During
the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, the focus of attention, of both the media
and the government, on Defence related matters was mostly limited to combat
news, promotions and transfers, awards and such like. Very rarely did one come
across news related to corruption, internal strife, differences with
bureaucracy and the government. In the last ten years or so, the Defence Forces
have come under public scrutiny on many counts, often for the wrong reasons. Veterans,
as a community, have been quick to notice this development. Some of the
important and often debated issues in the media and especially in the veterans
circle are the increasing levels of corruption in the Armed Forces – ‘when will
we get Chiefs with guts’, ‘senior officers are corrupt’, ‘the Government has no
value for us’, ‘bureaucracy is against
us’, ‘ the media is also against us’, ‘why is the judiciary interfering with
defense matters’, ‘fellow countrymen do not appreciate our work’, ‘we have come
down in the order of precedence’, ‘there’s no respect
for the Veterans; look at America’ etc. People express different viewpoints without
any hesitation and the arguments continue. There has been no single solution or
answer to these vexing issues.
Today,
we are being examined as a community, more closely than hitherto – both
internally and by external agencies. There are a number of reasons, as to why
we are being subjected to this kind of examination. As a result, this exercise
of ‘soul searching’ is shaking the community, leading to self doubt, lack of
confidence in one’s profession, one’s commitment etc. This is an extremely serious matter.
Sometimes
I wonder – in this day and age, has our role diminished, does the country
require us, have we become a key which can no longer open locks, has the
‘firewall’ which once kept us insulated from the outside temptations broken
down, are we losing our ‘holy cow’ status, is a new global security apparatus
emerging etc.
We
have to see each issue in the present day context. The edifice of Indian
society has changed very rapidly in the last two decades –our lifestyle,
values, morals and aspirations have dramatically influenced the public mind and
the direction of their thought. In this process no one is spared. We have to probably
reinvent ourselves and change with the times – you cannot continue to play
football when others are playing cricket. The game plan has changed.
Nations
go to war for many reasons; primarily to expand one’s territory, for
territorial disputes, to acquire natural resources such as petroleum, for
ideological reasons based on religion and faith, for humanitarian reasons to
prevent large scale pogroms or for ethnic differences such as in Africa etc.
Human kind has been waging wars since time immemorial – it is nothing new. Over
a period of time, weapons have changed, but the rest has remained more or less
unchanged. When compared to, let us say the period from 1000 AD to 2000 AD and
now, the number of wars has decreased. Flash points do remain, but the actual
full scale wars are on the decline. Since World War II and after the end of
Cold War there have been fewer wars when compared with the earlier times. The number
of intrastate wars peaked in the year 1991 to about 50 and has gradually
reduced to around 32 in 2006(1). North America, Europe, Australia, England are
conflict free zones. However, some sparks do fly now and then in the Middle
East and Asia. Africa has been registering the maximum number of conflicts.
With
the passage of time, territorial disputes have been resolved in many places and
economies of nations have improved. Globally, the proportion of youth to adults
has been decreasing since the late 1970s – resulting in lesser people in the
younger age group to fight. Democracy and stable governments have been
replacing dictatorship and despotic leaders. There has been an end to the proxy
wars after the demise of Cold War. Interdependence between nations, and
international pressures, have also contributed in a very large measure to
reduce the reasons for conflict.
India
has been no exception to this trend. If one takes 1947 as the first post
independence conflict with Pakistan – the next came in 1962 with China after a
break of 15 years. Within 3 years, came the next conflict with Pakistan in
1965. Six years later we met again for the third time in 1971. There was a long
gap of 16 years till IPKF operations in 1987 and finally Kargil took place in
1999 after a lapse of 12 years. Our record stands at 6 conflicts in 65 years of
Independence.
