Preamble To Constitution guides armed forces: Army Chief

Jan 11, 2020
New Delhi:Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane reaffirmed on Saturday that the force is committed to the core values of the Constitution and they would ensure integration to a big success.

During the annual press conference, Naravane stated that the armed forces have allegiance with the constitution of India.

“There is nothing better than begin with the beginning which is A,B,C. A is for Allegiance, B for Belief and C for Consolidation,” he said.

General Naravane stressed: “Allegiance of the armed forces is with the Constitution of India. Be it jawan or an officer, we take an oath we swear in the name of God that we will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that we will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India. That is what should guide us in all our action and at all time.”

He questioned himself that what this allegiance means and what does this really translate into?

Then he replies, “This translates into the in core values which are enshrined in the preamble to the constitution. That is Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity and that is what we are fighting for. We are deployed on the borders and safe guarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is to secure for the people these core values. That is what we keep in our minds all the time.”

Talking about belief, he said that one should belief in ourselves, in the organisation, in the superiors and sub-ordinates, in way of life and in way of the governance.

“If we have belief in ourselves, our entire edifice would be strong. In that case we will not fall prey to all vile rumours. Belief is what keeps us going when times become tough,” he said.

The General pointed that consolidation comes with continuity and Indian armed forces are in a very transformative stage.

“All in all those transformation we are doing, we have to consolidate upon them. We have to carry forward the initiatives and policies set up by our predecessors and make sure all of them lead a logical conclusion,” pointed the officer adding that somewhere along the way there could be midway course correction and “we have consolidate all these aspects”.

He then talked about integration within the army and integration within the service. The formation of the CDS and creation of the department of the military affairs is very big step towards integration.

The Army chief said, “We on our part will make sure it is a success. Integration would also be within the army and integrated battle group. I want to assure in the process of integration we will take everyone along and nobody will be left behind.”

Talking about training, he said that training should be done for the future.

“If you want joint structure to work we have to train accordingly. We have train for future wars which are going to be network centric in a highly complex and volatile environment,” he stressed.

He emphasised that he will ensure that Indian armed forces’ mantra is to get the best quality and not quantity.

“Whoever we will do, be it selection of personnel or acquisition of new equipment we will focus on quality,” he said.

Army Chief pointed that the forces personnel are the greatest strength. “The man behind the machine is what matters the most. We will make sure that our men get the best and we will look into all the inspirational needs,” he added. IANS