huge population of retired and serving officers and soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. The mood among them would, to a great extent,  decide the fate of the two main political parties — BJP and Congress — who are slugging it out in the political arena. The fact that at least one member from each family in the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una  and Mandi are serving in the armed forces or have retired, enhances the appeal of a “fauji” candidate. However, no former Army man is in the fray from either Kangra, Mandi or Hamirpur.

The focus of the political discourse in the backdrop of Pulwama attack and surgical strikes brings spotlight on the serving and retired soldiers. It is probably with this calculation in mind that both BJP and Congress have fielded retired soldiers from the Shimla Lok Sabha seat.

Himachal has a population of almost close to 3 lakh serving and retired Army personnel. The Election Department will electronically be sending the ballot papers of 62,131 serving defence personnel on May 2 to enable voting by the men in uniform. In fact, Hamirpur was often referred to as “money order economy” as a large number of Army personnel would send money orders back home while being on a posting.

During the Kargil War, Capt Vikram Batra from Palampur and Rifleman Sanjay Kumar from Mandi were honoured with the Param Vir Chakra. Besides, Capt Saurabh Kalia from Palampur and Capt Anmol Kalia from Una made supreme sacrifices during the Kargil conflict, making the nation proud. He was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously for the exemplary valour that he exhibited. It is these real heroes, who inspire thousands of youths from Himachal to dedicate their lives in the service of the nation by joining the armed forces.

Brig Kushal Thakur (retd) is a decorated Kargil hero, who fought in Dras sector and was instrumental in capturing Tiger Hill and Tololing, which was a turning point in the conflict. 

Brig Thakur was keen to contest the elections on the BJP ticket from Mandi Lok Sabha seat, but did not find favour with the saffron party. He is spearheading the fight of the four-lane affected land owners, seeking higher land compensation.

 “It is wrong for any political party to take claim for the Army’s action yet I cannot deny the fact that when it comes to the issue of national security, PM Modi stands tall,” he said. He said if Indira Gandhi as PM could take credit for the 1971 victory, then it would not be fair to deprive Modi of taking the credit for Pakistan. 

Talking of his own experience in the Army, he maintains that even during the Kargil aggression, the Indian Army maintained the sanctity of the Line of Control (LOC). “The doctrine of not crossing the LOC and maintaining its dignity has changed and there is a perceptible policy change. “From not crossing the LOC to now penetrating 80 to 100 km inside the LOC clearly indicates the political will, which PM Modi has exhibited, which the nation is lauding,” he said. 

Fauji candidates in the fray 

Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd), Congress candidates from Shimla Lok sabha seat: Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd) (78) has represented the Shimla Lok Sabha seat earlier, from the Congress as well as Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC), a political outfit floated by former minister Sukh Ram. Shandil won the Shimla Lok Sabha seat on the HVC ticket in 1999 and on the Congress ticket in 2004. He has won two consecutive Assembly elections from Solan Assembly segment.

Shandil fought the 1962, 1965 and 1971 war while being in the Dogra regiment. “Army is a very glorious institution and to politcise it is an outright insult to the sacrifice made by our valiant soldiers in various wars,” says Shandil. He said seeking credit for the Army’s action amounts to taking away the glory of the armed forces and insulting the bravery of our uniformed men.

He also takes strong exception to the fact that the Prime Minister and BJP is trying to take credit for the surgical strikes, which no other regime had ever done in the past. “I am proud to be a soldier, who has fought at the front in three wars the nation has witnessed, but I also take strong exception to politicising the Army,” he says.

He is well-educated and has done a PhD besides having done many courses during his 34-year service in the Army. He remained Congress General Secretary, in-charge Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, and also a member of the Congress Working Committee from April 2011 to September 2013.

He made his entry into the Assembly for the first time, when he won the 2012 Assembly poll and remained the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister in the Virbhadra-led Congress regime.

He repeated the feat in December 2017 poll, when he again won, and has now been nominated as the member, Welfare, Public Administration and Ethics Committees of the Vidhan Sabha.

