Sometimes soldiers lie, cheat, steal, rape, pillage and run away in the face of danger. They mutiny, kill their comrades, betray their country and commit suicide. And sometimes, they also misuse privileges. Any army of the world, including the Indian Army has such instances amongst its ilk. The key is to appreciate the infinitesimal occurrences in comparison to rest of the society and the swiftness and severity with which the army deals with such breaches.
The Indian Armed Forces, like most armies of the world, have their own law. Appreciating the circumstances under which soldiers are expected to function and the limits to which call of duty stretches them, these special laws, meant for extraordinary circumstances, provision for penalties considered draconian in any other profession. All army officers are taught Military Law and even the junior most promotions require officers to have its knowledge. Similarly, the punitive process in the armed forces is lightning quick compared to civilian courts where cases languish for decades. Most Court Martials by contrast, deliver and implement their verdicts in months if not weeks. Notwithstanding the above, there is no doubt that the Indian Armed Forces are changing in their nature and character, but the reasons stem from social changes in the country and not just in the Army.
We don’t import our soldiers or officers from Denmark, Norway or Sweden. They come from the same stock which populates India’s politicians, policemen, bureaucrats, businessmen, actors, sportspersons, corporate and government employees. They are exposed to the same values that shape the behaviour of rest of our nation. They grow up within the same society which elects convicted murders as political leaders, adulates law-breaking celluloid heroes, role models bureaucrats who amass massive fortunes, pays obeisance to government babu’s, bribes policemen to be let off a fine and fetes corporate tycoons who evade taxes as well as arrest. It lionises match fixers as cricketing idols and proven fraudsters as public icons. It condones the hypocrisy of leaders who mouth frugality while conducting their children’s nuptials in lavishness. It never demands of promises from its leaders and worships godmen who spend their time broking power and promoting billion dollar businesses.
They grow up in the same society which does not know the ranks of their Armed Forces or the dates of the wars we fought. They grow among our educated elite who can point out San Jose or San Francisco from a world map but have no idea where Siachen is. They grow up listening to the jingoism of TV celebrities who want to fight till the last drop of someone else’s blood, from an air-conditioned studio. They see strident demands of including women in combat arms but empty stadiums during women’s sporting events. They witness eulogies in times of war but debasement of the Armed Forces’ status with each passing year. They watch political mileage being drawn from military operations but apathy towards wounded veterans and war widows. They hear their leaders mouth equity when more than 80% of our national wealth is controlled by less than 1% of its population.
This is the society our soldiers come from.
The word ‘cantonment’ where soldiers are garrisoned originates from ‘containing’ the troops away from rest of the society, so that social avarice and malaises could be kept at bay. It is similar to boarding schools which usually have higher standards of discipline and selflessness than day schools. But one billion Indians cannot appoint a million soldiers as the nation’s standard bearers and absolve themselves of every crime – whether it is in committing or condoning them. Our Army is dragged into one controversy after another as if rest of the nation is pristine and virtuous when in fact, the rot has set in so deep that the terms like justice, fair play, honor, accountability, sense of propriety and even truth, seem ludicrous.
The Army is the last bastion of our nation. It is that canary in the mines whose flailing should warn us of putrefaction in our social values and its concomitant damage. There is no denying that Army is not a holy cow and must be equally accountable for its conduct as any other public institution. Of course a few officers misuse their privileges. But the answer doesn’t lie in portraying scant instances as the general rule. When a dog bites a man, it isn’t news, but milking the incident of a man biting a dog – for television ratings; doesn’t do the Army or the nation any good either. Our adversaries leverage these tabloid self-castigation to deepen schisms between military and civil society.
Having said that, senior leadership of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence cannot abdicate their responsibility of strengthening their organisations. They have failed to build the ‘brand’ of the Armed Forces and vacated that space for banal topics and self-appointed military spokespersons – many of whom have nothing more to offer than high octave chest thumping with national anthem as background music. The heroism, trauma and valour of our soldiers at borders or the struggles of our ex-servicemen go unobserved, while banshee theatrics of armchair strategists garners prime time. Our strategic discussions are conspicuous by absence of doctrine options. Our parliamentary steering committees seldom review defence preparedness. Our defence PSUs run truant with their much vaunted projects with zero consequences and our universities are devoid of military or strategic studies. Despite being one of the most experienced armies of the world, there is hardly any account of our battles – especially its critiques. As a nation we are averse to discussing our strategic fiascos and therefore fail to learn from them.
That is not the brand which will attract talent, and without talent slowly but surely our Armed Forces will lose their élan, chivalry, intellect and effectiveness. And soon sycophancy will replace professional advocacy in our military discourses.
The Headquarters of the Army Training Command nestled away in the foothills of Himalayas, promotes the concept of the “scholar warrior”. That brand of the Armed Forces is increasingly giving way to one that is perceived as an aggrieved, belittled and parochial with political ambitions. Which doesn’t bode well either for the Army or the country.
_The author is founding CEO NATGRID and Group President Reliance Industries. He tweets @captramahn. All views are personal_@ ~~ 11111111111111111111qq1.