Army chief's tenure cut short

The controversy surrounding the age of Army chief Gen V K Singh has finally been put to rest with Defence Minister A K Antony accepting May 10, 1950 as his date of birth.
With Thursday’s ministerial decision, reached after months of opinion-gathering from various quarters, Singh will have to retire in 2012 when he will complete 62 years of age. He is now expected to be succeeded by Eastern Army commander Lt Gen Bikram Singh.

The minister’s decision has been conveyed to the Army Chief who along with two other service chiefs met Antony later in the day in a separate meeting to zero in on the gallantry award winners for 2011, sources said. Accepting 1950 as Singh’s year of birth, Antony followed recommendations of the Union Law Ministry and Attorney General.

Singh received his last promotion as Army Chief on the basis of 1950 as his year of birth. However, a dispute had arisen when two sets of documents emerged citing  different dates of birth after his ascent to the top.

An admission form for National Defence Academy entrance examination undertaken by the Union Public Service Commission, entry form of Indian Military Academy and an Army list show Singh was born in 1950. While the chief’s secondary school certificate from Madhyamik Siksha Board of Rajasthan has 1951 as the year of birth. Army’s two record-keeping sections — Adjutant General’s (AG) branch in the Army head quarters and the Military Secretary’s office — have different dates of birth for Singh.