Guest column | Agnipath: Let’s not cut off our nose to spite our face

How so ever sophisticated modern warfare may become, the man behind the machine will continue to reign supreme, and his training, morale and devotion should not be compromised by concerns such saving pay and pension bills or manpower

The Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment to the armed forces may well be a case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face, as a renowned veteran lieutenant general eloquently put it. As a veteran, who served in the cavalry for 34 years, I am none too pleased to welcome the scheme, after all six months of training, and four years in the uniform are hardly enough to evoke the required regimental spirit among soldiers. Will these youngsters, who are bound to leave after four years be willing to put their life on the line for the honour of their unit? Will they not become sycophants so that their seniors may allow them to stay on after four years elapse? Will they not stick up two fingers with so little on stake? And will it all not weaken the organisation?

How is our army to be operationally ready to fight a multi-pronged war when it is going to be fed with ‘ floaters!’ Will these Agniveers be proud of the uniform they don, if they will have to shed it after a few years? (PTI)

How so ever sophisticated modern warfare may become, the man behind the machine will continue to reign supreme, and his training, morale and devotion should not be compromised by concerns such saving pay and pension bills or manpower. Our jawans cannot be used and discarded like commodities. It is the man who wins wars, not just equipment and the Russia-Ukraine war is a testament to it.

How is our army to be operationally ready to fight a multi-pronged war when it is going to be fed with ‘ floaters!’ Will these Agniveers be proud of the uniform they don, if they will have to shed it after a few years? Why will they suffer hardships and make sacrifices when 75% of them will be relieved after four years? Besides, we must not forget that all three forces spend lakhs and devote years of training to prepare and motivate their soldiers to guard the sovereignty of the nation, and not to integrate into civil society. The army, whose job is to prepare soldiers for combat, is not a welfare organisation.

Politicisation of the army, matter of grave concern

The gradual politicisation of the army is also a matter of grave concern. Be it a sepoy guarding the Siachen Glacier or the one braving the heat and dust on his tank in the Rajasthan desert, the artillery gunner or the sapper, electronics and mechanical engineers (EME) or the logistics men, all of them hate seeing their commanders indulging in politics. It is these men, who will win us the war. They do not crib despite shortages and old equipment. We, too, must be true to them and regularise them, rather than enlisting them for a four-year tour of duty.

I can say with conviction that the Indian soldier is par excellence in motivation, training, discipline, and fearlessness. He outclasses our adversaries. It holds good for all arms and services, be it an air force pilot or the crew of a naval ship. During my service, I rarely came across a jawan who was a coward or unwilling to give his life for the honour of his paltan. Our young officers are a treat and they are the ones leading operations and bringing down militants in the restive Kashmir Valley. When required, even our commanding officers take the lead, take Col Vasanth Venugopal, who was killed in action while preventing infiltrators from crossing the Pakistan border at Uri, or Col John Thomas, who led an operation against terrorists in the forests of Macchal sector in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and succumbed to his gunshot wounds after killing three terrorists.

Half-baked soldiers, a liability for COs

So, let’s not bog down this fine army and its commanding officers with half-baked soldiers who are fixated on civil re-employment after four years. It takes around five to seven years to fully train and sensitise a soldier so that he forgets his personal worries and interests, and breathes the ethos of his paltan. It is these dedicated men, whom you command during war and peace; and nothing is more important or satisfying than the love and respect of the soldiers one commands. Every jawan recruited wishes to be a proud soldier till his last day. Let us not imbalance the citadel by this short-term recruitment scheme. Once disturbed and weakened, it will be very difficult to restore the organisation. There is still time, give the scheme a rethink!

ripu_d2003@yahoo.co.in

(The writer is an Ambala-based freelance contributor. Views expressed are personal.)