The image of the Army has taken a beating recently. Earlier, it was for professional incompetence but after media reports exposed corruption among senior officers, fake killings and recruitment scams have shattered the image of Army as an honest and professional organisation.
While there are certainly a few corrupt elements in the Army, it is unfortunate that certain sections of the media are portraying entire Armed Forces as a corrupt institution.
Till a decade ago, associating the word corruption with Forces was considered a taboo as media felt it could demoralise them. Today, media houses are competing with each other to twist corruption cases linked with Army and discrediting the institution in its entirety. While none can justify the incidences of corruption in the Army, mistaking a few black sheep with the entire flock is neither appropriate nor acceptable. It is not possible to isolate the Army from the degeneration of moral fibre that has been accepted by the society as our fate for years. Very few take pride in being upright and talking straight. Courage, integrity and morality have been the major casualties in recent times giving way to hypocrisy and sycophancy and the Armed Forces have not remained untouched.
No system can remain foolproof in such times as designing a fair system is one and letting it function effectively quite another. Vested interests don’t let the system function, as the babu and politician combine ultimately controls the introduction of any major weapon system or equipment in the Army. Procurement of any equipment depends upon various factors including urgency, quantities required, import cost, production with foreign collaboration and indigenous development. However, the system which attempts to integrate many agencies like DGMO (Director General Military Operations), DGMI (Director General Military Intelligence), ADGWE(Assistant Director General Weapons and Equipment) , DGQA(Director General Quality Assurance), DGSD, Ordnance, MOD in the procurement process of equipment tends to become unnecessarily complex and unwieldy.
Apparently such a system should have less scope for corruption to thrive, however, it has turned out having more tentacles to be greased, causing avoidable delays and ensuring rot.
Misuse and mismanagement of human and material resources have been important issues for the Army. Various sections of the society have not openly criticised it till now because they had very limited knowledge about the Army and also they did not want to be dubbed as anti-national. Consequently, Army refused to consider mismanagement and projected it as a non-issue.
Mismanagement is a larger sin as compared to misuse. Many who mismanage do so out of sheer conviction that they can never go wrong, resulting in flawed decision-making. Misuse may be seen as a corollary to mismanagement as it pertains to securing undue benefits.
Misuse of resources by seniors and juniors is complementary to each other as seniors ignore the misuse by juniors so that they bend backwards to meet their illegitimate demands.
Commercialisation of Regimental Institutions, on the increase in recent times, projects a very poor image of Army. The search for sources which can generate funds has become the favourite obsession of those in a position of authority to use these funds. It seems piggeries and dairy-farms have run out of fashion as the emphasis today is on the CSD canteens.
Everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten the welfare aspect of this service. New methods are adopted to lure the combatants (and civilians?) into buying their ‘wants and desires’ rather than their needs.
While toothpaste and combs may not be available sometimes in a CSD canteen, their shelves are full of expensive items.
Five-star culture has been gaining popularity in the Army messes and other functions. Golf-mania of the top rung has made the matters worse. Everyone seems to be competing with each other in hosting a bigger and better show. Brass-buttoned uniforms, rank badges and red tabs no longer satisfy the officers and they want freedom of flirting with a few ‘good things’ of life.
Having waited in the wings for years for their turn of ‘freedom-fighting’, they now want to do it in style.
The common man today has much better perception of the Army functions and has higher expectations from it. He looks at Army as the last straw of hope in a corrupt and unethical society.
Within the Army, the present state of affairs contributes to disillusionment and frustration for good officers.
To quote an old proverb, “The nation gets the government it deserves. The government gets the Army it deserves.” It highlights that the ills of the Army, like all other ills, have its roots in the people it serves.
The sad state of affairs has tarnished the image of Army but still this does not give a licence to anyone to decry the large number of those officers who are honest, upright and have dedicated themselves to the cause of their motherland.
How can anyone forget the glorious records of gallantry, splendid victories and charismatic military leaders? Nothing can make us forget the grit and valour of young officers who have done India proud in all the wars, Kargil being the latest instance. Let us not forget that even in the land of heroes, there are bound to be some who sell their soul for a few silver coins.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-few-black-sheep-dont-make-the-entire-indian-army-corrupt/537970/
While there are certainly a few corrupt elements in the Army, it is unfortunate that certain sections of the media are portraying entire Armed Forces as a corrupt institution.
