The public apathy…
…for the lesser evil is reckoned a good in comparison with the greater evil, since the lesser evil is rather to be chosen than the greater…– Aristotle
Why the heck should one compare the Indian army with the US or the British army? Aren’t we an army of our own nation, an emergent India, which has been independent for 60 years? Isn’t it meant to suit our peculiar needs, wants and demands?
Even this blogger understands that India is not the UK or the US and the Indian army is not the US army. Yes, this army is meant for India and not the US or UK or France. But my counter-question is — Is it meant for the pre-independence colonial India or for a twenty-first century modern India?
As the nation has moved forward on the path of economic and liberal social growth, the Indian army has been besieged with the same set of problems that have afflicted armies of the developed world for the last three decades. While there exist many a similarity between the Indian army and all the modern armies of the world and the process of globalisation has also brought the Indian society closer to the western society, there are certain salient differences between the situation in these geographically distant regions.
First and foremost among them is that India is not involved in any active conflict overseas (a la Iraq or Afghanistan) which has captured the imagination of the public at large. Lest we forget, Indian army has been involved in counterinsurgency operations in the North East for over four decades and has battled a very active insurgency in Kashmir since 1989. However, this involvement has failed to capture the imagination of the common man on the street. The politicians, the bureaucrats, the media and the public at large have to apportion their share of blame for this apathy towards the military.
The mainstream media, which is the major source of information for the public, has very few stories on the men and women involved in active military operations in the remote parts of India. Even the modern media [blogs, social networks and other web tools] provide little coverage of Indian army’s engagement with hostile insurgencies; there are no timelines of casualties in these “wars” or walls of honour inscribed with the names of soldiers fallen in these battles. It is evident that the Indian society doesn’t relate to the military and can not connect with this hoary institution at a functional level.
Unlike the US, where the spectre of Vietnam debacle still continues to haunt its society, public, politicians and the media, Indian public has no such emotional baggage of the past in the public domain. The humiliation in 1962 and Operation Pawan debacle in Sri Lanka may have been unqualified military disasters, but they evoke neither a feeling of anger nor a sense of déjà vu among the Indian collective memory. The nation is, by and large, indifferent to military casualties and these deaths do not cause any emotional discomfort or pain to the average Indian. Perhaps, he or she doesn’t look at these losses as one of his or her own.
Notwithstanding this, on the face of it, the average Indian still has high regard for its soldiers. He or she will venerate them, praise them, idolise them, hero-worship them but he will not emulate them or aspire to join the band of troopers. In that sense, the relationship is similar to the one that the nation has with Gandhi; worship him, put him on a pedestal, garland his statue every year, but never ever follow him or his ideals. This revering relationship means that for the average civilian, soldiering is a distant thing done by these “other guys” in uniform. It wouldn’t be much different if these uniformed guys were Martians.
The apathy of the public, politicians and the bureaucrats can still be condoned at one level, but how can one overlook the institutional apathy of the services. If the average joe on the street doesn’t relate to the Indian army or aspires to follow in the footsteps of its soldiers, the external entities should not solely apportion the blame. The major blame for this disconnect lies squarely on the shoulders of the services. A look at the website of the Indian army is a good enough indicator of its own consideration for its soldiers, who have laid their lives in various wars and counterinsurgency operations since independence. Forget the platitudes, the message could not be louder or clearer from the services– We don’t care for our soldiers.
Tradition, in most cases, is an euphemism for maintaining the status quo. And institutions that do not embrace change, initially start to wither away and then eventually collapse. The Indian defence services, rooted in their colonial past and having had no bearing on the struggle for independence of the nation, are proud to be ghettoised in a splendid intellectual isolation of their own. What measures have the services undertaken to remove these disconnects and coalesce the identity of the services with that of a modern, liberal, economically vibrant, twenty-first century India?
The hubris of services’ top brass, despite the not-so-pleasant experiences of 1962, IPKF, Operation Blue Star, Operation Vijay and Operation Parakram, stands in the way of any serious introspection. What then will be the catalyst for this introspection, reform and restructuring process? A military debacle of gargantuan proportions can be one; the other can be the political will to initiate this painful process. Neither seems likely in the near future.
As this blogger has said on comments elsewhere, an army which depicts sportpersons as heroes rather than its gallantry award winners and which proudly shows off a round of golf and clinking of glasses at dinner parties to entice the youth in a “Do you have it in you?” advertisement campaign, is living a cloistered existence, weaned far away from the social, economic and political realities of today.
When the service chiefs choose not to attend Sam Manekshaw’s funeral, they send a very strong message. In any case, we don’t care for our soldiers; we don’t even care for our own heroes now. What do they care for then? Probably, for their own self-serving interests. It may sound cynical, but governorships, chairmanship and membership of various government bodies, and if nothing else, the Presidency of that last colonial vestige in civil life, the Delhi Gymkhana club, have a stronger pull than their affiliation of over 40 years with the uniform.
I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself,
And falls on th’other. . . .[Macbeth Act 1, scene 7. 25–28]
The politicians, the bureaucrats, the media and the public at large have to apportion their share of blame for this apathy…
At first I thought this would be the emphasis of the post. But I admit this is a very balanced and thoughtful article.
