Hell has no fury like a general scorned. Ties between the army and its civilian bosses have recently become more strained than anyone can remember. At the root is an increasingly destructive army chief, General V.K. Singh, trying to browbeat civilian bosses into prolonging his spell in charge. In dispute is a petty detail: the general's year of birth. He wanted the date on his personal record adjusted, to let him serve a few months beyond his scheduled retirement in May. Crucially, that would let him influence who would succeed him. The defence minister, A.K. Antony of the Congress Party, usually a shrinking violet, refused.
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