Politicians generally distrust war-winning generals. In Pakistan, they distrust war-losing generals.
Politicians see potential Bonapartes in war heroes, and get them out of the way with a few medals, honours and sinecures. Harry Truman sacked Korea winner Douglas MacArthur fearing challenge to civil supremacy. Mahinda Rajapaksa promoted Eelam war-winner Sarath Fonseka as chief of defence staff, with no command powers. The general quit soon, dabbled a bit in politics, and faded away with a five-star rank.
In Pakistan, politicians fear war-losers. For good reason. Pervez Musharraf lost in Kargil, but upstaged Nawaz Sharif in a coup within months. Now Asim Munir has lost a four-day war with India, and Nawaz’s brother Shehbaz has saved his job by giving him a five-star rank. In Pakistan, a battle loser is as dangerous as a wounded tiger.
Munir is their second field marshal. (Trollers call him failed marshal.) The other was Ayub Khan who wore the rank literally on his shoulders, and figuratively on his sleeve. Old bloke gave it to himself.
Asim Munir | Imaging: Sujesh K.
Generals in India wear their stars on their cars, and on the gorget patch on their collars. The gorget patch, if you don’t know, is that scarlet pip (gold in Navy, blue in Air Force) that colonels and above sport on their collars. A brigadier wears one star, a major-general two, a lieutenant-general three and a full general four. In the rare case of a guy being made a field marshal or equivalent, he would have five stars on his collar and car.
India has given five stars to three men—the 1971 war-winner Sam Manekshaw who got it with his pension papers, first chief K.M. Cariappa long after he started drawing pension, and the 1965 air war-winner Arjan Singh even later. Sam and Cariappa were made field marshals, Arjan got the equivalent rank of marshal of the air force. None in the Navy has got the equivalent rank, admiral of the fleet.
No grudges, except from Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal who led the air force in the 1971 war. He is said to have resented Sam being showered with praises, ranks and stars. But Admiral S.M. Nanda, who pulled off two surprise attacks on Karachi within one week, told Indira Gandhi that he didn’t mind Sam getting an extra star as long as it wasn’t one of his.
The point is—five stars are rarely given these days, except as hotel ratings and chocolate bars. The British, who fought the most number of wars in modern history, have field-marshalled 141 of their generals. The Americans, fighting the most number of wars in the post-World War era, have been tight-fisted. So far only four or five of their generals have got full five, but the rank is called general of the army. They didn’t want George Marshall, the first of their modern-day five-stars, to be trolled as Marshal Marshall.
Field marshals in banana republics are self-conferred. Idi Amin of Uganda, who staged a coup as a major-general in 1971, skipped two rungs of the ladder and anointed himself field marshal.
Muammar Gaddafi was the humblest. He was dictator of Libya from 1969 to 2011 wielding absolute power, but never thought of giving himself a rank above colonel, a middle-level rank.
Why should he have? He had staged a coup when he was just a lieutenant, one of the lowest among the officer-ranks, and picked up the rank of colonel, skipping captain, major and lieutenant-colonel. One can be sure, he would have had several real star-rank officers saluting him during his 42-year reign.
Who knows, the guy might have got a kick out of that.
prasannan@theweek.in