The
Kargil war was the first time when war entered the drawing rooms of fellow
countrymen, courtesy the electronic media, showcasing the armed forces in the
order of Army, Air Force and lastly the Navy. The rest of the time, the nation
government and media is hardly aware of our presence. We have the largest
number of soldiers deployed in the battle field during peace time; more than
any other army in the world but this does not matter – no body other than you
and I know that.
I
wish to point out that the adage,“Out of sight – out of mind”, deserves a more
serious consideration. Ordinary people, bureaucracy, politicians and the
government are occupied with other events which they think affects the nation
severely and on a regular basis. Votes matter. Be it solving onion prices,
controlling sugar supply, petroleum prices, boycotting MF Husain, Taslima
Nasrin, 2G, 3G, security for Bal Thackeray’s funeral and so on - the government
gets pro active and finds a solution. The fact of the matter is that we do not
pose any serious threat to anybody around us. The government will not fall in
peace time on account of us. Only during war will they listen to you – period.
The role
of the armed forces is diminishing as conflict situations and flash points
globally decrease. Also, other measures such as nuclear deterrence, economic
persuasions and international intervention are on the increase. "The Utility of Force in a World of
Scarcity, International Security, Vol. 22, no. 3 (Winter 1997) notes, ‘In the
past five decades, however, the great powers have shown increasing reluctance
to employ force overtly against one another or even against weaker states.
Their apparent hesitation has led several sophisticated observers of
international affairs to conclude that the once-central role of the armed forces
is rapidly diminishing, perhaps soon to the point of irrelevance.’(2).
The role
of the Armed forces is certainly diminishing and there is an urgent need to
juxtapose ourselves in this new world order. Perhaps we need to find new peace
time roles, expand our areas of activity and eventually appear to be more
useful in the eyes of the ordinary countrymen who do not understand exalted and
lofty expressions such as - major component of national power, Net Security Providers,
state craft, projection of sea and air power, command and control of sea and
air space etc. What Admiral Sushil Kumar said in TOI on 10 Dec 2012 is a case
in point – “Joshi's reassuring message on our Navy's 400th anniversary was
essentially meant for the people of India. That such a message was misconstrued
as a diplomatic faux pas clearly shows that we have a scant understanding of
what sea power is all about.”
The
Army, Navy and Air Force, as we see it today, is the outcome of many changes
that have taken place over a period of time. We have changed uniforms, allowed
mustaches in the navy, brought changes in staff work, computers have entered
every facet of work, weapons have changed, tactics and strategy has been
rewritten, women have joined the forces, educational background, concept of
security, brotherhood of nations and so on and the list is endless. Change is
very essential for the healthy growth of any organization. When, every aspect
of our organization changes, it is inevitable that the individual also changes.
The very same society from where we recruit our officers and men is undergoing
constant change. These factors have certainly impinged on the most important
element of the armed forces – the ‘Soldier’. Ethos of service has undergone a
change. How an individual behaved in a situation fifty years back, may not find
many takers in today’s military. As a community, we need to embrace these
evolutionary changes with open arms, instead of stone walling them.
Imagine
ourselves as a body of highly trained professional soldiers – ready for action,
trained to kill, seeking victory,waiting to draw first blood in the battle
field, instead finding ourselves (for the most part)kept in a locked room and
chained to the dictates of peace time. The body cries to be released to justify
its existence and seek professional glory, satisfaction and above all
recognition. Unfortunately none of these attributes can be found during peace
time. In turn, the soldier adapts to the new environment unwillingly and
develops traits which are in conflict with his natural war time behavior.
Within the service it becomes difficult to correctly rate an officer during
peace time; what is the unit of measurement? We may unwittingly end up with
square pegs in round holes. Number of peace time syndromes attach themselves as
barnacles – believe me it is difficult to scrape it off. Making up fake
encounters to garner ACR points, seeking cushy appointments, avoiding high risk
jobs, having the ’yes sir’ syndrome, toeing the line, not rocking the boat and
so on, are some of the ‘peace time‘ manifestations.
