Indian Defence Review

• Lack of Faith and Demotivation: A tragic experience together with an indifferent approach by the authorities can result in lack of faith in the system and this becomes a major demotivating factor. There have been innumerable cases where the complaints of soldiers regarding high-handedness of the police or tragic outcomes of communal riots have evoked no response from the civil authorities. Neglect or insensitivity in this regard will ultimately undermine military leadership and lead to a lack of faith in the system itself.

• Trust among Soldiers: Among units with mixed classes of troops, one of the effects of communal violence can be a gradual erosion of mutual trust among comrades which can seriously affect the harmonious functioning of a unit in peace time and would be disastrous in war. A sum total result of the above manifestations is indiscipline in the ranks, collective insubordination and even mutiny.
• Drying up of Recruitment Avenues: Indian soldiers constitute a volunteer force. The incentives for joining the armed forces, besides pay and pensionary benefits, are community and family traditions. The latter includes emotional identification with the martial traditions of the family and the community. Violence especially of the communal type can dry up traditional recruitment areas and zones, which would be detrimental to the Army in the long run.

Challenges Posed To Military Leadership

The phenomenon of violence in society, apart from posing a challenge to National polity, is also a major challenge to military leaders who must not only be aware of the dangers which lie ahead but must sincerely endeavour to combat the ill effects on the psyche of the soldiery.

With a vitiated socio-political atmosphere, the military leader has to be the anchor of stability for his soldiers. He has to answer for the well being of his command, under all circumstances, and to that extent he must be aware of the problem, recognize the dangers and come up with suitable solutions. Officers with direct command responsibility have to keep a close watch on their commands, the social strain affecting their men, their family compulsions, their economic conditions, and virtually everything which affects them. This places an additional burden on military leadership which must be faced squarely and resolutely.

The challenges posed to military leadership, as a result of the phenomenon of violence in the society, are many and awareness of these forewarns us of the potential dangers which lie ahead. Some of the more obvious challenges and the manner in which they are likely to manifest themselves are:-

Measures To Overcome and Minimize Adverse Effects on Soldiery

Education of Troops: Troops must be educated about the facts of various problems prevalent in the society and in the country. They must be made aware of national policies, compulsions and the rationale behind the steps taken by the Government. The aim must be to tell them the truth and the fact that national policies also back-fire at times. The overall effect of the guidance must be to make the troops take pride in themselves, in their traditions and culture and in the democratic and secular nature of our society and the State.Thus far, the causes of violence, analysis of its impact, its potential manifestations on the psyche of soldiery and the challenges posed to military leadership have been examined. This analysis now logically leads us to the remedial measure to be adopted to minimize the adverse effects on the soldiery.

Traditional ills of the society can be explained similarly. Newspaper and magazines with balanced views must be available for self education of troops and to preclude rumours and idle gossip. The focus of education of soldier must be to develop him into a good citizen and not merely a soldier, with a narrow insular outlook and loyalties.

Motivation: The approach to motivation for war in the Army has so far been based on factors of religion, martial superiority and regimental or class loyalties etc. With increasing emphasis on regionalism and communalism in politics, motivation in the Army needs a fresh approach. This focus needs to shift to loyalty to the State. In this a distinction must be made between the ‘State’ and the ‘Regime’ (Government). The imperfections of the regime in power should not be attributable to the State and to that extent the democratic process must be explained to the rank and file in considerable detail. The glorious traditions of a Regiment, the heterogeneous national culture and the values as enshrined in the Constitution must become the anchor pins of motivation. Special care should be taken to see that religious discourses are used as forums for highlighting the rich religious and cultural heritage with ultimate focus on nationalism and the duties of soldiery in this regard.

Close interaction with Troops: Officers, especially junior leaders, must interact more closely with the rank and file, the soldiers must feel free to walk up to his officers to discuss and seek advice for his personal problems. A concerted effort must be made by leaders, at all echelons of command, to build a congenial atmosphere for a two-way dialogue without prejudice to discipline. This will foster confidence and go a long way in ensuring cohesiveness and mutual respect.

Religion: Religion must be used to provide moral strength to a soldier. Religious sentiments must be channelized to the path of truthfulness, attainment of moral courage and strong character qualities. The focus on religion must be on the magnanimous and tolerant nature of a good human being and on the secular character of a truly religious person.

Training of Troops: A high standard of training is important to sustain a soldier’s confidence and interest in the profession. A soldier must be confident and capable of carrying out any task that he may be called upon to undertake. They must be kept busy with realistic and purposeful training to improve their skills as also to make them good citizens of the country. A soldier confident in his trade is usually highly motivated and has the moral strength to face the trials and tribulations of life.

Unit Administration and Man Management: This has to be of the highest order. Aspects such as documentation, pay and allowances, good quality of ration, timely issue of clothing, well-cooked meals, proper management of leave, health and hygiene, unit security and all aspects of unit administration which have received close attention in units heretofore, now require still greater emphasis to ensure good morale. Extra care in this regard would go a long way in winning the confidence of the men in the armed forces especially when they see the other Government institutions and establishments ‘collapsing’ around them. Proper man management can by itself be a major motivational factor.

