Antony seeks report from Army Chief Bikram Singh
An incident of reported friction between jawans and officers in an Army unit in Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir found its echo in Rajya Sabha on Thursday with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking to downplay it.
The matter was raised during Zero Hour by CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury who wanted the Defence Minister A. K. Antony to respond. As Mr. Antony was not present in the House, Dr. Singh responded "I request the House not to have a discussion on the subject. This is a very small incident which is being blown out of proportion. It is not good for the morale of our armed forces".
The CPI (M) members referred to the Samba incident, saying there was breach of discipline in the military camp in the border district. A soldier in the camp had committed suicide, leading to face-off between jawans and officers in the unit.
The jawan who shot himself with his service rifle in the camp of the 16 Light Cavalry at Samba was identified as Arun V hailing from Thiruvananthapuram. The soldier, in his early thirties, had died on the spot.
Separately, Mr. Antony has sought a report on the incident from the Army Chief General Bikram Singh who is touring Western Command. The unit at Samba also comes under the jurisdiction of Army’s Western Command.
As part of the normal practice, the Army has ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the incident in the military camp in Samba. The CoI would be conducted by a Brigadier level officer, sources in the Army said. The sources maintained that there was no scuffle among jawans and the officers and normality had returned to the military camp. They said the commanding officer of the unit Colonel S. M. Prakash continues discharging his duties.
The incident at Samba came three months after another incident involving jawans and officers in Nyoma in Ladakh where a commanding officer, two majors and two jawans had sustained serious injuries in clashes. A court of inquiry into the Nyoma incident is still on and it might take another two months for its completion, Army sources said here.
The sources said the jawan took the extreme step after receiving a phone call on his mobile. Angry over their fellow soldier’s death, tempers of the jawans ran high and they protested against the officers and surrounded their residences.
The incident prompted Lt-General A. K. Bhalla, 9 Corps Commander, to visit the camp and bring the situation under control.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Samba, Israr Khan, who visited the unit after the incident, said the police had registered a case and investigations were in progress.
Senior Army officers said that a number of steps have been taken in the recent past to reduce the stress level of jawans, particularly those posted in sensitive areas. Some of the steps included grant of leave to soldiers thrice a year, counselling sessions, frequent interactions with the officers and regular welfare activities.
It seems that the ghost of British is still ruling the some of the Officers. They consider the men to be slave and act accordingly. The outdated Military laws and horrible service conditions made before 1947 need to be reviewed . Every day seems to be war for these soldiers. This type of incident will again reoccur if the service condition remains same. Who bothers for these poor sons of India tied to a bond of 18 to 20 years for National duty without adequate salary, living with out family, with out any chance/change of carrier. I draw the attention of the readers to certain facts .
: Can a solider required to give bond for 20 years .The very bond concept is against the fundamental right of Citizen to chose and practice any profession as none of the Soldiers will get a chance to take another job with in the bond period
: Guard duties are performed in forces in such a fashion that Soldiers doesn’t get sleep for 4 hours continuously.
: Leave of solider is a privilege not right.
Our Defence Forces still follow the system as were in British Rule...Where British were officers and jawans were Indians ...British used to prove their hegemony over Indians and the legacy continues still.....
It is a shame on the Officers of the unit that an incident of this sort was allowed to happen.All the jawans who took part in the ruckus should be demoblised forthwith and no mercy should be shown, lest it is going to set a precedent.The unit commander should be court martialled for not having any control over his officers and men.It looks like the officers were having a ball,with the commander not excercising his control ! All the guilty junior officers should be exemplarily punished. It is high time Army changes it's colonial styles and I am sad to say that the present officer corps mostly comprises cheap charlies who join up to make or save money and not for a honourable career !
We should await the findings of the Court of Inquiry ordered. There are many reasons for tension and frustration in any army unit deployed in the forward areas. Suicides have the personal reasons as well,besides psychological predisposition.
The techniques of man management in the army need review and revision of training.
There is the shortfall in the standard of leadership in army. The army is no longer able to attract the right material in view of better opportunities available now elsewhere.
Also, there is no political review of the Army`s role in the country`s affairs- there was no war/conflict after 1971. Matters pertaining to the armed forces,consequently,are low priority matters for the politicians/Govt.
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