“Moral versus “Legal

Vikram Karve
7 min readOct 2, 2024

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KEEPING A PROMISE IS A MORAL OBLIGATION BUT NOT LEGALLY BINDING

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When we were young — we were told that if you make a promise — you must keep your promise.

Later — in the Navy — “word of honour” was considered sacrosanct — if you made a promise — you had to fulfill your promise.

Keeping your promises — meeting all commitments and assurances you made — honouring your word — this enhanced your credibility and made people have faith in you.

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Similar standards of ethics and moral values were prevalent in society — even in politics — and people were expected to live up to their promises and fulfill their assurances.

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Sometime ago — I was shocked to read a news item that made me realise that the earlier concepts of ethics and moral values seem to have changed drastically.

The news item pertained to OROP (One Rank One Pension)

(OROP in Armed Forces : Govt can’t be held to Parliament promise; Centre to SC)

The news item said inter-alia:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed with the Centre’s contention that any promise made in Parliament on granting one rank one pension (OROP) to retired armed forces personnel was not legally binding…” and “Moral obligation is not the same as a legal right…” and the court agreed that promises made in the House were not legally binding but commented that OROP “painted a rosier picture” than what was given…”

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We were taught one must keep one’s promise— so seeing the news item that promises are not legally binding was quite shocking to us.

Maybe — our values are antiquated and everything is seen only from the legal perspective.

Do moral obligations have no value in today’s world…?

Imagine what may happen if everyone says that their promises, commitments and assurances are not legally binding…?

Will this not lead to a loss of faith…?

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I wonder what will happen to the ethos of the defence services if the “legal” prevails over the “moral” and everyone strictly follows legal aspects and moral values are discarded…?

Can Senior Officers tell the men under their command that the promises, commitments and assurances they made to their juniors are not legally binding…?

If this happens — will juniors have faith in their seniors…?

Has “moral obligation” become irrelevant…?

Can wars be won by strictly following legal aspects only…?

Do moral aspects have no place in the military any longer…?

Has “Legal Authority” become sacrosanct…?

Does “Moral Authority” have no place in the military any longer…?

Do the powers-that-be really have an understanding of military ethos, values and culture…?

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All this reminds me of an article I had written long ago on the importance of “Moral Authority” — especially in the Armed Forces.

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LEADERSHIP

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A Leader will be obeyed because he has “Legal Authority”.

But:

A Leader will be respected only if he has “Moral Authority”.

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Moral Authority comes from Moral Ascendancy.

This is true in all organisations — but especially so — in the military.

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Military Officer Like Qualities (OLQ) = MORAL ASCENDANCY

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Recently — I heard a few young officers expressing their frank and honest opinions about senior officers.

Their comments were far from flattering — it seemed that senior officers had lost respect in the eyes of their junior officers.

From time to time we see remarks on Social Media — which give us hints about the opinions of juniors about their seniors — and indicates who is respected — and — and who has lost respect because of his moral degradation — since he has squandered away his moral authority by his actions.

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These candid remarks make me wonder:

Have Senior Officers Lost Moral High Ground…?

And hence — have they lost respect in the eyes of their juniors…?

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These thoughts reminded me of a small article I had posted a few years ago on the importance of officers having “Moral Ascendancy”.

So — I am posting the article on “moral ascendancy” once more for you to read…

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Moral Ascendancy — The Most Important Military OLQ (Officer Like Quality)

Musings of Retired Navy Veteran Vikram Karve

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MORAL ASCENDANCY

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As a young officer in the Navy — I used to ask myself:

“If I remove my badges of rank — then — why should a sailor willingly obey me…?”

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The answer I gave to myself was:

“A sailor will obey me — if he “respects” me…”

And — to respect me — the sailor should feel that I am “better” than the sailor.

Yes — an officer will be respected by his men — only if the men under his command believe that their officer is “better” than them.

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Those days — I could not exactly define what the term “better” meant.

Now — I realize that:

The term “better” means “moral ascendancy”.

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Yes — to put it simply:

“Better” = “Moral Ascendancy”.

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“Moral Ascendancy” means “Moral High Ground” or “Moral Authority”.

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The opposite of “Moral Ascendancy” is “Moral Degradation”.

