The mishap
of INS Sinduratna yesterday and Sindhurakshak in august last year are just two
of the ten accidents that took place in past seven months in Indian
Navy alone . An episode of an army soldier killing his
five colleagues before committing suicide is another tragic incident that made into
headlines of all papers and TV channels yesterday. Court of inquiry has been ordered in
both the cases and reports will tell us the technical reasons of mishaps.These two apparently uncorrelated incidents call for deeper understanding and pacifying increasing level of depression and frustration in men and officer in uniform.
Chief of Naval staff Admiral Joshi resigned yesterday taking moral responsibility of incident and a lot has already been said and written about how our armed forces have lived to high standard of morality. There is no doubt that our Armed forces have always risen to occasion in crisis and have done exemplary work in peace and war, despite visible divergence between our politico- bureaucratic set up and men in uniform.
While it can be argued that aging fleet of submarines in Navy
and aircraft in Air force are the major cause of incidents, Yet, corrective
measures must also be taken within the armed forces regarding morale and training of
men who maintain these machines. Isn't it a matter of concern that no engineer
from top IITs and NITs takes the engineering career with armed forces? A look
at the promotion policy for different branches within defense will tell you the reasons for
that. A comparison between civil counterparts and defense officers adds salt to injury.Chief of Naval staff Admiral Joshi resigned yesterday taking moral responsibility of incident and a lot has already been said and written about how our armed forces have lived to high standard of morality. There is no doubt that our Armed forces have always risen to occasion in crisis and have done exemplary work in peace and war, despite visible divergence between our politico- bureaucratic set up and men in uniform.
The technical staff in ranks who
maintain these sophisticated machines are well trained but the question that needs an honest answer is , are
they and their families well looked after ? A rational unbiased study done will
easily show that functioning in military organizations still has deep shades of
British Raj where lesser mortal sahabs have a different standard of life
compared to subordinate in ranks. Closed autonomous decision making and improper
grievance redress system are not at all compliant to positive flourishing and thinking mind. It is high time that an answer is found to why so many
trained technical people in uniform decide to quit their career in middle age
for an uncertain future while in civil fraternity no one ever quits a government
job after 20 years of service.
Hopefully good sense will prevail and we will see better coordination not only between bureaucracy of defense ministry and armed forces but also among people in uniform . It is high time that those in position of power formulate policies and develop work culture that is sensitive towards self esteem of men placed below them.
