EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY OF MILITARY - CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

Constitutional provisions for the executive authority of the military.

Constitutional military executive authority of the soldiers comes out of the following articles:

1. Article 18;- respects the "Title of Ranks" of Soldiers even after his death. Soldiers never retire. Title of Ranks never die.

2. Article 34:- Gives military a political executive authority to intervene by declaring martial law only to restore democracy. In India parliamentary democracy is supreme. This article makes Indian military as soldiers totally committed to democracy and "we the people".
There may be situation where state fails to govern as per constitution or parliament is unable to function due to any reasons or rise of a civilian dictator endangers democracy or external/ internal aggression endangers it . In such situations constitution makes obligatory on military authorities to intervene to protect and restore democracy.

Baba Saheb Ambedkar was not an uneducated person. He could sense that in independent India, probability of rise of civilian dictators are more than rise of a military dictator. He therefore under this article, entrusted military a role of silent and invisible custodian of Indian democracy. History of independent India is testimony to the fact that Baba Saheb was right. Military has been loyal to constitution and 'we the people' whereas Indira tried to become dictator declaring unconstitutional emergency.

Military did play its role to protect democracy, when then Army Chief cautioned Indra to remain within limits of constitution. In fact emergency was lifted as all three Chiefs wrote a Top Secret letter to Indra Gandhi advising her to lift emergency and call for elections. Probably this is right time the content of this letter be disclosed to public.

3. Article 52 read clubbed with Article 74:- The sovereign authority of govt is vested in the President who wears two distinct hats. One of being head of civil political govt and other of Supreme Commander of defense forces. These two roles of the President are independent. Under this article the hard and soft national powers are identified and constitutionally divided. While the democracy under the pre-dominance of soft power functions under the leadership of Prime Minister and his cabinet, the total command authority over the hard power of military is denied to him/her.

Baba Saheb was a visionary and had deep knowledge of Indian history. He wisely so separated national hard power from the national soft power. Baba Saheb knew if PM or defense minister are given total command authority over military it will give rise to many civilian autocrats.

Therefore under this article if read clubbed with article 74, the political direction to military comes from cabinet headed by PM, administrative support comes from ministry of defense and military retains the authority and freedom to take military executive decisions and that is the reason precisely military is an attached organisation to the political govt.

Constitutionally, military cannot be subordinate to PM and his cabinet as President who is senior to PM is its head and also (thankfully), PM is not given command of military. In Indian democracy where PM exercises executive political authority and President is constitutional head of military, services HQ can only be integrated with civil govt and can not be merged as is the case in USA.

4. Co-relation of Article 34 on Article 52 and 74. Articles 52 and 74 do not take away the authority as vested in Supreme Commander of Defense forces and Military commanders as Silent and Invisible Custodians of Indian Democracy. 

There could be situation where advice of PM (aspiring to become a dictator) and his cabinet to President could be detrimental to democracy. Under article 52 and article 74, President is left with no choice except to accept their advice after one review, however under article 34 Supreme Commander of Defense forces or Military commanders can exercise military authority as vested in them only to defend constitution and democracy.

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