Mixed reaction as Rana set to add feather in his cap

KATHMANDU, AUG 08 -

When Gen Gaurav SJB Rana assumes the position of the acting Army chief on Friday, it will put to rest his long-standing worry that history would repeat itself.

Around three decades ago, his father Aditya Shumsher JB Rana, a major general and a very bright officer, was widely expected to reach right to the top in the then Royal Nepal Army.

He had a proud military history. He had successfully overseen the military operation against the CIA-backed Khampas in 1974 and had served as Aide de Camp (ADC) of King Birendra—one of the most sought-after positions in the Panchayat autocracy where the palace was the ultimate seat of power.

He, however, had to retire as a major general as the position of lieutenant general did not exist then. Of the major generals in the race for the Army chief, Singha Pratap Shah got the nod from the palace in 1979.

While seniority has remained the sole basis for the appointment of the Army chief in Nepal, there are numerous instances where attempts were made to alter the chain of command. This happened when the royal palace reigned supreme and that has happened after the demise of the monarchy.

“My father was dealt a harsh blow and I am in no position to be sure that I will be the new Army chief,” said Gen Gaurav Rana, only a day before the Cabinet last Wednesday decided to appoint him as the Acting Chief of Army Staff (CoAS).

The Cabinet decision in fact has cleared the air of confusion on the new Army leadership. Gen Chhatra Man Singh Gurung retires as the Army chief on September 9.

The government vetted the move for promotion as requested by the Army Headquarters to ‘avoid confusion’ and this happened within a working day.

It is not that Gen Rana alone has been anxious about the transfer of power in the Army. With a deepening political crisis, the Army, 93,000 strong and institutionally intact, is seen as a major stakeholder in the current politics.

At stakes are integration of over 3,000 former Maoist combatants, the restructuring and rightsizing of the Nepal Army itself, resumption of supplies of lethal military logistics and addressing the problem of ‘premature retirement’ of young officers, among others.

Also closely followed is how the new Army leadership will respond to political polarisation between the President and the Prime Minister, between the Maoist-Madhes on the one hand and non-Maoist forces on the other.

During Gen Rana’s tenure, the nature of the Army’s relations with external actors will also be closely followed.

A number of senior Army officials the Post talked to said the change in guard in the Army will not make ‘any drastic impact’ on the Army and its orientation given that the leadership is bound by traditions and provisions in the Interim Constitution and the Army Act. “Internal changes, as granting new facilities, will be far easier to carry out than, for example, the Army’s outlook towards the parties, national politics and the press,” said a serving Army officer. 

The outgoing Army chief and the incoming chief come from vastly different backgrounds. Gurung had a humble family background and he came from outside the valley—from Tanahun. Gen Rana is a direct descendant (a fourth-generation offspring) of Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher.

His great grandfather Baber Sumsher was the commander-in-chief of the Royal Nepal Army in 1951 when the Rana oligarchy was abolished. He became the defence minister in the Mohan Shumsher-led last Rana government.

Gen Mrigendra Shumsher, the grandfather, was the director of Public Education in the 1950s . His father, Lt Col Aditya Shumsher, was assigned to blast the right and left wings of the burning Singha Durbar to save it during the 1973 fire.

“Soldiering has always been in the genes of his family. Gaurav has always been a proud soldier,” says retired Lt Gen Balananda Sharma. To others, the incoming Army chief has been a ‘super-privileged soldier.’ And that his level of exposure, both national and international, in his four decades of military career is not something most NA soldiers get to avail of.

He got trained at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, the world famous training centre in Britain, before he was commissioned in the infantry battalion in 1974. “This guy was heavenly born with a silver spoon in his mouth,” said another retired Army general.

In the late 80s, Gen Rana was deputed in a special squad to look after the then Crown Prince Dipendra when the later was a student at Budhanilkantha School.

Rana graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth. He has also commandeered a contingent of Nepali peacekeepers in Lebanon. During the insurgency in 2003, he was the brigadier general of the Fifth Brigade based in Dipayal.

He served as the Director General of Military Operations, the most powerful department responsible for the overall operations and intelligence, during the tenure of Gen Rookmangud Katawal and the outgoing chief Gurung. Gen Gurung appointed his brother-in-law Daman Ghale to succeed Rana as DGMO in 2011.

Those who know him closely, as retired major general Shiva Ram Pradhan, Rana has always been a decisive and bold officer. “He comes in with a solid reputation as an officer and with untainted image.”

Interestingly, both his second man—Lt Gen Nepal Bhusan Chand—and third man—Maj Gen Netra Bahadur Thapa (who will be promoted to Lt Gen after Rana’s promotion)—are his batch mates of the ‘10th Basics’ in 1974.

While Thapa has remained close to Rana, Chand was seen as his competitor in the race for the top job in the Army.

Though he started his career from the Purano Gorakh Battalion, which has a majority of Magars in its rank, there are fears among Janjatis and newly inducted Army officers outside the elite Rana-Shah-Chettri circle, that the new Army chief could be surrounded by a narrow coterie of friends and relatives. 

Gen Rana’s ability to work with political party leaders is yet to be tested, though he enjoys good personal rapport with certain leaders from the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Maoist party, including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is said to “think highly of the incoming Army chief.”

“He can be straightforward to the extent of being perceived as arrogant,” said a former general. “As a leader of the Army, he should be ready to be open, not overly rely on a narrow group of friends and relatives and learn to cultivate and listen to viewpoints that are not always going to be music to his ears, especially those coming from political parties and the media.”

His wife Dolly was born and raised near Agra at Awagarh of Etah district, Uttar Pradesh. Their daughter Meghna Rajya Lakshmi is married to Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, a MLA in Orissa.


Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/08/08/top-story/mixed-reaction-as-rana-set-to-add-feather-in-his-cap/358420/