Our disciplined soldiers are not doormats
A couple of days after Army Chief General Bipin Rawat announced the creation of an in-house grievance redressal system to wean away jawans who were using social media to let off steam, he showed an iron fist. On Sunday, he described angry posts on social media as gross violation of rules that could attract punishment, adding they could have a negative impact on jawans posted along the border.
“If any jawan has any grievance, he has been provided with the proper forum to resolve his issue. If you are not satisfied with the action, then you can contact me directly,” he said. Another sore point is the deployment of about 1.5 lakh combat soldiers as sahayaks or buddies to officers. They end up doing menial jobs like washing cars and clothes and polishing shoes of officers as also helping out his wife. One such armyman, Lance Naik Yagya Pratap Singh, currently based in UP’s Fatehgarh uploaded a video about being a buddy during his last posting at Dehradun and went on a hunger strike.
A few years ago, a parliamentary committee sharply criticised the buddy system, but Gen. Rawat has defended it, saying the system helps establish synergy. Singh’s wife Richa disagreed. “My husband joined the army for serving the nation and not for doing the household chores at officers’ homes,” she said. A recent IIM study on stress in the BSF and the CRPF highlighted high salary discrepancy, difficulties due to unpaid medical claims and lack of career progression for jawans.
Also cadre officers face lack of identity, continuous posting in hard areas, lack of authority and training opportunities, leading to demotivation, burnout and psychological complications, the report noted. Gen. Rawat may have been forced to show an iron hand in a velvet glove to ensure discipline but such grievances cannot simply be brushed under the carpet. A modern military needs modern ways to motivate its soldiers. Making them feel like doormats is not how you go about it.