End of VIP culture in Indian Navy: New chief moves against rank-based discrimination

Representative image of the Indian Navy: Wikimedia Commons/Indian Navy

Days after succeeding Admiral Sunil Lanba as the Navy chief, Admiral Karambir Singh has laid down a new set of rules for the Indian Navy personnel. This included instructions to naval officers to stop indulging in ostentatious behaviour while attending official events.

The new guidelines issued by him also directs Navy personnel to go for standard meals instead of lavish meals. He urged all ranks to conduct themselves in a way that they keep up with present-day social practices and asked them to refrain from upholding the VIP culture that has become a part of special events now.

Admiral Singh became the 24th Indian Navy Chief on May 31. The first step he took was to admonish the lavish lifestyles of Naval officers, reported The Economic Times. As per the new decree, senior officers will have to ensure that their juniors are disciplined and respectful. But, that does not mean they should make juniors subservient to them in the process.

Commenting on the new guidelines, Admiral Singh said: “As a modern fighting force, it's important to imbibe contemporary social and ceremonial practices towards optimal utilisation of manpower and resources.”

According to him, women, spouses, and children of all naval staff may remain seated unless the president of India or a governor enters the space they are in.

The Navy chief added: “The use of 'full titles' for senior officers should be restricted to only formal occasions.” He further said that food and meals must be kept simple and that the same food, beverage and crockery must be provided to all ranks attending the same function.

The officer added that practices such as garlanding the guests or showering petals on them or lighting lamps, etc must stop. Also, no function of quasi-religious nature must be entertained.