Morale of Indian Army
Asfhain Afzal
I was going through some archive articles over BBC News websites about
the low morale of Indian Army, quoting that between 2004 and 2006, 408
Indian soldiers took their lives, killed colleagues or died after
colleagues ran amok and that out of these 408 soldiers, 333 killed
themselves. The figures of year ending 2008, officially admitted by
Indian Ministry of Defence as well as other websites were even more
depressing. One wonders that Indian Army is not that bad then why there
is so low morale among the ranks.
The recent statement of Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor that
Indian Army can rustle with China, reminded me of last year incident
when I received a call from my fellow journalist friend from Azad Jammu
and Kashmir that four Indian Army soldier have crossed over the Line of
Control (LoC) and are presently dwelling with a local of Havalian near
Chokoti. I rushed for Muzaffarabad to see the Indian soldier with my own
eyes. The journey was horrible because of landslides at two locations.
It took me over six hours to reach the small village near Chokoti where
I found four Jonnies in Salwar Kamiz who were quite tense and
apprehensive that some one might report to Pakistan Army about their
presence. Their story of accidentally crossing LoC couldn’t impress me
but I never wanted to embarrass them by confronting as one of the Indian
accompanying Junior Commissioned Officer was Kashmiri from Indian Held
Kashmir (IHK) and relative of host namely Saleem. My Kashmiri journalist
friend wanted to cover a breaking story but I requested him to hold on
as it was an unintentional crossover and next day we could always inform
the local Police. It was three hours long chit chat in which we got the
first hand knowledge about various tourist sites in India as well as
inside story of Indian Army.
For the reasons best known to them, complains, complains and complains
against the Indian Army was the topic but I could feel a spark in the
eyes of one of the soldier, hailing from Chandimandar who did not like
such things to be discussed with enemy. I still wonder why they crossed
over LoC, only to complaint against their country. They praised the
Kashmiri food served to them but complained about the poor quality of
food provided to the Army troops in India, especially, Junior
Commissioned Officers and other Ranks. They narrated a story of
Lieutenant General S.K. Sahni who served as Director General (Supplies
and Transport) in the Indian Army Headquarters, New Delhi and dubbed him
as well as his under command officers as cheat and corrupt.
They disclosed that an inquiry was held against them for procuring poor
quality food items for troops fighting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.
He added that although General Sahni retired in 2006 but under Indian
Army Act, any retired officer can be called back for court martial
proceedings for offences committed during his service tenure that had
come to light before or after his superannuation. They disclosed that
Court Martial proceedings against him was being held at Headquarter 11
Corps, Jalandhar but the officer approached Delhi High Court and got
court martial proceedings stayed. They disclosed that Major General S.K.
Dahiya of the Army Service Corps (ASC) while serving at Northern
Command, Udhampur was also guilty of corruption and lapses in the
procurement of frozen mutton but he was promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant General. Likewise, he took the name of Major General Gur
Iqbal Singh of the Bareilly-based 6 Mountain Division and disclosed that
he was caught with proofs diverting supplies meant for Indian armed
forces to the civilian market. They took the names of a number of
Commanding Officers and Second in Commands for their involvement in
corruption and cruelty towards their under commands. They praised some
of the outstanding officers including General Officer Commanding
Northern Command for his positive approach. The Junior Commissioned
Officer and the soldier from Chandimandar took the names of Major Misra
and Colonel Chopra and praised them a lot. However, they disclosed that
Hindu officers are very cruel to ranks belonging to minorities,
especially Muslims and Christians. I am not very sure about the figures
quoted by them but according to them 25% of soldiers of Indian Army are
engaged in carrying out menial tasks for their superior officers.
Regarding the tourist attractions, they painted such a picture as if IHK
is most beautiful place in the world. They appreciated mountains,
valleys, greenery, rivers and streams of IHK. They discussed beauty of
Dallake, Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Ladakh as well as Srinagar bazaar. They
also praised the hospitality of people of IHK and invited to visit them
sometime. However, they cautioned that all Pakistanis are required to
register themselves at Foreigners Regional Registration office. They
disclosed that militants have become a headache for them, especially in
Northern and Eastern Command. They disclosed that India has banned
internationals organizations and aid agencies to operate in IHK to cover
up heinous activities of Indian Army and Paramilitary forces against
Kashmiris, which include torture, rapes, murder, staged encounters,
genocide and ethnic cleansing. Coming back to articles over BBC News
website, even with such a demoralizing record of Indian Army, they are
much better than the Western soldiers, who actually refused to obey
orders in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There weeping videos are still preserved. The conduct of these
foreigners in joint exercises like one in Pune is in front of our eyes
when over two dozen of British soldiers fainted. US performance in
Jungle Warfare exercises is not worth mentioning with pride. India is a
huge country so are its problems. Indian Army can perform better if
colonial set-up in the Armed Forces is abolished.
Soldiers and their families must be looked after in the best possible
way. Special attention should be paid to their food and health. Last but
not the least, minorities especially the Muslims should be considered at
par with Hindu officers and ranks and grievances of very personnel,
irrespective of the fact that he can be accommodated or otherwise,
should be given patient consideration. India must resolve its
differences with its neighbours so that its Army should take part in
security as well as development of the country. |
