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The Rediff Special/ Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd)

The Battle of Raisina Hill

Ever since Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, the erstwhile chief of the naval staff, was unceremoniously dismissed from his post more than three months ago, military analysts, historians and students of military warfare have watched with fascination the public battle waged by the sacked chief against government forces. The contest is of epic proportions and brings to mind historic battles of the past like Austerlitz, Waterloo and the Third battle of Panipat.

Both sides have mustered sizeable forces on their sides. With all the advantages of an incumbent power, the government was expected to field a formidable force. Surprisingly, it took a long time mustering its army which gave the opposition enough time to make full preparation for the coming offensive. The supreme commander of the government forces, mild mannered Field Marshall Vajpayee, left most of the actual fighting to his able and experienced second in command, General George Fernandes.

George, who has tremendous experience in guerilla warfare gained from his early union days in Mumbai, had sizeable ground forces, an effective artillery commanded by his two able subordinates, Generals Mahajan and Kumaramangalam. The government was well stocked with ammunition and also possessed state of the art missiles in the form of a vast array of secret and top secret files, confidential reports from IB and the CBI and minutes of the meetings. Above all, they had the ultimate nuclear and defensive weapon in the form of the Official Secrets Act, which could be used in Parliament and public whenever the opposition appeared to be gaining an upper hand.

The one area in which the government was weak, at least initially, was in its propaganda cavalry. A majority of the cavalry -- most friends of Bhagwat, consisting of retired service officers, defence pundits, talk show hosts and assorted political columnists -- had aligned itself solidly with the ex-admiral. However, after a few months, some of them began to desert the Bhagwat camp and either amused themselves with other activities or joined the government forces.

At the start of his campaign, however, General Bhagwat was able to muster a formidable and a well-balanced army, within days of his sacking. He could always rely on his experienced cavalry to embarrass government forces by their well-planned and frequent charges into the enemy camp. The cavalry led a full frontal charge during the first month of the campaign and selective forays subsequently. In addition, the admiral had mustered sizeable artillery and was well stocked with ammunition, no doubt carefully collected during his days in the service.

The battle has so far seen three distinct phases. The first phase commenced on the very day the chief was dismissed, when Bhagwat's able second in command, Lt General Niloufer Bhagwat, launched a full artillery attack on the government from her headquarters in Rajaji Marg. During this phase, both generals -- Bhagwat and George -- were strangely silent. Obviously both were conserving their energy and planning the strategy for the expected escalation in the battle when Parliament convened.

Niloufer's full scale artillery attack, supported by the media's cavalry thrust from the Left flank (where else), sent the government forces reeling in the first few days of the battle. At one time it appeared certain than the onslaught would wipe out the enemy. Fortunately for the government, it retreated within the confines of its formidable fort of South Block, whose impregnable defences were able to stand the Bhagwat artillery offensive.

Although well planned, General Niloufer made a serious tactical mistake in her initial attack. Apparently she was not conversant with the Principles of War, one of which is 'concentration.' She not only took on too many targets but kept shifting her aim frequently. Thus at one time or another she took aim on Defence Secretary Ajit Kumar, Bhagwat's replacement Admiral Sushil Kumar, Vice Admiral Harinder Singh, the Akalis, arms dealers and some ex-chiefs before finally settling on George. By the middle of February, Bhagwat's artillery was running out of steam and ammunition. Some of his cavalrymen had begun to desert him. Talk shows were beginning to tire of the Bhagwat episode and bringing in fresher faces. Above all another general in distant Mumbai was beginning to push Bhagwat off the front pages by of his antics. The result was the end of phase one and a temporary lull in the campaign.

By mid-March, Niloufer was sidelined and retired to her barracks in the Supreme Court and General Bhagwat decided to take full control of his forces himself. He had decided his first and primary target would have to be his one time superior turned enemy, George Fernandes. The second phase of the battle began on March 21 when the ex-admiral held his, now famous, press conference in the premises of the Press Club and launched a full scale attack on George and the government. Unfortunately, moderation and restraint are not the admiral's known qualities. With his blunderbuss type of tirade on all and sundry, Bhagwat succeeded in alienating a large section of FoBs (Friends of Bhagwat, not Bill), some of whom launched random attacks of their own on the Bhagwat forces.

Government forces, which were on the defensive until then, launched a massive counter attack soon after. General George, no mean strategist himself, led the attack from the front making full use of the weapons and arms in the possession of the government. Each of Bhagwat's accusation was countered with meticulously prepared clarifications and explanations. His lies and half truths were nailed. To a large extent George succeeded in exposing the ex-admiral, routing his forces and allies.

Just when it appeared that Bhagwat would be decimated, his luck changed. His forces have now been joined by two major allies, the armies under Field Marshalls Jayalalitha and Sonia Gandhi. Jayalalitha brings to the battle her reputation as a master strategist. Her forces are not numerous, in fact only about 19 or so, but like Blucher's cavalry at Waterloo, they can completely change the result of a battle. Already her actions have begun to put George on the defensive, at least temporarily. Her senior advisers have apparently warned her of the dangers of getting too close to the temperamental and mercurial admiral. She may give a helping hand by letting loose her artillery in Parliament but is wary of getting too entangled with the likes of Bhagwat.

Incidentally, both his new allies have succeeded in sidelining General Bhagwat himself, who is now reduced to making weak noises from his residence. George the Giant Killer has succeeded in destroying his opponent's credibility and in his newly found offensive avatar is all ready to taken on the combined forces under Jaya and Sonia.

The Battle of Raisina Hill is not yet over but the end is in sight. By the end of May the inevitable will happen. A whole lot of hue and cry will result in status quo ante, the public and the politicians will forget Bhagwat, George Fernandes will return to the defence ministry and Bhagwat will begin to write his memoirs.

The first showers will arrive and the long hot summer will finally be over.

Admiral J G Nadkarni (retd), former chief of the naval staff, is a frequent contributor to these pages.

Admiral J G Nadkarni

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