Of Matters Military Living the Olive Green by Mrinal Suman

Author:Mrinal Suman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vij Books India Pvt Ltd
Published: 2021-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

Army Officers and the Seven Golden Norms

The edifice of the Indian army is built on the twin pillars of committed leadership and motivated soldiers. Both are intrinsically linked and mutually contingent. Distortions in one cause shock waves in the other as well. Whereas our soldierly stock continues to be excellent, it is the fall in the quality of the leadership that is a cause for concern.

Militaries by nature are conservative and thrive on well-evolved traditions, precedents and conventions, which over a period of time get translated into norms. Norms are unwritten rules which need to be followed diligently for the continued sustenance of a military. The Indian army finds itself in the current mess primarily due to the dilution/neglect of the seven golden norms by the officer cadre.

1. “Impartiality – an ethical requirement”

Fair and unprejudiced deportment is an essential component of an officer’s morality. Impartiality means treating everyone as equal and rewarding them on their merit alone. Any commander who acts in a discriminatory manner to grant favours to his regimental mates, community members or protégé is guilty of breach of trust and faith. Partisanship is impropriety of the worst kind, erodes credibility of leaders and encourages parochialism. Humans identify themselves with an organisation only when visible merit-performance ethical linkage is in place. Therefore, a system should be put in place to weed out all officers who display biases of any nature.

2. “Prompt redressal of grievances – every soldier’s right”

Close to one lakh cases involving service personnel are pending in various courts. It reflects poorly on the army’s grievance redressal mechanism. Soldiers knock at courts’ doors only when driven to it as a last resort, after losing faith in the sense of justice and the fairness of the system. They feel aggrieved and deprived of their rightful dues, giving rise to dissentions and litigations. Although an elaborate mechanism (from ‘arzi report’ at unit level to statutory complaints at the government level) is in place, inadequate attention is being paid to this critical aspect of man-management. Many grievances are misplaced due to lack of information and can be resolved at the unit level itself. Soldiers’ faith in the credibility of the system must never be allowed to wane.

3. “Empathy for men under command – a moral obligation”

The Indian army has been rocked by a number of suicide and fratricide cases. In most cases, officers had failed to handle the ‘disturbed and upset’ soldiers with due compassion. Unlike other organisations, relationship between a military leader and his men is intense. Commander’s empathy for his men is duly reciprocated by unflinching loyalty by his troops. Soldiers willingly repose faith in a leader in the belief that he would safeguard their interests. Exhorting men in the name of the regimental spirit, some self-seeking leaders drive their men unduly hard to fulfill their own aspirations. Resultantly, welfare of troops is totally neglected. Men are quick to gauge true disposition of their leaders. Any leader who uses them purely for his personal advancement loses their trust.

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