• Let me tell you the story of two young officers commissioned in the army of two neighbouring countries in 1964. They both should have retired. One has retired, shed his uniform, fought and won an election -- though it's only to the Delhi Gymkhana. The other has fought an election of sorts to become president of his country. He hasn't quite shed his uniform. Not yet. No prizes for guessing whom we are talking about. My guest this week is Gen J.J. Singh, former chief of the army staff. Obviously you know who else we are talking of -- Gen Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. He wears his uniform a bit longer than you.

Yes, I think the armed forces are a role model. The three pillars of our strength are professionalism, secularism, and an apolitical approach. I am happy and satisfied to have handed over the baton to my very distinguished successor.

• You don't grudge your counterpart the privilege of deciding when to shed his uniform?

No, I wouldn't want to comment on that (laughs).

• You have this long army tradition of three generations -- grandfather, father, and then you.

We grew up on stories of World War I and World War II. I was born in 1945, the year World War II ended. My grandfather, who fought in World War I, used to tell stories at dinnertime of what he went through in the Mesopotamian campaign. He was a wounded prisoner of war, so he saw very difficult times. My father served from 1943 to 1973. He fought in World War II and used to tell us stories of what he experienced.

... contd.