Indian Defence Review

Unfortunately, over the last few years, there has been a complete breakdown of communication between commanders and their subordinates. Platoon parades and games with troops have gone out of practice. ‘Arzi reports’ and ‘sainik sammelans’ are given perfunctory importance. Soldiers are discouraged to put up any issue lest records show dissatisfaction of troops.

Acute shortage of officers is the primary cause for this state of affairs. Units which are authorized 24 officers are being made to function with 7–9 officers. A company which should have 4–5 officers is being manned by a single officer. It is well nigh impossible for him either to know all soldiers in the company or to look after their welfare adequately. “Who has time to know men?” is the common refrain. Shortage of officers coupled with overloaded working environment make a deadly combination in which the officers have no time for their troops. Such a situation lends itself to acts of desperation by some over-stressed and distressed soldiers.

Social Inequalities and Discrimination

Social interaction is encouraged in the services to promote cohesion amongst officers. They also provide an opportunity for senior commanders to gauge the morale of their junior officers by engaging them in casual and informal conversation. Earlier, this aspect was taken very seriously by all commanders. Commanders and their wives considered it to be their bounden duty to mingle with all to feel the pulse. Any undercurrent of dissatisfaction was noticed by them and corrective action initiated to nip the problem in the bud. Field Marshal Manekshaw had issued informal orders that he did not want his senior staff officers to surround him in social gatherings as he wanted to interact with junior officers and their spouses. Same was the practice followed by Lieutenant General Bhagat and others.

Sadly, social functions have got reduced to networking opportunities. Senior officers and their ladies, surrounded by their cronies, remain confined to a separate VIP corner. Every function today has separate tables and enclosures for senior officers to ensure that they get exclusive hospitality. On one hand, such social discrimination and stratification keeps commanders totally ignorant of brewing dissatisfaction, while on the other hand, subordinate officers consider such treatment as an affront to their self respect. Thus, social interaction which should promote cohesion ends up creating dissentions. A minor grievance may take the form of major dissent if not noticed and addressed in time.

Rashtriya Rifles and Counter Insurgency Operations

Rashtriya Rifle (RR) units have been raised for fighting internal insurgency. The format may have been working well operationally but has many negative attributes as regards man-management. Officers and soldiers are drawn from different units. They come together for a single tenure and revert to their respective parent units thereafter. Therefore, while serving in RR units the troops miss their regimental buddies and officers.  Many soldiers feel insecure and resent absence of mutual camaraderie.

As all RR units are located in high risk insurgency-infested areas, soldiers are subjected to intense physical pressure. Without the support of familiar regimental environment, emotional anxieties rise to precarious levels, thereby depleting soldiers’ strength to withstand prolonged exposure to stresses.

Another issue dogging RR units pertains to burgeoning court cases. Making false allegations against the armed forces is a standard ploy of anti-national elements the world over. It is the easiest way to win public sympathy while discrediting and demoralizing soldiers. Militants in Kashmir have understood the power of such misinformation campaigns. Whenever under pressure, phony accusations are made against soldiers for alleged molestation of women or for looting civilian property. Every single case of misdemeanor by soldiers has been thoroughly and diligently probed by the armed forces and almost all of them have found to be baseless.

As politicians can never miss an opportunity to exploit such issues, they jump in the fray and start demanding legal action against falsely accused soldiers. Media and self-styled human rights activists start a hate campaign to malign the forces. Cases are registered by the local police. Beleaguered soldiers have a miserable time responding to court summons and proving their innocence. Unfortunately, little help is extended to them by the services. They are left to fend for themselves. They feel let down. Many soldiers wonder whether aggressive anti-terrorist actions are worth the risk of getting embroiled in false court cases. There have been numerous cases where such predicament has generated unbearable stress.

Inadequacy of Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Although the importance of an effective grievance redressal mechanism is well understood, inadequate attention is being paid to this critical aspect of man-management. This is proved by the fact that over one lakh armed force related cases are pending in different courts in India with more than 10,000 cases in various High Courts. As per the rules, all service personnel are allowed to seek audience with their commanders to apprise them of their complaint and seek redressal. In case not fully satisfied, they can submit written appeals to the Chief (non-statutory complaints) and the Government (statutory complaints). Time-bound action has been mandated on such complaints. Against the laid down time span of six months for final disposal, a complainant considers himself fortunate if he receives dispensation during his service. Most complaints shuttle up and down the bureaucratic hierarchy on technicalities.

