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  3. For weeks, the Indian Army has been embroiled in an achingly public dispute not about national security but about the birth date

For weeks, the Indian Army has been embroiled in an achingly public dispute not about national security but about the birth date

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问题     For weeks, the Indian Army has been embroiled in an achingly public dispute not about national security but about the birth date of its chief. In a drama that has set off emotional sparring on television talk shows and condemnation in newspaper editorials, the army chief, Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh, has insisted that he was born on May 10, 1951. But India’s government has insisted that, no, he was born on May 10, 1950.
    The practical impact of the case concerns the schedule for leadership changes within the In-dian Army. General Singh, who served with distinction in the 1971 war against Pakistan, assumed the army’s top job on March 31, 2010. By this timetable, General Singh is scheduled to step down in May, based on the 1950 birth date cited by the government.
    The general himself seemingly accepted the 1950 birth date at critical moments in his career. In his last three promotions, culminating in his 2010 appointment as army chief, his birth year was listed as 1950 on official records. But General Singh has argued that he was pressured to accept that false date, according to Indian media accounts. Last year, the general filed an administrative complaint, seeking to have the date changed to 1951; the complaint wended through the system until the Defense Ministry issued a final rejection.
    As the controversy percolated in recent months, India’s political leaders tried to reassure the public that the situation was not undermining the country’s military readiness. Mr. Antony, the defense minister, publicly endorsed General Singh as a military leader. Other government ministers have said they do not think that General Singh is trying to misrepresent his birth date. Yet they said that India’s cabinet, in appointing him army chief, did so based on records indicating he was born in 1950, which meant he was not expected to serve in the job for a full three years.
    "Rules are rules," Salman Khurshid, the law minister, told the Indian media.
    The Supreme Court could choose not to accept General Singh’s petition, thus neither ruling nor interfering in the matter. Or it could hold a full-blown hearing in which the general would be allowed to present evidence supporting his claims to a 1951 birth date.
    For many retired military leaders, the whole messy spectacle has been disheartening. Many have blamed both the army and the Ministry of Defense for not correcting the problem years ago. Criticism against General Singh has also been harsh, as some have blamed him for failing to heed the military credo that an officer should always put service before self.
    "He may be right, in terms of procedure," said Uday Bhaskar, a retired Indian Navy commodore. "But what this has done is diminish the institution and tarnish the individual, no matter how unwarranted it may be."
                                        From The New York Times, January 18, 2012
What’s the dispute about according to the passage?
选项 A、national security
B、military readiness
C、Singh’s birth date
D、Singh’s office record
答案C
解析 本题为细节题。根据文章第一句“For weeks，the Indian Army has been embroiled in an achingly public dispute not about national security but about the birth date of its chief”可知，公众争执的不是国家的安全，而是军队首领的出生日。所以选项C正确。
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