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| Jawans crumbling under surging career curves of superiors? | | | Abodh Sharma
Jammu, Aug 19: While controversy over suicide of a Jawan in Samba unit still alive, national television channels beamed story of another Army Jawan who climbed a telecom tower in another part of the country, complaining of ill treatment by his superiors and non redressal of his complaints in this regard.
Even though the two incidents had no connection, but they both indicated that Army needed to make amends in the imperial legacy which has been inert to the changing socio-economic scenario in the country and proudly held by the Army close to their chest.
Indian Army has lost 302 jawans to suicide in the last three years. This was Stated by Defence Minister A.K. Antony himself in Parliament while replying to a question. Antony also said that in six out of the 302 cases, family members of the deceased leveled the suicides as murders which were however found to be untrue after inquiry. The figures however do not include cases of fratricide and incidents of confrontation between officers and ORs.
With Army top brass busy conducting studies to devise ways to curb increasing incidents of suicide and fratricide in the rank and file, ambitious commanders of operational battalions have been pushing Jawans to extreme conditions of physical and mental stress, which finally manifests in such incidents.
Ambitious COs, worried about their own career prospects, are suffering from 'Second to None' syndrome. They always keep the troops on their toes so that they get favourable entries in their APRs from their seniors. "The career graph of a CO is directly related to the performance of the unit in various inter battalion competitions in military training, sports etc. and hence he always pushes his men to perform" agreed a retired senior officer.
Though it has been commonly perceived that Jawans who have put in fewer years of service constitute the vulnerable group, several such incidents involving those who have put in numerous years in service would force the researchers within and outside the Army to review their findings.
The Directorate of Medical Services has concluded after conducting a comprehensive survey in the Army that lack of sleep and leisure, use of abusive language by the seniors, reports of corruption in the higher ranks, inability to pursue higher education, constrains of doing menial jobs as sahayaks and domestic problems were the reasons for extreme stress amongst the Jawans and other ranks. The report said that most soldiers were getting very few hours of sleep and those who joined Army while pursuing college were deprived of opportunities to continue their studies which put them under stress. It is pertinent to mention here that the Defence Institute of Psychological Research in Delhi has been asked to conduct a study in the Army and train Junior Commissioned Officers to act as Counselors in sensitive areas.
While studies are being conducted to find out the reasons behind incidents of suicide in the Army, a thought needs to be given to delink the career progression of Commanding Officers of battalions with the showing of their troops so that they did not push them beyond bearable levels of stress to make them perform. |
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