Shortage of officers impacting equation with jawans: Army Chief

The shortage of more than 10,000 officers in the Indian Army has now started impacting the officers-jawans relationship, and the increased friction between them flared up on two occasions this year, Army Chief General Bikram Singh said on Wednesday.

As the report of Court of Inquiry into the Nyoma incident in Ladakh where officers and jawans engaged in fist fight and in Samba incident in Jammu where the a prolonged standoff sent the unit in tizzy are pending, the Army Chief said that measures are being taken to address the issue.

When asked if the shortage of officers is leading to incidents of friction between soldiers and officers, Gen Singh said, "Yes, that is one of the main reasons. The shortfall of officers as of now is 10,100. The deficiency is definitely impacting."  The shortage has been there in the Army for the last five years at least resulting in poo management at the unit level. The army’s sanctioned strength is 46,615 officers.
 

The Army Chief, however, termed the incidents the two incidents as "aberrations" and "isolated" ones and said specific measures will be taken once the court of inquiry into is complete. "As you know we had one or two instances, these are aberrations of course and these were isolated incidents. One was in 2010 and in recent past we had two incidents," he said.
 

On steps taken by him to address the issue, he said, "As a Chief my concerns have been to ensure that we get back to basics and ensure that climate and environment in the units are correct and conducive to growth and group cohesion and the core values of the Army are upheld." The Army Chief has interacted with thousands of officers since he has taken over and has been insisting on “Return to basics”.
 

Presently the Short Service Commission of the Indian Army remains “undersubscribed”. “We are taking measures like spreading awareness and convincing parents to send their children into force to address the shortage The disenchantment is also affecting the soldiers as more than 10,000 soldiers took pre-mature retirement from the force last year. There has been an upward trend in the number of soldiers leaving forces. In 2011, 10,315 soldiers opted for premature retirement, while the figure for 2010 and 2009 was 7,249 and 7,499 respectively. The jawans, who are better educated than in the past, retire around a productive age of 35 years to look out for greener pastures instead of continuing in the force.

10,000 soldiers took pre-mature retirement last year

In a reflection of the disenchantment of the soldiers with the archaic traditions of the Indian Army and the equation with the officers, more than 10,000 soldiers took pre-mature retirement from the force, showing an upward trend from the previous years.

 

With two major incidents of scuffles and stand offs being reported this year in the Army so far, the defence establishment is undertaking the scrutiny of prevalent systems of ‘Sahayaks’ (called Batman in army parlance) as well. ‘Sahayaks’ are actually combatant soldiers authorized to officers in the Army as per entitlement for doing personal work.

 Legendary Sam Manekshaw with a soldier during 1971 War

Informing the Parliament about the issue, Defence Minister AK Antony said that in year 2011 10,315 soldiers opted for premature retirement, while the corresponding figure for the year 2010 and 2009 was 7,249 and 7,499 respectively. The Jawans of the Army, better educated now than in the past, retire around a productive age of 35 years to look out for greener pasture outside, instead of opting for continuing in the force.

Antony accepted that there were two cases of scuffles or stand offs between the officers and jawans – one in Ladakh and another one in Sambha sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The Defence Ministry and the Army had taken serious note of the incidents of scuffle that reflected the growing discord between the officer and jawans in a hierarchical system adapted from the British Army and not reflecting the aspirations of a changed India.

The Defence Minister said that the Government has taken a number of steps to keep up the morale of the jawans like “liberalized leave policy, establishing grievance redressal mechanisms, provision for recreational facilities, improvement in quality of food and clothing, deployment of psychological counselors etc.”

Feeling the change in the educational profile and aspirations of the soldiers joining the force, the Indian Army in April had recommended the abolishing of the colonial-era system of ‘Sahayaks’ and recommended recruitment of civilians for the job. In the present system these combatant soldiers have to do all kind of chores from polishing the shoes, to maintaining the uniform of the officer, taking children to school, doing the gardening and assisting the spouse in running the household during their deputation with the officer.

The proposal has evoked a positive response from the Defence Ministry but a definitive nod for the discontinuing of the system is yet to come as the South Block is reviewing the extra financial burden the recruitment of civilians will incur. The British Army has in fact done away with the practice of ‘Sahayaks’. The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy do not have a system of ‘Sahayaks’.

 

The Army officers defend the system and contend that the soldier is a “buddy” who fights closely with the officer during a war and not a personal assistant.