And then, on March 7, just as we were ready for printing, a shocker came in of a third accident, involving destroyer “Kolkata” at Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL) shipyard in Mumbai where it was being readied for delivery this year to the Indian Navy. One officer, Commander Kuntal Wadhwa who was assigned to test various systems on board the ship, died in a burst of carbon dioxide that leaked either due to poor quality of a control valve or poor workmanship.

On March 8-9 midnight, we pulled out the magazine from the press as there was still another report of an accident at DRDO’s nuclear submarine building facility – known as Ship Building Centre (SBC) – in Vishakhapatnam. A couple of nuclear attack submarines – exact number not known – of the INS Arihant class are apparently under construction there but fortunately, the mishap was NOT on board any of the subs. The mishap involved a pressure tank whose lid flew off during testing, and killed a civilian worker.

The Navy in this case had nothing to do, and DRDO said in statement that “the submarines are safe and the accident does not adversely affect the project.”

Nonetheless, as there have been around a dozen incidents involving Indian Navy vessels – not all of them serious – Navy Chief Admiral DK Joshi had taken moral responsibility after the Sindhuratna mishap and resigned.

He only exemplified the courage of convictions, the courage of responsibility that perhaps all officers and men of the Indian armed forces proudly imbibe. Adm Joshi need not have resigned. Nor would it be right for any one to demand the scalp any other officer or the defence minister.

The root cause lies in the politics of allegations post-Bofors, the obstacle course that it has set for acquisitions ever since, the chalta hai (doesn’t matter) attitude we generally have, the lack of quality control, and according to a senior officer, the curse of tobacco afflicting a large number of industrial workforce, particularly in public sector organizations.

The systems are getting increasingly hi tech and precision, and the moment one leaves even a screw a little less tight or a little over tight than required, the seeds of an accident are sown. Most of us, the civilian workforce particularly, do not have the mindset for working properly.

That is a curse that is hitting India every where.

As for acquisitions, the system is slow and it generally takes five to seven years to buy something. It is another matter that by the time we get it, that equipment is perhaps already old and succeeded by a newer generation. The armed forces still have to go for it. The country buys an older system and regrettably, at higher costs as the manufacturers charge you for holding old technology.

It would be appropriate to quote Army Chief Gen VP Malik as saying before the 1999 Kargil War that “we will fight with what we have.” His statement clearly indicated the poor state of the Indian Army’s inventory.

Did he have a choice?

The armed forces indeed have fought with whatever they are given, and still distinguish themselves.

Besides the poor work culture, the fault lies with politicians the most, for playing politics with the defence of the country.

Mr VP Singh, who succeeded Mr Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister, made two allegations over the 1986 acquisition of Bofors FH 777 guns: One, that bribes were paid in the deal with its Swedish manufacturer, and two, the gun was of poor quality, fired backwards and killed own troops.

The second charge about quality has been proved a lie, and after a quarter century, it is still the best gun with the Indian Army. The gun was effectively used to decimate Pakistani army positions dug into Indian territory when the NDA was in power.

Nonetheless, as for the first allegation over bribes, there is no clear official position although both the Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA have been in power over the last 20 years. The allegation is an allegation till then, and may or may not be true. The need of the hour is for the top leaders of this country to get together, tell the truth to the people, and move on to strengthen the armed forces and the country.

To recall Gen Malik’s point, consider what the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have or do not have. Their wish lists do not call for 22nd century weapons but contemporary and futuristic systems to replace the old and outdated, mostly Soviet-vintage of a quarter century systems.

Consider also that the Indian Air Force had to train rookie pilots on a basic trainer, HPT 32, that had zero aerobatic capability. Worse, its maker, HAL could never correct a fuel supply problem which led to crashes and the country lost some 20 pilots, including two highly experienced instructors in 2009. Did we need that to happen to bury this aircraft?

IAF has to ensure that its pilots flirt with flying, and are daredevils. But if the system cannot give the young officers even basic aircraft, then those in authority have to be accountable. IAF also lost another 20 pilots as it took a quarter century to decide on an advanced jet trainer and Mig 21s had to be used for basic jet training for rookie pilots.

Irrespective of their party affiliations, all governments have done something and also not done enough. If the bureaucracy is slow, so are the leaders as they fail to stimulate the decision-making process.

Replacement of any system, tank, aircraft or ship, which has done about 20 years, should be built in the acquisition process. There should be timelines and responsibilities fixed for lack of decision-making in the political, bureaucratic and military structures. From proposal to sanction, trials, negotiations and acquisition, the process to buy a system should not take more than three years.

In all fairness, it has also to be kept in mind that all things do not go wrong because of delays or wrong decisions in the Ministry of Defence as is generally believed or alleged.

At least in two cases I know of from Army officers, poor quality shoes and thermal imagers were selected, by the Army officers assigned to do their selection. When the problem was reported to the Defence Ministry in the recent years in fact, immediate remedial action was taken.

A lot of purchasing is done by armed forces officers authorized to do so with no involvement of MoD in the decision-making. It would be unfair to blame the civilian officers for their lapses.

Old timers recall that the maximum modernization of the armed forces and intelligence organizations took place when Mr Rajiv Gandhi was in power. His successor government blocked the operations of Indian Airlines Airbus 320 aircraft for more than a year, stopped the modernization of the armed forces, and put so much fear in the hearts and minds of bureaucrats that to date, they are not willing to take timely decisions.

That fear is the curse of the modernization process.

It has been Pakistan in fact which has triggered India into action, by occupying Kargil heights leading to the war 1999 and then by terror attack on Mumbai in 1998. For the Kargil War, India had to import even shells for Bofors. The Swedish company had transferred technology to make the guns in India, in the first big Transfer of Technology (ToT) programme but nobody has had the courage to use it to the country’s advantage.

Only now, the blueprints for manufacturing the gun have been dug out from the cupboards of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and prototypes are out for testing this year.

Cause: The Fear of Unfounded Political Allegations.

Most officers also say that if they take timely or speedy decisions, questions are immediately raised about their integrity. It is a strange culture of fear.

The Army needs new helicopters, tanks, guns, armoured personnel carriers; IAF needs new technology helicopters, combat jets; radars and midair refuelers, and Navy needs new helicopters and submarines as of yesterday. Two common key requirements for all the three Services are night-fighting capability and defensive and offensive missiles.

It needs to be mentioned here that DRDO has commendable achievements in missiles in the recent years.

Delays breed corruption and result in poverty of quality. That costs the country both lives and money in accidents. When an officer delays a decision, or delays meeting a businessmen he eventually has to, it is taken as a signal that bribes need to be paid.

Timelines, timely decisions, and quality control are the requirements of the day. They would lead to better products, their timely availability, lesser costs in acquisition and maintenance, and better utilization.

It is time for the politicians from all parties to decisively let go VP Singh’s Bofors ghost, get together to speed up the acquisition process, enforce discipline and inspire a work culture of precision production in public and private industries. Responsibility should be built in and those who have authority but shirk decisions should be sacked for delays, not for timely or speedy decisions.

Also, senior civilian officers should be encouraged to join institutions like the National Defence College (NDC) and only those who have had some association with the armed forces, should be given assignments in the Ministry of Defence.

Old equipment and callous attitudes need to go. So does the fear of being caught on the wrong foot for being efficient.