Military & Aerospace

There are no 'Menial' jobs in the army
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Issue Net Edition | Date : 16 Nov , 2012

Some time ago, a newspaper of considerable standing put out on its front page a story that around a dozen soldiers from a unit at Patiala deserted because they were made to do some ‘menial’ work. For a newspaper of repute it is essential, that before publishing such news, it should get the facts right. Because false reporting involving the military can have serious repercussions on its discipline.

It later transpired these ten odd soldiers are clerks and were required to clean their personal weapons and later made to undergo annual basic physical efficiency tests (BPET) Now everyone in the military is required to keep his personal weapon in serviceable state by regularly cleaning it. Officers too have to clean and maintain their personal weapons and junior officers generally join troops in cleaning heavier weapons.

During training camps troops have to dig deep trench latrines and after use, fill these with mud. Officers normally carry a spade to dig a shallow pit and after use cover it. For the news paper to term such work as ‘menial’ is to deride the ethos of dignity of labour.

These clerks are also required to undergo mandatory annual BPET to ensure that they remain physically fit like other members of the unit, including officers. In all probability some of these clerks were physically unfit, so they pulled one or the other excuse to avoid these tests and, as a group, deserted from the unit.

In these two sets of activities (weapon cleaning and BPET) the newspaper discovered ‘menial’ work and consequently maligned the military.  Walk through any military station and one would be struck by the extra-ordinary state of cleanliness and upkeep. While some minimum conservancy staff is authorized in a military station, the bulk of the effort to keep the area spic and span is that of the troops themselves. It is more so within unit areas. This practice is not of any recent origin but has been there, in the case of Indian army, for more than two hundred years.

During training camps troops have to dig deep trench latrines and after use, fill these with mud. Officers normally carry a spade to dig a shallow pit and after use cover it. For the news paper to term such work as ‘menial’ is to deride the ethos of dignity of labour.

Of late much has appeared in the news concerning ‘orderlies,’ now called ’Sahayaks’ : their employment by officers on what is termed as ‘menial’ jobs.  Firstly ‘sahayaks as such are not authorized on the establishment of units. Some personnel, in addition to their normal duties, attend to certain work of an officer so as to leave him free to attend to more pressing duties during field training and operations. The same soldier works with the officer during peacetime as well. No soldier is ever compelled to work as a sahayak or made to do any menial tasks.

Those, who have no experience and knowledge of this arrangement of soldiers working as ‘sahayaks’ with officers cannot understand and appreciate the bonding that exists between the two. It may be worthwhile to recall a few cases of such a bonding. When Gen Musservy came to attend the centenary celebrations of his old unit in India, so did his Sahayak and the two fell into each others arms with tears running down their cheeks. There is the case of a Polish army officer’s orderly who would bring hot food from the enemy kitchen for him till he was discovered and taken prisoner by the Germans. Or major ( later Field Marshal ) Maneckshaw with his stomach torn apart from a machine gun fire was left for dead but for his orderly who picked him up on his shoulder and carried him to the medical aid post where he survived.

No soldier is ever compelled to work as a sahayak or made to do any menial tasks.

Of late there have been four cases of serious ill discipline and these need to be dealt with both expeditiously and firmly. Ill discipline is contagious and any serious infringement of it, if left to fester and not handled with promptitude and an iron hand, can become endemic.

At the same time there is urgent need for a detailed examination of these four cases and to determine if there is some similarity and common thread that runs in the tapestry of such ill discipline.  Army must also have a close look at the recruiting pattern and the background of personnel involved in the four incidences of collective beach of discipline. There is need to introduce certain psychological tests at the time of recruitment. After all military service is not just another avenue for employment and soldiering in not every ones cup of tea.

Finally, sustained attempt by a particular news paper and its editor-in–chief to run down the military, would brings no credit to the paper. This display of sustained animosity against the military does not balance against the façade of ‘saluting the soldier.’  Rubbishing army’s performance in 1965 war or demanding the sacking of the three service chiefs after their instructions to units to with-hold action on certain recommendations of 6th CPC etc, building up the specter of a military coup thus projecting the country as some sort of a banana republic, and now the issue of ‘menial’ jobs have been one of a piece. Is there some motivated agenda to all this!

