Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Why should we use armed forces for internal security?
‘The Hindu’ reports: The 147-page report of the Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Committee — a copy of which is now with The Hindu — unambiguously recommends the repeal of the controversial law against which people in Manipur and elsewhere in the North-East have been agitating for several years. "The Act is too sketchy, too bald and quite inadequate in several particulars".
"the Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness."
The point of discussion in this article is not about the act. It is about armed forces involvement for internal security and thus resulting in ‘symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness’. It is really sad that the glory of our armed forces is overshadowed and they have become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate.
My question is why should we use armed forces for internal security? Well I don’t have any answer. Let me answer why we should not.
Till date the only institution, which is revered by all the Indians irrespective of their location, caste and religion is the armed forces. The position and respect armed forces receive from citizens is well portrayed in the song of Pradeep and sung by Ms. Lata Mangeshkar, ‘o mere watan ke logo’. The lines ‘we sacrifice our lives so that you, the citizens can sleep peacefully’ is the kind of image Indians have for their armed forces. But in North-eastern states and Kashmir valley the armed forces are looked upon as invaders, occupiers. It is not good for the morals of jawans to be called as ‘Hindustani Kutta’ as they are called in Kashmir valley.
Army is trained for war against enemy. In war you either kill or get killed. And they are trained to kill. Fighting your own countrymen is different kind of war. They have to work with lot of restrains, which they are not trained for. Nobody considers the kind of hostility they have to face while fighting internal terror. It is not easy when you know that each and every person surrounding you hates you.
Recently I was traveling in a bus in Chhattishgarh state through the naxalite infested forests. At the dead of night the bus was stopped by jawans and a thorough search was conducted. When they started questioning women passengers, I asked them how could they suspect women? I received a shocking answer. Only the previous night they caught a couple where the woman strapped explosives on her abdomen and pretended as pregnant. I was shocked, and realized the kind of hostility these jawans have to face to discharge their duties.
The daily hatred shown by your own countrymen definitely affects their moral.
Indian democracy gives right to each and every individual to voice his/her opinion against any kind of misdeed how miniscule it may be. There are numerous stories in newspapers and TV of demonstrations against the armed forces. Sporadic cases of military atrocities are highlighted. Are not they seriously affecting the morals of the forces?
The casualties in Kashmir operation is staggering. Besides the casualties being suffered almost on a daily basis and their adverse impact on morale, the Army's prolonged involvement in counter-insurgency operations has several other major disadvantages. The malignant character of civil society seeps in their rank. Everywhere they have to work with the local police force. It will not be surprising to find the corruption of police force influencing the armed forces also. The adverse reputation also affect on new recruitment.
The financial costs of sustaining a successful counter-insurgency campaign are staggering. I have the figure of Army’s 1997-98 budget, 13% of which were spent on counter insurgency operations. It is obvious that the Army can ill afford expenditure on counter-insurgency operations from its budget without its operational efficiency for its primary task being significantly impaired.
The use of armed forces has become the easiest option for the Govt. of the day. I will go to the extent of claiming that the Govt. (state as well as central) is using armed forces for cleaning the mess they create. Most of the internal conflicts are the results of inept handling by the political masters, greed of the narrow-minded regional politicians. The communal riots, the naxalite, Kashmir and North-eastern states’ problems cannot have military solutions. But that is another debate. We should keep the halo of armed forces intact. We should create a specialized force for dealing internal insurgency similar to Rapid Action Force.
It is high time we insulate the armed forces from internal conflict. Let the armed forces be used for what they are trained to do; save the nation from outside enemies.
"the Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness."
The point of discussion in this article is not about the act. It is about armed forces involvement for internal security and thus resulting in ‘symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high-handedness’. It is really sad that the glory of our armed forces is overshadowed and they have become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate.
My question is why should we use armed forces for internal security? Well I don’t have any answer. Let me answer why we should not.
Till date the only institution, which is revered by all the Indians irrespective of their location, caste and religion is the armed forces. The position and respect armed forces receive from citizens is well portrayed in the song of Pradeep and sung by Ms. Lata Mangeshkar, ‘o mere watan ke logo’. The lines ‘we sacrifice our lives so that you, the citizens can sleep peacefully’ is the kind of image Indians have for their armed forces. But in North-eastern states and Kashmir valley the armed forces are looked upon as invaders, occupiers. It is not good for the morals of jawans to be called as ‘Hindustani Kutta’ as they are called in Kashmir valley.
Army is trained for war against enemy. In war you either kill or get killed. And they are trained to kill. Fighting your own countrymen is different kind of war. They have to work with lot of restrains, which they are not trained for. Nobody considers the kind of hostility they have to face while fighting internal terror. It is not easy when you know that each and every person surrounding you hates you.
Recently I was traveling in a bus in Chhattishgarh state through the naxalite infested forests. At the dead of night the bus was stopped by jawans and a thorough search was conducted. When they started questioning women passengers, I asked them how could they suspect women? I received a shocking answer. Only the previous night they caught a couple where the woman strapped explosives on her abdomen and pretended as pregnant. I was shocked, and realized the kind of hostility these jawans have to face to discharge their duties.
The daily hatred shown by your own countrymen definitely affects their moral.
Indian democracy gives right to each and every individual to voice his/her opinion against any kind of misdeed how miniscule it may be. There are numerous stories in newspapers and TV of demonstrations against the armed forces. Sporadic cases of military atrocities are highlighted. Are not they seriously affecting the morals of the forces?
The casualties in Kashmir operation is staggering. Besides the casualties being suffered almost on a daily basis and their adverse impact on morale, the Army's prolonged involvement in counter-insurgency operations has several other major disadvantages. The malignant character of civil society seeps in their rank. Everywhere they have to work with the local police force. It will not be surprising to find the corruption of police force influencing the armed forces also. The adverse reputation also affect on new recruitment.
The financial costs of sustaining a successful counter-insurgency campaign are staggering. I have the figure of Army’s 1997-98 budget, 13% of which were spent on counter insurgency operations. It is obvious that the Army can ill afford expenditure on counter-insurgency operations from its budget without its operational efficiency for its primary task being significantly impaired.
The use of armed forces has become the easiest option for the Govt. of the day. I will go to the extent of claiming that the Govt. (state as well as central) is using armed forces for cleaning the mess they create. Most of the internal conflicts are the results of inept handling by the political masters, greed of the narrow-minded regional politicians. The communal riots, the naxalite, Kashmir and North-eastern states’ problems cannot have military solutions. But that is another debate. We should keep the halo of armed forces intact. We should create a specialized force for dealing internal insurgency similar to Rapid Action Force.
It is high time we insulate the armed forces from internal conflict. Let the armed forces be used for what they are trained to do; save the nation from outside enemies.
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