Indian Express Posted on Apr 17, 2003 at 0000 hrs IST.
Has anything changed for the better one wonders!
It is heartening to note that an editor of a national newspaper has taken up the case of the low-castes of the army — the other ranks. The Indian Army personnel are divided into three categories: the other ranks including the NCOs, the JCOs and the Commissioned Officers. In the US Army, there are only two categories — officers and the enlisted men.
The JCO, a peculiarity of the Indian Army, was the invention of the British and was meant to fill the communication gap between the British officers and Indian sepoys. However, after Independence, the Indian officers found it convenient to continue with the arrangement of JCOs.
It was in the tradition of the Indian caste system and helped the officers keep their distance from the sepoys. In other armies, there is no intermediary between a lieutenant and sergeant (Havildar in the Indian army). That is why Hav. Shinde could not have written to an officer. In the case of Sgt Romero and Major Sturek, communication was natural because both were in the same platoon with no JCO between them. So strict is the chain of command in the Indian Army that a letter from Shinde to his former company commander would have resulted in disciplinary action against him instead of it being appreciated. You mentioned that Maj. Sturek forwarded the sergeant’s letter to two people he thought should be reading it: Army Sergeant Major Jack Tilley and Chief of Staff (General) Eric Shineski. For us in India, it is understandable that he forwarded it to the General, but why to a Sgt Major, who is only an NCO? Because, as the US World Almanac says, ‘‘the US Army, Navy and Air Force in 1966-67 each created a position of senior enlisted advisor, whose primary job is to represent the point of view of the service’s enlisted men and women on matters of welfare, morale and any problems concerning enlisted personnel.’’ In the Indian army, there is no representation for other ranks in the higher echelons. So is the case with JCOs. The battalion has a Subedar Major, who used to be a father figure and who directly advised the commanding officer on discipline and welfare of the men. But nowadays, the post has been reduced to that of an informer, if not an errand boy of the CO. Neither was the NCO/JCO represented in the committees that advised the Pay Commission or the rehabilitation and resettlement organisations. Let me narrate a personal incident. When I requested the United Services Institution, to change my associate membership into a regular one, it was rejected by the Executive Council comprising retired generals, because I had served as a JCO. This when there are half-a-dozen books on military matters written by me in the USI Library. The Royal United Services Institution, on the lines of which the USI was established in 1870, has no such ‘‘officers only’’ restriction. Aren’t our Generals more British than the British?— Sub Maj N. Kunju (Retd)
Whither our Indian pride When I was a member of the faculty of Defence Services Staff College, I was told by an American officer that his soldiers would not serve in the conditions that our soldiers do. His statement sums up what our Army is all about: ‘‘serve without expecting anything in return’’. It is not enough for George Fernandes to just visit Siachen. Let him translate his words into deeds. He can modernise our forces instead of returning the funds unspent. . As a nation, we lack pride. This translates into the treatment of our soldiers. We think of them only during war, and make promises only to forget them. That is the difference between Shinde and Romero. Colonel A. Sridharan (Retd) The Ex-Servicemen’s Contributory Health Scheme launched with much fanfare just a fortnight ago has sought as much as 50 per cent contribution from the pensioners. If this is the way we treat our Armed Forces, the quality of those opting for it will go down. After all, who would like to get stuck in a career which demands the best part of your life and gives nothing in return?— P.M. Ravindran
The approach of our civilian leadership towards national security is absolutely scandalous. If there is an India-US war tomorrow, the fate of the Indian Army will be no better than the Iraqi Army.— Dilip
If George Fernandes was half the man that Shastri was, he should have resigned many times over with the now almost-daily MiG crashes. But he’s not, and we have to rue the fate of our jawans. Havildar Shinde is no Romero. He can be no Romero when we have callous individuals who assume and retain powerful positions without responsibility.— Jay Iyer
When real life heroes are ignored It is really very depressing to learn about the appaling conditions faced by our brave soldiers and nothing being done about it. I guess that’s the way we Indians are. Even I, after reading your article and feeling so bad for our soldiers, will forget about it in a day or two if not earlier. Recently, Aishwarya Rai, who earns in crores for each movie and got hurt in a minor accident, had private planes at her disposal to carry her back to Mumbai. I wonder whether the owners of these planes would even spare a thought for our brave soldiers, who are always facing injury and death while guarding the country. — Shankar It is so true that our politicians are so out of touch with the real issues. Our netas have to be made more more accountable. Then the death of even one jawan would be taken more seriously than just another photo-op for handing a paltry check to the widow.— Bob Thukral