The Military Secretary’s Branch, tasked to handle all complaints, has acquired notoriety for inaction and total lack of empathy and urgency. Complainants have to pull strings or visit Delhi repeatedly to coax action on their representations. The whole system is so insensitive that unless an individual can exert pressure, nothing moves. In some cases, complainants retire before their cases are finally disposed off, making the whole exercise meaningless. Handling of complaints by the Ministry of Defence is even more slipshod. Functionaries have to be approached to have the files moved. There are also allegations of some favors being sought as quid pro quo.

Entry of Women Officers

Concern for equality of sexes and political expediency forced the Government to allow intake of women as officers in select arms and services in 1992. Although no formal attempt has ever been made to study the effect of women’s entry on the officer cadre, discussions with most commanding officers reveal that the presence of women has created additional and totally unwarranted stress amongst officers. Over 40 commanding officers were spoken to and all were of the view that there has been a discernible increase in inter-personal tensions.

Presence of women amongst males tends to make the environment formal and stiff. Men miss their light hearted banter which is considered essential to release work tensions and promote group cohesion. They consider women to be intruding on their privacy. Moreover, many officers resent additional work load that they have to take on as many tasks cannot be delegated to women.

Mutual comfort level between men and women colleagues is low as societal and cultural ethos continue to be mired in sex discrimination. Most of the women opting for a career in the services belong to families where their upbringing has been in a highly sheltered environment. A career in the military is at the other extreme. Even casual friendship between a woman officer and her male colleague is construed as a developing relationship. At times the emotional quotient becomes so high that it generates jealousies and envy. There have been a number of cases where either a woman officer or a male colleague have taken friendship as long term emotional commitment and suffered mental breakdown when things went awry.

Managing Stress and the Way Forward

Undoubtedly, the problem is serious. It will not be incorrect to describe it as a failure of command. Therefore, reforms must start at the command level. A three-pronged approach should be followed as discussed below.

• Command Level Initiatives.

• All efforts should be made to increase command tenures at all levels to provide continuity, as short tenures result in hectic pace of activities for troops. Such a measure will have to be implemented in a graduated manner.
• Maximum period in a year for which troops can be exercised must be unequivocally laid down. Adequate period for recuperation and recreation must be ensured.
• Intake of officers should be increased by making Short Service Commission attractive by assuring second careers to all.
• Commanders must identify themselves with their troops by close and regular interaction. They should also be trained to read symptoms of stress building up in a soldier and initiate corrective action in time.

• Organizational Level Reforms.

• Status of soldiers must be improved. They should be made to feel wanted and respected. Civil authorities should be impressed upon to extend all possible help to the families of the soldiers who are posted in field areas.
• Platoon parades and games with the troops must be made compulsory and given as much importance as operational training.
• The system of redressal of grievances must be made more responsive and considerate. Troops must be convinced that their genuine concerns would be attended to in a just, fair and time-bound manner.
• Policy on induction of women officers should be regularly reviewed and modified as per the feed back received.
• Maintenance of cantonments and other routine tasks should be outsourced to civilian agencies to reduce administrative load on units.
• Psychological Level Measures.

• Every unit should have a few officers trained in elementary counseling functions. Timely and on-the-spot counseling can prevent many potentially risky cases.
• Religious teachers should be capable of giving discourses which soothe strained nerves and put troops at ease during tough times. They should also be given training in handling sensitive soldiers and help them in ridding negative thoughts.
• Yoga is another effective method of helping soldiers to cope up with stresses. It should be done regularly and under expert supervision.
• Buddy system should be promoted. Every soldier should have a buddy who acts as his companion, confidante and alter-ego. Buddy provides a shoulder to unload fears and apprehensions. Secondly and more importantly, an alert buddy can gauge abnormal behavioral changes at an early stage and bring the matter to their commander’s notice.

Intensity of stress is always based on the perceptions and responses of humans trying to adapt to the challenges of everyday life. These challenges in military life are different than those faced by civilians, both in terms of threat of physical harm and emotional security. In the case of the Indian military, these stresses acquire heightened severity due to prolonged deployment in challenging environments and absence of family support.

Finally, introduction of much-needed organizational and institutional changes to keep the environment free of excessive stress is the ideal way of dealing with the problem. As the threshold of tolerance varies in individuals, it is equally essential to keep a close watch on soldiers who display signs of getting stressed. In case local commanders feel that expert medical or psychiatric help is required, there should be no hesitation in seeking that. Management of stress is a function of command for which innovative measures are needed.