‘Keep armed forces as far from politics as possible’: Former Army Chief Naravane stresses apolitical character of military

NEW DELHI: Former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has emphasised the importance of keeping the armed forces and their leadership insulated from political narratives, stating that the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have always maintained an apolitical institutional character.

Speaking on the role of the armed forces in a democracy, the former Army Chief said the armed forces should be kept as far away from politics as possible to make the country strong.

“The armed forces should be kept as far away from politics as possible. The Indian armed forces pride themselves on being a very apolitical Army, Navy, and Air Force. If you see what is happening in the country’s periphery, it is a strength that we have never even sought to get involved in political matters, and that’s what makes our country strong”, he said.

#WATCH | Gurugram, Haryana: Speaking on the 2020 border standoff with China, former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) says, “Political leadership doesn’t interfere directly into military affairs. Whatever decisions are taken are taken by Cabinet Committee on… pic.twitter.com/YnO37Gcw5q

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2026

Highlighting the institutional role of the military in a democratic system, he added that the armed forces remain one of the pillars supporting the country’s governance structure alongside the judiciary and the press. “That’s what makes our democracy strong, that we are one of the pillars of governance, along with the judiciary and the press. This is a strong pillar on which the country is doing so well”, Naravane said.

At the same time, he clarified that individual members of the armed forces retain their democratic rights as citizens. “But that does not mean that we cannot have our own political affiliations, that we cannot cast our vote. You have to differentiate between the organisation and the individual. As an organisation, we are totally apolitical. But as individuals, we have full democratic rights to cast our vote”, he added.

#WATCH | Gurugram, Haryana: On his message to citizens regarding interpretations of his book, former Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd) says, “Everyone is free to interpret everything as per their own conscience. In doing so, they should see what is good in… pic.twitter.com/p8fBcMIveP

— ANI (@ANI) April 24, 2026

Meanwhile, in February, the former Army chief Naravane was dragged into a controversy over his unpublished memoir after the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, cited the book to target the Centre over the 2020 standoff against China.

On February 2, during the motion of thanks on the President’s Address, Lok Sabha witnessed sharp verbal exchanges after Rahul Gandhi in the Lower House sought to quote a magazine article containing excerpts from General Naravane’s unpublished memoir.

Gandhi’s reply was interrupted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who raised concerns that a Congress MP cannot quote from an unpublished book, which he said has not been authenticated. The ruling benches objected to Gandhi’s attempt to cite excerpts from the book.

The row escalated to an extent where Opposition MPs brought a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, with allegedly not letting Rahul Gandhi speak in the House being one of the reasons. The motion was dropped after a voice vote in the second phase of the Budget Session of the Parliament. (ANI)