I strongly believe that India has too much of democracy. By this, I mean that even buying essentials like supplies for the military is being scrutinised and criticised by the Opposition. The result: These people are scared to spend money even for basic necessities. How else can one explain the unspent funds?Basker Mathrubootham
Yes, in the Indian Army it is impossible to change or modernise anything without giving an arm and a leg. Forget Havildar Shinde, a mid-level infantry officer cannot get anything changed for his men or himself. Our senior officers reach their exalted ranks because of two premier qualities: they have to be docile in action and a tiger on paper. Among the many things that the Army really needs, but cannot articulate, are: better and lighter rifles, modern form of Web equipment (pouches etc), better water bottles, more powerful and lighter binoculars, boots which do not require an anklet, computers to accurately fire 81 mm mortars, more lethal grenades, GPS equipment, replacements for the archaic one-ton vehicles which guzzle fuel. If we could somehow bring about these changes, the Indian Infantry would be revolutionised. If India wants to be a modern nation, it will have to liberalise its Armed Forces and give them a free hand, change the cult of subservience and cut out the colonial system. Otherwise the country will be roundly defeated in the next war by a military Pakistan. If our military officers are mere lackeys, the country cannot proactively defend herself.— Maj A.K. Mathur (retd)
It is not just the Army but our entire mindset about seniority and the notion that the ground-level people don’t know anything that has to be changed. Even in our schools and colleges, are students ever encouraged to ask probing questions? How often does a company ask your opinion about their product and actually do something about it? You talk about the rifles used by the Indian Army. But think about the buses, trains and other mass transport systems in use in the country. How have they changed in the last two-three decades? It’s all due to our lazy, unimaginative approach.— S. Chatterjee
On the one hand there are American soldiers who are embarrassingly dependent on their Air Force or so called ‘‘Smart Bombs’’. On the other, are our soldiers who have a lot to grumble about, but hardly ever complain. I feel that the loss of their lives during the Kargil conflict could have been substantially reduced if we had proper equipment. I hope our politicians read your article.— Aditya Chandra
You have missed the point. Havildar Shinde stands nowhere in comparison to their Sergeant Romero because of the die-hard colonial legacy of our defence services, even 55 years after Independence. Where else do you find such ranks among NCOs ? So your well-intentioned harangue on poor equipment only touches the fringe of the malady.— R. Misra
Sergeant Romero may have become a hero in America for his email. But to me, it shows gross indiscipline on his part. I do not think it is right to allow sergeants to write letters directly to the authorities, bypassing the chain of command. In fact, such acts would create indiscipline. And while our brave jawans must be provided with the necessary equipment and the basic amenities needed for their day-to-day life, it must also be ensured that they do not end up becoming a pampered lot.— V.P. Damodar
Too often we tend to take our brave jawans for granted and expect them to perform miracles; which, given the terrible battle conditions they have to deal with, they often do. But do the brass (civilian and military) care? Perhaps not. Consider the infamous post-Kargil coffin-scandal and the every-other-day MiG crashes. So how do we set this right? A public interest litigation on behalf of our jawans?— Sriniisn
It is not right to blame just the military brass for the callous attitude towards the soldiers. Let us not forget that the English language Press lionised General Parvez Musharraf during the Agra summit. The US State Department frequently equates India and Pakistan by treating the aggressor (Pakistan) and the victim (India) as equally responsible for the situation in Kashmir. They do this to promote the interests of the US. The US Press reflects this position — as they do whenever matters of US foreign policy are concerned. The Indian press should realise that when foreign policy is concerned, the country’s interests should come first.— Nagaraja Rao
The article is a beautiful insight into the Defence Ministry’s functioning. Why don’t you lead a signature email campaign to bring this into the limelight? Like the Bofors scandal, we need to raise a big noise to be really heard. This is the least that we can do for our jawans.— N.S. Rao
What ails our Armed Forces?
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