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Lt Gen Harwant Singh

Former Deputy Chief of Army Staff. He also commanded a corps in J&K.

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7 thoughts on “There are no ‘Menial’ jobs in the army

  1. Dear All,

    1 rape in Delhi and entire country jumps into it, though rape is a sever crime and should be dealt with hard hands. However where are the NGO’s and citizen when Army/Airforce/Navy soldiers suicide??? this is happening daily but nobody dares to stand up against these institutions. How long we would keep Army/Airfoce/Navy as sacred cows. Is it like only rape attracts the attention of India ? soldiers are raped daily, they are kept like cattle and they cannot approach anybody since media and NGO’s keep defense forces like sacred cows.

    Result of all this is daily suicide, fratricide, scuffle with the bosses so called officers and last desertion… no education is given to soldiers about desertion and once the soldier deserts he is made to live like pauper life. WAKE UP COUNTRY YOUR SOLDIERS ARE TORTURED/MURDERED/COMMITTING SUICIDE ETC DAILY… THERE IS NOBODY WHO IS READY TO HEAR THE SOLDIERS AGAINST THE ATROCITY OF OFFICERS AND RULES & REGULATIONS MADE BY THESE OFFICERS FOR THEIR ADVANTAGE. IN DEFENSE THERE IS ONLY 2 THINGS THAT EXISTS THAT IS OFFICER WELFARE AND SOLDIERS DISCIPLINE… SOLDIERS ARE SLAVE OF THE OFFICERS AND THAT IS OUR DEFENSE FORCE…

    AT LEAST HEAR THE SOLDIERS OUT, EVERYTHING IS CORNERED BY 1 DIALOGUE THAT MORALE OF DEFENSE FORCES WOULD GO DOWN… WHAT MORALE WE ARE REFERRING TO… WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SUICIDE/MURDER/DESERTION DAILY…. ITS TIME TO CHANGE AND THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN IF MEDIA AND NGO DON’T TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THIS ISSUE…

    LET CITIZEN OF INDIA COME ON ROADS FOR SOLDIERS WHO ARE COMMITTING SUICIDE/FRATRICIDE/DESERTION DAILY FROM THE FORCES .. THIS IS DONE AS THEY REACH DEAD END AND HOW MANY MORE SOLDIERS WE WANT TO SACRIFICE… ITS TIME WE SAY MORALE OF DEFENSE FORCE WOULD NOT EFFECT BY HEARING THEM OUT…

    LAST 15 DAYS 2 SOLDIERS COMMITTED SUICIDE IN AIR-FORCE AND NO NEWSPAPER/MEDIA CHANNEL/NGO MADE ANY NOISE ABOUT THIS… IS IT ALL ABOUT TRP FOR THE MEDIA AND BROWNIE POINTS FOR NGO’S??????

  2. Bond between a few jawans working as sahayaks and their officers can not justify the existance of a shameful system.Also the argument that availability of shahyak leaves the officer to attend more pressing jobs is also not true. In most of the cases the sahayak is left at home where he looks after the household works meant for maids. During transfer, they accompany the truck with the officer’s luggage. The poor jawan is happy as he is not required to attend Physical training and other hard works in the unit. Little do we realise that by this system, we are converting a soldier into a personal servant paid by the nation. I think, the officers are paid enough and they should have their own personal servants.Sahayaks , if felt necessary,should be authorised to work in the unit only for the officer.

  3. Defence services are being used as a punching bag. Well known journalists of reputed newspapers shoot off third rate stories to promote themselves in the eyes of the gullible public. After striking at defence services with treacherous stories, they shamelessly lie low, without offering an apology.
    Such journalists are worse than politicians. It is due to such behaviour that they are often compared to the world’s oldest profession-great power to harm and nil authoruty.

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