Personal Integrity of Leaders: The personal integrity of the leader must be above reproach. Many officers are careless about their personal habits while many others resort to petty infractions. Such a leader loses the right to advise or guide his men, who see through his double standards soon enough, whereas an honest and straight-forward officer earns the respect and regard of men.

Security Measures: Security problems may manifest themselves in many ways in units. This includes theft of classified documents, arms, ammunition, explosives and other controlled stores. This is likely to happen in units where the leadership is lacking or the leaders are not alert or vigilant. Laying down of fool-proof and detailed security procedure to prevent breaches of security is essential. Intelligently evolved, practical procedures must be adopted to prevent breaches of security and loss of arms, ammunition and explosives.

Ideological Training and Patriotism: With regional pressures, there is perhaps is a need for all ranks in the armed forces to be given ideological training in which the concept of Nation building should be taught. The Constitution of the country needs to be explained, especially the values enshrined in the Constitution and our Constitutional obligations. Appropriate questions should be included in the promotion examinations of all ranks.

Family Welfare: Officer’s wives can be a great asset to gauge the pulse and reaction of troops, through their women folk, at regular family welfare meets. If the wives and family members of troops are handled with care and maturity, they could be a very important element in influencing their husbands.

Briefing and Debriefing of Troops Based on Case Studies: Besides the normal interviews in a unit, the time has now come when special and detailed briefing and debriefing to troops should be carried out by a trained cell in a unit, particularly for personnel proceeding on leave or temporary duty to violence prone areas, thereby preparing them psychologically for the type of situations they are likely to face.

Civil Military Liaison: There are no formal channels of communication with civil functionaries, except for the yearly Army – Civil Liaison conference in each Army Command Headquarters. In the current environment it is necessary to establish liaison at the District level for exchanging information and for timely mutual aid and assistance. Liaison at the district level by the formation headquarters can greatly assist in ameliorating many difficulties experienced by the men such as high-handed behaviour of erring police personnel, harassment of the families of jawans in their villages and many other administrative and security problems related to cantonments. It is obligatory on part of the concerned formation headquarters to establish and maintain this liaison in their respective states and Districts.

Conclusion

The perspective of the soldier as a manager of violence has been part of professional development in the combat arms. Military forces are effective at guaranteeing military security against organized military opposition. They are much less effective against riots and civilian disturbances. They are impotent in the face of bricks through windows or threatening telephone calls in the night.

Till the political, social and economic issues at National level are tackled squarely and remedial plans instituted and implemented with vigour, the phenomenon of violence in one form on the other with varying intensity is likely to continue and hence the armed forces must also gear themselves to manage the effects of the fallout on the psyche of our soldiery.The military role is control and prevention of violence. It requires all the tools of a modern combat force to perform that role. Security policies must be integrated with strategies for promoting human rights, democracy and good governance. Human Security means safety for people from both violent and non-violent threats. It is freedom from pervasive threats to people’s basic rights, safety, and lives.

There are no shortcuts and easy solutions. Good training, motivation, and efficient administration of the soldiery alone can fortify them against the ills of the society. This requires alertness, dedication, hard work and an innovative approach by military leaders at all levels of command. Passivity and a pedestrian approach to the current situation would be as disastrous for the soldiery as it is for the society.

It’s a scary world today! The daily news is rife with reports of child molestations and abductions. War in foreign lands along with daily reports of murder, rape, and robberies also heighten our perception of potential violence. Television in the home is the greatest source of visual violence. Movie violence these days is louder, bloodier, and more anatomically precise than ever before. When a bad guy was shot in early black-and-white films, the most we saw was a puff of smoke and a few drops of fake blood. Now the sights, sounds, and special effects often jar us more than the real thing. Slow motion, pyrotechnics, and a penchant for leaving nothing to the imagination all conspire to make movies and TV shows more gruesome. Violent images on television and in the movies do contribute to greater violence in society. Common sense dictates that we do something to reduce the violence in the media before it further damages society. Violence is the scourge of our society, but we can make a difference. We must educate ourselves about its influence and impact on our lives.

The reality is that violence has no notion of boundaries. Like every other drug – especially power, to which it seems inextricably linked – violence is possessed with the ability to generate an ever-increasing and effectively insatiable appetite for itself. When this voraciousness crosses the ambiguous line that we have constructed between acceptable and unacceptable violence, it is disingenuous of us to insist that we are shocked and appalled.

Unless and until we are willing to commit to the levels of personal and societal non-violence that will permeate to the core of our cultural establishments, we must be prepared to accept the reality that the role models we glorify on the basis of their participation in fundamentally violent endeavours will continue to act in the ways that such rewards reinforce: they will continue to be violent.