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.

China illegally claims 90,000 sq km land in Arunachal: Antony

A day before Chinese Defence Minister lands in the national capital, Defence Minister AK Antony laid bare the facts about infrastructure development and “illegal” territorial claims of Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

 

Assuring the Parliament that the Defence Ministry was seized of the matter, Antony said that China’s claim on north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is illegal. “In the eastern sector, China illegally claims approximately 90,000 sq. km. of Indian territory in the State of Arunachal Pradesh,” Antony told the Parliament in a written reply. Earlier this year, China had refused visa to an Indian Air Force officer hailing from the state much to the chagrin of the South Block.

Besides this, the Defence Minister said that since 1962 China has been occupying nearly 38,000 sq kms of land in Jammu and Kashmir and under the “so called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China”.

India shares nearly 3,300 km of dispute boundary with China and both the countries had briefly fought a bloody war with each other in 1962. However, peace overtures in the recent years increased comfort between the two neighbors to a level where they could conduct joint military exercises. The bilateral defence ties were suspended in 2010 when China refused to give visa to an Indian Army commander posted in Kashmir.

The Defence Minister also informed the Parliament that India was monitoring the infrastructure development along the border and in PoK and has asked China to cease such activities. “Government is aware of the infrastructure development by China at the border and their undertaking infrastructure projects in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). Government has conveyed its concerns to China about their activities in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and asked them to cease such activities,” the Defence Minister said.

It is after eight years that a Chinese Defence Minister is coming to India. General Liang Guanglie will land in Delhi on Tuesday fresh from his visit to Sri Lanka, where Beijing has been taking a keen interest in developing ports much to the discomfort of India.

While the territorial border dispute is yet to reach any conclusion soon, both the sides will discuss resuming of joint military exercises. The two neighbours had their first bilateral exercise in 2007, when Indian Army troops visited Kunming in China.

US defence firms closing down offices in India?

The global economic slowdown and convoluted acquisition processes of Indian Armed Forces has compelled the US defence giants in India to either pack up their offices or cut down manpower drastically.

The six Lockheed Marting C-130Js purchased from the US through FMS route

As procurement programmes of the Indian forces are becoming a game of ‘snake and ladder’ where tender cancellation and retendering has happened quite often, the US firms are relying more on the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or government-to-government sales route. Facing economic slowdown back home these firms have been advised to pack up from India or at least cut down expenditure. Among the defence giants likely to cut down their staff in the country significantly include Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

“The US aerospace firms were relying heavily on the MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) deal. But the high sales pitch fell flat as the IAF chose the French fighter jet. Thereafter the deals bagged by the US firms have not been through competitive bidding but through government-to-government sales,” sources in the market said.

The big ticket deals signed with the US through the FMS route have been eight P-8I maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from Boeing valuing $ 2.1 billion. India is also buying 10 C-17 heavy-lifters from Boeing for $4.1 billion. The six C-130 J special operations aircraft valuing $ 1.2 billion have already arrived in the country and order for six more is in the offing. India is also planning to place an order for M777 ultra light howitzers for $ 700 million to augment its firepower in the mountainous terrain. In total Indo-US defence trade has been worth $ 10 billion and in 2011 only India has purchased military equipments worth more than $ 4.5 billion.

Though no company is openly accepting the cut down, sources confirm that starting with Northrop Grumman they have decided to cut down as fast as possible. Northrop Grumman had opened office in India in 2007. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are also focusing on deals through FMS route.

“In India the competitive tendering is still in formulative stage where the process takes years at length. So the efforts are more. However, we have realized that India will come to the US for weapons and platform it desires and FMS route is giving more dividends and saving time for both sides,” added company sources requesting anonymity.

Boeing's AH-64 Apache helicopter is frontrunner in the 22 attack helicopters tender of the IAF

Cutting down spending on maintaining big offices in India, the US along with many European defence firms have shifted focus to the Middle-East and the South American country. The BAe Systems is also expected to cut down their staff and in six months might go back as there is nothing significant happening for them in India, unless Eurofighter makes a re-entry in the “Mother of all Deals” – $ 20 billion order for 126 fighter jets.

“The Middle-East region is perpetually volatile and there have been sustained demands from these countries. Also South American countries have also shown interest in the US military hardware – making them desired market for us,” added the sources.