Emphasising on his focus on Army welfare, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said when it comes to the country’s defence, military personnel behind them are more important than their weapons.
Answering questions at his press conference in the city, during his week-end visit to his home State, Mr. Parrikar broadly blamed man-management issues for the spate of suicides in India’s armed forces. He also promised a “quick redressal mechanism” to be put in place to handle these concerns on priority basis.
“I believe that more than armaments, the person behind it is a stronger defence for the country,” Mr. Parrikar remarked. While he is in the process of finding out the reasons behind the suicides, issues like prolonged deployment in remote areas are said to be the issues involved. He said that working out welfare measures and quick redressal mechanisms for solving issues of personnel were being prioritised.
Ninety-nine soldiers committed suicide in 2014. “According to me, it is a man-management issue. I think it has to be resolved in two-three ways. Counselling, addressing issues of service personnel and quick redressal mechanism are the solutions.
“More tribunals, more informal arrangements need to be created to solve the problems,” Mr. Parrikar said.
He is also attending to issues like providing proper family accommodation, which could resolve the issue of isolation, which soldiers are known to feel when they are away from their family for long periods.
When asked about cases of suicide by soldiers where possible harassment by his superior officer is suspected, Mr. Parrikar said that while one cannot intervene in inter-personal relationships at every point, “by making a redressal mechanism, they can be resolved”.