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Being Ethical and Righteous in your conduct gives you “Moral Ascendancy”

On the other hand — being unethical, immoral and corrupt causes “Moral Degradation” — which will earn you the disrespect of your juniors and peers.

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“Moral Ascendancy” will win you the respect and confidence of your subordinates and peers.

Your juniors will “Respect” you — if you have “Moral Ascendancy” over them.

And:

Your juniors will willingly “Obey” you — if they “Respect” you.

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So — as an officer — you must have “moral ascendancy” over your subordinates in order to gain their “respect”.

Thus — “moral ascendancy” in officers — especially senior officers — is an essential prerequisite for discipline in the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Moral Ascendancy is the most important Officer Like Quality (OLQ) for a Defence Officer.

You have to attain moral ascendancy before you demand respect.

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Genuine Respect does not come from Legal Authority.

Genuine Respect comes from “Moral Ascendancy”.

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A bad officer will have to use his legal authority (power of rank) to enforce obedience.

A good officer never has to use the power of his rank to command his men.

His men will willingly obey him because of his “moral ascendancy”.

“Moral Authority” is far superior to “Legal Authority”.

And:

“Moral Authority” comes from “Moral Ascendancy”.

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That is why the most important aspect of selection and training of officers is to ensure that they have “moral ascendancy” over the men they are going to command.

If you talk to young military officers — you will realize that senior officers have lost “moral ascendancy”.

The effect of this is visible in the increasing trust-deficit in the defence services.

This loss of “moral ascendancy” — and the consequent loss of respect for senior officers — this can have serious ramifications in war — as it happened in the 1962 India-China War.

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LEGAL AUTHORITY

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Legal Authority creates forced obedience.

In conditions of forced obedience — morale can break down in difficult situations.

There are many examples of this in military history where wars and battles have been lost because soldiers lost faith in their Generals.

It has happened in politics too — resulting in coups and overthrow of leadership.

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MORAL AUTHORITY

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Moral Authority creates willing obedience — which is more resilient.

Senior Officers need to introspect as to why they have lost “moral ascendancy” over their juniors.

A consequence of the lack of moral authority is that senior officers seem to have lost the “respect” which their high rank ought to command.

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There is a saying:

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“Willing Obedience” is always better than “Forced Obedience”

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“Moral Authority” creates “Willing Obedience”

“Legal Authority” creates “Forced Obedience”

Willing Obedience is more resilient — whereas — in conditions of Forced Obedience — morale can break down in difficult situations — especially in war.

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NB:

This article pertains to Military Leadership.

However — the connection between respect and moral authority (moral ascendancy) is relevant to leaders in various professions and domains — politics, bureaucracy, business, corporate, education etc.

Moral Authority plays an important role in personal relationships too — especially in marriage, parenting, friendships, family, and social life.

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Dear Reader,

Do you agree with my views…?

Please comment and let us know your views on “moral” versus “legal”.

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VIKRAM KARVE

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Disclaimer:

  1. This article is a fictional spoof, satire, pure fiction, just for fun and humor, no offence is meant to anyone, so take it with a pinch of salt and have a laugh.
  2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the stories are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Link to my source blog post in my Blog Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/12/moral-ascendancy-most-important.html

Link to my source blog post in my Blog Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/12/moral-ascendancy-most-important.html

Extracted and Developed from my article CORRUPTION IN DISCIPLINE OUT Earlier Posted by me Vikram Karve in my blog academic and creative writing journal at 10/05/2014 02:17:00 PM at url: http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/10/why-corruption-in-military-is-most.html and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2014/12/military-officer-like-qualities-olq.htmlandhttp://karvediat.blogspot.in/2015/09/are-senior-officers-respected-by-their.htmland http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/05/military-musings-have-officers-lost.htmland https://karve.wordpress.com/2018/02/08/moral-ascendancy-the-most-important-military-officer-like-quality-olq/ and http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2016/08/is-military-leadership-losing-moral.html and https://karve.wordpress.com/2020/12/25/leadership-respect-comes-from-moral-authority/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2021/03/16/military-ethics-moral-authority/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2021/11/30/moral-authority/ and https://karve.wordpress.com/2022/02/20/moral-obligation-versus-legal-right/ etc

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, alumnus IIT Delhi, Lawrence School Lovedale, Vikram Karve is a retired Navy Officer turned full time Writer and Blogger