It's soldiers vs babus in battle of supremacy at Gymkhana

High-powered bureaucrats accuse defence officials of breach of tradition in this year's club elections

High-powered bureaucrats accuse defence officials of breach of tradition in this year's club elections

It doesn't matter if the war front is at peace or conflict. It's a battle that is on since time immemorial.

The love-hate relationship between the soldiers and bureaucrats is something, which is not new or even exclusive to the domain of our country. While one claims to do all the donkeywork the other takes credit for setting and implementing the policy.

Apart from the usual battlefronts of North Block and South Block, the Delhi Gymkhana Club has often witnessed the skirmishes between the two groups in the battle of supremacy.

It is the soldiers this time who have sounded the bugle this year with the babus accusing them of breaking an unwritten code for the election to the top post of the club.

The presidential election at the club is slated for September 26 and the bureaucrats are crying foul over the present chief Air Marshal (retd) PS Ahluwalia contesting for a second term. Prakash Chandra, DG, International Taxation, is the civil services candidate.u00a0

According to an understanding both the groups get the top post alternatively and the bureaucrats have accused the soldiers of breaching the 'code'. But, the forces have their defence ready. They attribute the accusations to the babus' "vested interests".

"The club has a tradition where the two-year presidential term is rotated alternatively between members from defence background and bureaucrats. The present president Air Marshal Ahluwalia is from Indian Air Force (IAF) so the next term should automatically go to a civilian. But against all set traditions of the club Air Marshal Ahluwalia is contesting for another term," said a regular member of the club, requesting anonymity.

However, not everybody is fighting and not everybody is happy.

Some members alleged that successive presidents of the club, while trying to settle out their personal ego issues, have compromised the prestige of the club. "The quality has come down drastically. Few days back the roof of the main dinning hall caved in and a similar incident occurred in the billiards room. Thankfully, nobody got hurt otherwise it would have ruined our image," the club member said.

He also alleged while several "wasteful expenses were incurred" various facilities were discontinued. "The men's room was renovated at the cost of about Rs 60 lakh but facilities like yoga classes and western dances were discontinued. These services were restored after severe protest from the members. The present president has done nothing to improve the membership and quality of the club but he wants another term," said another member.

But as the date of the election comes closer the posturing from both the sides has increased manifold. Few members have even started to circulate internal letters voicing their anger against the present president.

Air Marshal (retd) Ahluwalia refused to comment over the issue, saying that he deserves a second term as he was given the top post after former army chief Gen JJ Singh left the post mid way. General (retd) JJ Singh was appointed as the governor of Arunachal Pradesh soon after he was elected the president.
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Former club president Ravinder Gupta refused to buy the argument that a slugfest was on. "These are routine matters. Though the tradition of rotating the presidentship is followed there have been few aberrations in the past. Of course the present case of Air Marshal Ahluwalia is being discussed by the members but it will not hamper the image of the club," he said.u00a0

Elitist
As many as 10,000 hopefuls are still in the queue to enter the hallowed precincts of the Delhi Gymkhana club. In fact, the waiting period may in a couple of years extend to four or five decades, which means by the time a non-government employee's turn comes, he may not even be alive.

The club has 12,000 members of which 5,600 are permanent members. Each year, about 100-120 permanent members are taken in to fill in the vacancies created by deaths or resignations.

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