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 couldnt 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.
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 couldnt 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.