Till a decade ago, associating the word corruption with Forces was considered a taboo as media felt it could demoralise them. Today, media houses are competing with each other to twist corruption cases linked with Army and discrediting the institution in its entirety. While none can justify the incidences of corruption in the Army, mistaking a few black sheep with the entire flock is neither appropriate nor acceptable. It is not possible to isolate the Army from the degeneration of moral fibre that has been accepted by the society as our fate for years. Very few take pride in being upright and talking straight. Courage, integrity and morality have been the major casualties in recent times giving way to hypocrisy and sycophancy and the Armed Forces have not remained untouched.
No system can remain foolproof in such times as designing a fair system is one and letting it function effectively quite another. Vested interests don’t let the system function, as the babu and politician combine ultimately controls the introduction of any major weapon system or equipment in the Army. Procurement of any equipment depends upon various factors including urgency, quantities required, import cost, production with foreign collaboration and indigenous development. However, the system which attempts to integrate many agencies like DGMO (Director General Military Operations), DGMI (Director General Military Intelligence), ADGWE(Assistant Director General Weapons and Equipment) , DGQA(Director General Quality Assurance), DGSD, Ordnance, MOD in the procurement process of equipment tends to become unnecessarily complex and unwieldy.
Apparently such a system should have less scope for corruption to thrive, however, it has turned out having more tentacles to be greased, causing avoidable delays and ensuring rot.
Misuse and mismanagement of human and material resources have been important issues for the Army. Various sections of the society have not openly criticised it till now because they had very limited knowledge about the Army and also they did not want to be dubbed as anti-national. Consequently, Army refused to consider mismanagement and projected it as a non-issue.
Mismanagement is a larger sin as compared to misuse. Many who mismanage do so out of sheer conviction that they can never go wrong, resulting in flawed decision-making. Misuse may be seen as a corollary to mismanagement as it pertains to securing undue benefits.
Misuse of resources by seniors and juniors is complementary to each other as seniors ignore the misuse by juniors so that they bend backwards to meet their illegitimate demands.
Commercialisation of Regimental Institutions, on the increase in recent times, projects a very poor image of Army. The search for sources which can generate funds has become the favourite obsession of those in a position of authority to use these funds. It seems piggeries and dairy-farms have run out of fashion as the emphasis today is on the CSD canteens.
Everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten the welfare aspect of this service. New methods are adopted to lure the combatants (and civilians?) into buying their ‘wants and desires’ rather than their needs.
While toothpaste and combs may not be available sometimes in a CSD canteen, their shelves are full of expensive items.
Five-star culture has been gaining popularity in the Army messes and other functions. Golf-mania of the top rung has made the matters worse. Everyone seems to be competing with each other in hosting a bigger and better show. Brass-buttoned uniforms, rank badges and red tabs no longer satisfy the officers and they want freedom of flirting with a few ‘good things’ of life.
Having waited in the wings for years for their turn of ‘freedom-fighting’, they now want to do it in style.
The common man today has much better perception of the Army functions and has higher expectations from it. He looks at Army as the last straw of hope in a corrupt and unethical society.
Within the Army, the present state of affairs contributes to disillusionment and frustration for good officers.
To quote an old proverb, “The nation gets the government it deserves. The government gets the Army it deserves.” It highlights that the ills of the Army, like all other ills, have its roots in the people it serves.
The sad state of affairs has tarnished the image of Army but still this does not give a licence to anyone to decry the large number of those officers who are honest, upright and have dedicated themselves to the cause of their motherland.
How can anyone forget the glorious records of gallantry, splendid victories and charismatic military leaders? Nothing can make us forget the grit and valour of young officers who have done India proud in all the wars, Kargil being the latest instance. Let us not forget that even in the land of heroes, there are bound to be some who sell their soul for a few silver coins.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-few-black-sheep-dont-make-the-entire-indian-army-corrupt/537970/
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