The youth and the Uniform

A FEW weeks back, the Indian army along with the rest of the nation paid homage to the brave martyrs of the Kargil War. The occasion was the tenth anniversary of Indian victory over Pakistani military insurgence. A report by one of the television channels had relatives of a few martyrs who pledged to send their children to the army and protect the motherland. While these words sound exceedingly appropriate with the bagpipe notes in the background and successfully touch the chords of the average armchair patriot, the reality seems to be a little different.

Defense services, say the army has always carried the connotations of bravery, greatness, glory and a high level of patriotism. The Indian film industry has left no stone unturned to establish the same. Be it JP Dutta’s Border, or Farhan Akhtar’s Lakshya, (both very different in treatment and approach) made heroes out of army men. However, in spite of all the hero worship and the words of glory, the youth doesn’t quite look at the Army (the fourth largest in the world) as a viable career option.

In the year 2008, the Indian army faced a dire shortage of officers. While the Indian Military Academy enlisted only 86 trainee officers, there was room for 250 in total. So, where is the appeal gone missing? Where is the fanfare and patriotism? Does that imply that the youth is not patriotic, or that it doesn’t take the army as the only (or may be any) option to express its patriotic feelings? Like every other government run sector, the army too has had to lose possible recruits to private firms.

But are money and material possessions the only incentives for young India to turn away from Defense? Another bit of statistics would reveal that 62 out of 148 graduates who passed a separate military entrance test opted out preferring jobs in the private sector. What is still more worrying is that nearly 3,000 mid-level commanders sought early retirement. Thus, the exit process has been two way. However, according to the army Chief, the quality of the ones freshly applying is below expectation. While the army is not ready to compromise on quality, one might ask where the true soldier has vanished?

Let us look at it from the point of view of an everyday college graduate. In the times of MBAs and MNCs, where within four semesters the pay package offered is unbelievable and the perks attached only make life more comfortable, a solitary army life, difficult training period and comparatively insignificant salary in most cases do not stand a chance in a personal choice. While one has to wait for at least ten years to be promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, private sector promises quicker hikes, which are performance based. In fact, most of the officers who opt out of the army enlist in one of the business schools. The facts are indeed alarming.

What is poignant here is that pay packages just form a part of the whole problem. In the recent years, army has attracted a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons. Corruption, lack of transparency, stringent hierarchy, imbalance in lifestyle compared to a civilian life, suicide, harassment (both sexual and otherwise) show the darker side of an otherwise impeccable trade. Living alone, away from friends and family in some of the most hostile of Indian terrains has a mental strain. Top it up with a high handed senior and you got a fratricide or a suicide. In 2006, the then Chief of Army staff General JJ Singh stated that on an average the army reports a hundred suicide a year.

The year 2009 has seen a total of 41 suicides/fratricides in the army till date. In spite of many stress relieving measures taken by the government, the death toll in on the rise. Recently, Defense Minister AK Anthony owned up to eleven case of sexual harassment in the army in the last five years. These figures are the ones reported and are just a scratch on the surface. Woman officers are a relatively new inclusion in the Indian army. The year 2006 saw two woman officers taking their lives. Lt Sushmita Chakraborty and Maj Sobha Rani shot themselves for reasons unknown.

In the times when globalisation is on a final rung of evolution and varied professions claim majority of the young population, such incidents not only question the credibility of a defense life but also take away the glamour. However, there are many a brave hearts that still look up to the institution with respect and join it to be a part of the legacy. For them the salary and the perks do not stand up to the thrill and the pride of being a soldier does. It is for that handful that the poet wrote:

“Theirs not to reason why
Theirs but to do and die”

(The Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred Tennyson)

Source : MeriNews