I
see corruption as a human flaw. I may be wrong; corruption always existed in
the forces in some form or the other. What has made the difference is the
instant exposure due to rapid progress made in communication, cell phones, e
mails, hundreds of television channels vying for TRP. Over a period of time
services have acquired considerable fiscal independence, they now operate with
huge sums of money, which was not there earlier. Proximity to money is fraught
with temptation, unless each individual exercises the highest levels of
probity. The public, for whatever reason, see the services as the last bastion
of fair play, integrity and discipline – if these break down, the public becomes
disappointed. Every service individual needs to be aware of this particular
responsibility that we owe to the society at large.
Take
the instance of officers and men going to court. It is a new phenomenon wherein
personnel are seeking justice outside our own campus. What does an ordinary
citizen do? He seeks justice at every level and up to the Supreme Court. As the
invisible cantonment barrier breaks over time, the insulated military also
starts behaving like civilians. Unlike earlier days, today’s soldier is better
educated and is socially more aware of the issues around him.TV has invaded the
ships and messes – one simply cannot ignore its presence and effect. The
service as a body is not spending quality time to examine why there is a trend
amongst officers to seek redressal outside. Archaic laws, injustice in
promotions and transfers, lack of transparency in day to day matters, are some
of the areas which require closer examination. We need to take a relook at all
the rules and regulations and correlate them to today’s context. I did not go
to court and therefore you will not go and wash dirty linen in public does not
carry much conviction any longer. One
should read what the Karnataka High Court had to say about a Major who wished
to marry a Sri Lankan. The division bench headed by Chief Justice Vikramajit
Sen dismissed the two writ appeals filed by the Army. The bench observed in its
verdict, “...the world has become a global village; distrust and discrimination
against a foreign citizen remains the order of the day. There are several
instances where citizens betray their own country. There is no empirical data
that a foreign spouse will invariably constitute a weak link in the matter of
national security.”
We also need to realize that in
India, strangely enough, the public do not have a high regard for any
institution - be it politics, bureaucracy, police, sports, judiciary, artists,
god men and others. There is hardly any institution which is continuously
revered – I do not know whether this phenomenon is good or bad. We are
indifferent to all that is happening around us as long as it does not directly
impinge on us. We also have no yardstick for measuring public morality. The former
Chief Justice of India, MN Venkatachaliah, recently observed, “The old order
has out lived itself and the new order is yet to take shape --- in the interim
there are no values or standards for the public to follow”. He went on to
attribute the cause of today’s low level of ethics, morality and public conduct
in India to a lack of any new set of values. The Indian armed forces are
operating in these difficult times.
So
in the mean time what are we supposed to do? My take on the subject is to look
inward – introspect. Be pragmatic and establish where the military stands in
today’s society. Like any other profession we are also ruled by the market
forces of demand and supply. Realign ourselves to ground realities. In the
first instance we should stop wanting others to recognize and value us. As a
community we need to step down from the pre world war pedestal and behave in a
normal fashion.
There
are a number of areas within the services which can be improved to enhance our
own image, do our jobs with integrity and a sense of pride and increase the
satisfaction quotient. Concentrate on the improvement of messes, accommodation,
promotion rules, transfer procedures, better preparedness for retirement,
medical benefits, education for children, employment avenues for the spouse,
education of the spouse, dignity to veterans, and other such initiatives which
do not require more than routine bureaucratic and
government approvals. We also need to shrug off our ‘Atlas’ complex. We are not
alone in carrying the entire burden of the ‘Defence of India’ on our shoulders
– for heaven’s sake do not flap – the bureaucracy, politicians and the public
are equally responsible. Cultivate the highest respect for your profession, but
at the same time, be prepared to quit if you feel stifled for any reason.
Staying in the job at all costs may be sending a wrong signal to the others
outside – let no one take us for granted. We will serve the nation – “on our
terms.”
(2)https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orme.htm