The apathy towards the defence forces is a two-way street. We in uniform too are guilty of isolating ourselves from what we call civvy street. This is due to both, physical and mental separation that is per force part and parcel of Army life.
I regret to say that the number of officers who can consider themselves well-read and have interests outside their job is steadily declining. At any gathering, the topics of discussion start and end at mundane matters. It is well neigh impossible to have meaningful & insightful discussions, as finding a companion for these is quite a task. Though reading has been encouraged in the Army through the ages, the most reading that officers do is when they prepare for the Staff College examination – thank God for small mercies.
Thus, the apathy arises due to the ignorance & isolation of the forces and the public towards each other. Organising events for the public to view equipment on display is not sufficient. We need to have greater & closer interaction with the public. We need not fear the media & the public, unless we have dirty linen to hide; which unfortunately is the case. We should deign to remember that the defence forces of the country are a part of the society at large.
This isolation and separation is a relic of the colonial era, when the British strove to separate themselves from Indians and preserve their presumed racial superiority; but does not befit a thriving democracy. The attitude and mindset in the forces is reminiscent of this colonial hangover. The ‘Burra Sahibs’ have gone, leaving behind the ‘Brown Sahibs’ – in olive green.
The following poem is not written by me.i think it has been written by a young serving officer though I could not confirm it
Venkatesh
WHY DO I STILL SERVE INDIA
By An anonymous soldier
At Seven, I had decided what I wanted to be;
I would serve you to the end,
All these boundaries I would defend.
Now you make me look like a fool,
When at Seventeen and just out of school;
Went to the place where they made “men out of boys”
Lived a tough life sacrificed a few joys
In those days, I would see my ‘civilian’ friends,
Living a life with the fashion trends;
Enjoying their so called “College Days”
While I sweated and bled in the sun and haze
But I never thought twice about what where or why
All I knew was when the time came, I’d be ready to do or die.
At 21 and with my commission in hand,
Under the glory of the parade and the band,
I took the oath to protect you over land, air or sea,
And make the supreme sacrifice when the need came to be.
I stood there with a sense of recognition,
But on that day I never had the premonition,
that when the time came to give me my due,
You’d just say,” What is so great that you do?
Long back you promised a well to do life;
And when I’m away, take care of my wife.
You came and saw the hardships I live through,
And I saw you make a note or two,
And I hoped you would realise the worth of me;
but now I know you’ll never be able to see,
Because you only see the glorified life of mine,
Did you see the place where death looms all the time?
Did you meet the man standing guard in the snow?
The name of his newborn he does not know.
Did you meet the man whose father breathed his last?
While the sailor patrolled our seas so vast?
You still know I’ll not be the one to raise my voice
I will stand tall and protect you in Punjab, Himachal and Thois.
But that’s the trust you have in the sun and rain,
For now at Twenty Four, you make me think again;
About the decision I made, Seven years back;
Should I have chosen another life, some other track?
Will I tell my son to follow my lead?
Will I tell my son, you’ll get all that you need?
This is the country you will serve
This country will give you all that you deserve?
I heard you tell the world “India is shining”
I told my men, that’s a reason for us to be smiling
This is the India you and I will defend!
But tell me how long will you be able to pretend?
You go on promise all that you may,
But it’s the souls of your own men you betray.
Did you read how some of our eminent citizens
Write about me and ridicule my very existence?
I ask you to please come and see what I do,
Come and have a look at what I go through
Live my life just for a day
I will still risk my life without a sigh
To keep your flag flying high
but today I ask myself a question or two
Oh India…. Why do I still serve you?
To expect India’s armed forces, to act in a manner even further removed from the ethos of its political, bureaucratic,scientific, academic and even judicial elite is to wish for impossible.
I have been following the blog with interest and find that whilst it has comments that are on the whole balanced, these suffer from the very serious lacunae identified above and therefore appear as if the blogger carries a chip on the shoulder.
It therefore follows that the blogger is either suffering from uniform phobia or is a lotus eater. Indian armed forces have largely been far better in all respects as compared to all others and to expect any more without any change in the civil society is to live in cuckooland.
@Old Crow:
Thanks for your views. At the beginning of the post is a quote by Aristotle.
…for the lesser evil is reckoned a good in comparison with the greater evil, since the lesser evil is rather to be chosen than the greater…
Ponder! does that answer your query?
@ Old Crow
“Indian armed forces have largely been far better in all respects as compared to all others and to expect any more without any change in the civil society is to live in cuckooland.”
The issue is not on comparison with others, but a comparison within…..a comparison of values/ beliefs/ culture/ etc what the ‘old crow’ saw and what the ‘young bull’ is seeing.
Things that ought to change are not changing and things that ought not to change are changing.
A proof of this is that even hardcore ‘fauji families’ who had taken pride in contributing generations to the Armed Forces are shying away from sending the current generation to ‘fauj’.
@ Old Crow and Young Bull
What are you ‘Red Indians’?
‘Hole in the Rubber’ Why do you ask all these questions.