Corruption shatters Indian Army confidence
Lt Col Zaheerul Hassan (R)
Soldiers always remember and feel pride over the time spent with their
comrades in the training establishments, units, and field. Therefore,
the feelings of unexpected meeting of war buddies always take them back
in the past and pour fresh blood in old body. The sentiments of old
associates are unforgettable and cannot be revealed in few words. In
real sense good memories are assets of the units on which soldiers feel
proud. However materialistic approach drastically changed the culture of
some of the Armed forces. In this context, the Indian Armed forces are
on the top of the list. The corruption in officer’s lot has converted it
into rogue armed forces, which really shattered the soldiers’ confidence
over their commanders. According to the old timers the Indian Army is
now the most corrupted organization in India. Unfortunately, in most of
the cases officers (including senior officers) are involved in the cases
of sexual harassments, bribe, selling military secrets, terrorizing,
kidnapping, sabotaged activities against minorities, abduction of
scientists, smuggling of enriched uranium and other nuke equipments.
The young Indian married officers hesitate in attending family functions
with their wives since in most of the functions seniors officers found
losing their senses due to excessive drink. Few years back a senior
Indian Air force officer assaulted the wife of a junior subordinate
officer (the name of the officer has not been mentioned to conceal the
identity). The culprit officer had not been taken on task and the
intelligence agencies hushed up the incident to save the senior officer.
In July 2008 Captain Poonam Kaur of the Army Supply Corps (ASC) alleged
her three colleague officers for mentally and sexually harassment. She
also narrated that she had been confined illegally when she resisted
their advances. On her complaint, the army authorities constituted a
court of inquiry whereby all three officers denied the allegations.
However later on the alleged officers have been declared clean and
complainant lady officer was convicted on at least 20 counts, including
leveling false charges against her senior officers. Indian Army
authority has dismissed the lady officer instead taking actions against
the male officers. The irony of the case was that the court was headed
by a male officer who became party to the alleged officers.
Indian Army did not even respect the country’s courts of law. On August
31, 2009 in a recent report, Hindustan times revealed that former judge
advocate general of Indian Army Maj. Gen. Neelendra Kumar said: “The
army has a standing policy that every case of serious nature invariably
goes to the military court. The Supreme Court guidelines are not
applicable as we have the Army Act.”
On the other hand, the Army Act 1950 cannot deal the cases of sexual
abuse. Thus the lady officer has been deprived with the justice and
thrown out of the army for complaining against her colleague officers.
As per the newspaper currently, 5,137 women officers serve in the armed
forces. They include 4,101 in the army, 784 in the air force and 252 in
the navy. As per media 45 cases of sexual harassment have been reported
during the last seven years. In fact Indian armed forces are men
dominated forces and never liked to see flourishing of females in the
forces. In a case of female recruitment, on September 18, 2009 while
addressing of Delhi High Court, Solicitor General of India Gopal
Subramanium has submitted before Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul that the
granting of permanent commission to women officers on short service
commission in the Indian Army is not possible.
It is notable here that Indian government herself is promoting
prostitution profession in the female troops deployed in border areas.
Earlier on April 10 2007 CNN revealed in a report that
Twenty-three-years old Smriti and 26-years-old Suhag are Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) constables on duty in strife-torn Kashmir found
involved in prostitution profession. Both were educated, sharp and
dedicated towards their [prostitution] profession and equally eager to
keep healthy and perhaps that explains why they are all ears during an
AIDS awareness session that was held. A month back the daily mail also
reported that now 200 professional prostitutions have been inducted in
the armed forces.
Probably, all such types of inductions are the brain child of notorious
Indian intelligence agency (RAW). The aim of suggesting, planning and
launching such kind of unethical employment in the forces is to attract
the freedom fighters and malign Muslim soldiers in unlawful activities .
Thus, increase of unhealthy activities has made the soldiers
psychologically sick. The suicidal cases and disciplined problems in the
units deployed in Kashmir have been many folds. The excessive dinks and
involvement in sexual activities with colleague’s female officers has
become the cause of spreading AIDS in the forces.
Assam Military Units Commander Colonel Bhopinder Singh also admitted in
a side meeting that the death toll because of AIDS is much higher than
that of casualties in the clashes. It is quite evident from the reports
that more than 200,000 troops deployed in northern Indian and Kashmir
are confronting with separatist groups, freedom fighters and a hard
hitter enemy “AIDS”. Vice-Admiral V.K.Singh, Director-General of Armed
Forces Medical Services, has said that we consider HIV as our enemy No.
1. As per reports so far 415 soldiers including officers had been
expired as result of this killing disease and more than thousand cases
of AIDS are under investigation. Families of the sick soldiers are
actually main sufferers. The increase in divorce/separation cases have
also been noticed by the reputed circle of the masses but unfortunately
Indian top and military brass are not interested to lessen the worries
of poor soldiers and their families.
Indian Army is considered to be the world’s second largest army with 1.2
million troops. According to Indian National Human Rights Commission,
there were 1,039 cases of human rights violations (which include rapes,
terrorizing, abduction & killing of innocent women, children youngsters
& communal violence) by the security forces from 1990 -2009, an average
of 110 per year. I would also like to reveal here that no downward trend
in crime ratio have been noticed so far. The indecent activities against
the innocent agitators almost raised 100%. If we consider that it
reduced by 50 % even then figures will be quite alarming for the
international community. Indian Ministry of Defence reported that it
filed 17 rape cases against army personnel whereas media reported 20
cases of rapes from 2003-2004 and by adding 50 % per annum will make
this figure 80 till December, 2008. There are reports that only two or
three rape cases have been concluded so far in a guilty verdict. In the
remaining cases, the investigations are still in process or terminated
because of tremendous pressure on the presidents of the court of
inquiries, investigating officers or on the eye witnesses.
As per Indian press, one serving Lt General Sahni, one Lt General
(Retired) S K Dahiya, four Major Generals, two Brigadiers and eight
officers are being charred for various irregularities in relation to
procurement of “certain items of dry rations” for soldiers in Jammu and
Kashmir. The names of Sahni, Dahiya, four Maj-Gens, nine Brigadiers, a
Navy Commodore, two Commanders a Lt-Commander, an IAF Group Captain and
a Coast Guard DIG have figured in a list of 21 senior officers facing
corruption charges tabled by defence minister A K Antony in Parliament.
In the past too Tehelka.com opened the Pandora Box of corrupt Indian
Generals.
Coming back to the discussion, I must say that world second army is now
become the highly corrupt force. The troops do not have confidence on
their immediate commanders .Senior officers do not enjoy good reputation
amongst their subordinates. The deployed troops are playing with the
lives of innocent children and women. Young local girls and female
colleague officers are being victimized by the soldiers and their
comrades. World community, organization of human rights and so called
civilized western society should visit border areas of Kashmir to know
the actual worth of Rouge Indian Armed Forces.
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