Suresh Kashyap, BJP candidate from Shimla Lok Sabha seat

Suresh Kashyap (48) joined the Indian Air Force in April 1988 and served for more than 16 years. It was after retiring from the air force in 2004 that Kashyap started taking keen interest in politics. “The nation has got a strong and stable government under Narendra Modi and we are proud of the fact that he has dealt with the situation along the border with Pakistan with firmness and decisiveness, which the electorate understands and appreciates,” he said. He denied that the BJP had in anyway politicised the Army or tried to take credit, but people could discern the difference during the UPA and NDA regime. He remained member, Block Development Committee (BDC), Pachhad, from 2005 to 2010 and was president, BJP Scheduled Morcha (DC) of District Sirmaur from 2006 to 2009 and general secretary of the state BJP SC Morcha from 2009 to 2012.

He was elected to the State Legislative Assembly in 2012 and remained the member, Welfare, Subordinate Legislation and Ethics Committees, 2013-17. He was re-elected to the 13th Vidhan Sabha in December 2017 and nominated as chairman, General Development Committee; and member, Welfare and Ethics Committees. 

Kashyap is a well-qualified MLA, who has done M Phil (Public Administration), Post-Graduation in English and Tourism. He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Relations and Communication Management and has also done B.Ed.

Fauji turned “netas” 

Himachal has produced some very senior Army officers, who later chose to try their luck in politics, especially from the Hamirpur and Kangra Lok Sabha seats. The fact that at least one member from each family in the districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Una and Mandi are serving in the armed forces or have retired, enhances the appeal of a “fauji” candidate.

In the past, Maj Gen Bikram Singh (retd) had won the Hamirpur Lok Sabha in 1996 on the Congress ticket. Similarly, Gen DD Khanoria (retd), won the Kangra Lok Sabha seat on the BJP ticket in 1991. Maj Vijai Singh Mankotia, former Congress minister and MLA from Shahpur in Kangra, dominated the Kangra politics for almost three decades.

Col Inder Singh, is a sitting BJP MLA from Sarkaghat in Mandi, who has won three consecutive elections in 2007, 2012 and 2019.

---

"It is wrong for any political party to take claim for the Army’s action, yet I cannot deny the fact that when it comes to the issue of national security, PM Modi stands tall. If Indira Gandhi as PM could take credit for the 1971 victory, then it would not be fair to deprive Modi of taking the credit for Pakistan. The doctrine of not crossing the LOC and maintaining its dignity has changed and there is a perceptible policy change. From not crossing the LOC to now penetrating 80 to 100 km inside the LOC clearly indicates the political will, which PM Modi has exhibited, which the nation is lauding." — Brig Kushal Thakur (retd), A decorated Kargil hero, who was keen on contesting from Mandi Lok Sabha seat on BJP ticket 

" Army is a very glorious institution and to politcise it is an outright insult to the sacrifices made by our valiant soldiers in various wars. Seeking credit for the Army’s action amounts to taking away the glory of the armed forces and insulting the bravery of our uniformed men. I am proud to be a soldier, who has fought at the front in three wars, the nation has witnessed, but I also take strong exception to politicising the Army." — Col Dhani Ram Shandil (retd), Cong candidates from Shimla Lok Sabha seat

"The nation has got a strong and stable government under Narendra Modi and we are proud of the fact that he has dealt with the situation along the border with Pakistan with firmness and decisiveness, which the electorate understands and appreciates. The BJP has not in anyway politicised the Army or tried to take credit, but people can discern the difference during the UPA and NDA regime." — Suresh Kashyap,  BJP candidate from Shimla Lok Sabha seat

---

Poll stats

The ballot papers would be electronically transmitted within 24 hours of the final day of completion of electoral rolls on May 2. The withdrawal of nominations will be over by May 2 and then the ballot papers would be sent to the Defence Ministry, from where they would be forwarded to the place of posting of the defence personnel and those in foreign services, posted within India and abroad.

• 62,131Total defence personnel in Himachal, who would be casting their vote through postal ballot 
• 61,401 Male personnel
• 730 Women personnel
• 62,105 Armed forces (Army, Navy & Air Force)
• 0 Central Police Forces  
• 26 Foreign Service

1,52,997(1.52 lakh) Total ex-servicemen registered with Himachal Ex-servicemen Corporation 

• 1,10,427 Army
• 2,376 Air Force
• 3,965 Navy
• 1, 16, 768 Total

War widows

• 931 In Army
• 02 In Air Force
• 15 In Navy
• 948 Total 

Widows 

• 34,550 In Army
• 291 In Air Force 
• 440 In  Navy
• 35, 281 Total