145;Hindu Tea146; and 145;Muslim Tea146;

I am sure that many like me are relieved to learn that the government will not go ahead with a Muslim head count in the Armed Forces. The In...

I am sure that many like me are relieved to learn that the government will not go ahead with a Muslim head count in the Armed Forces. The Indian army has remained a secular, apolitical and an extremely disciplined institution. Many a foreign delegation that I received during my tenure as the chairperson of the External Affairs Committee of Parliament had asked me how India remained a democracy while her neigbours slipped into military dictatorship. The answer was not very simple but at least one reason for this was that our army was truly professional.

During British rule things were different. The army was divided according to caste, community, region and religious belief. There was the theory of martial and non-martial races. Against this background the story of the Indian National Army INA is of great interest. In the last phase of our freedom struggle there was the armed thrust from outside India. The Provisional Government of Free India was formed in Singapore. When Singapore fell to the Japanese, the British officers surrendered the 45,000-strong British Indian Army. This got transformed into India8217;s army of liberation led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It saw an unprecedented unity between Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians. They fought together, they faced death together and, even more revolutionary, sat down and had meals together. The myth of martial and non-martial races was also exploded when a large number of Tamil civilians of Malaysia joined the INA and proved their fighting ability.

In their enthusiasm for unity, the soldiers of the INA even proposed a common prayer. Instead of going to separate places of worship they thought they would pray together to 8216;Duniya-ki-Malik8217;. But Netaji did not approve of the idea. Abid Hasan, his military secretary, has recorded that Netaji asked them not to mix religion with the patriotic battle for freedom. Abid Hasan also noted that though the soldiers were at first disappointed with Bose8217;s response, the truth gradually dawned on them.

At the end of the war, the INA soldiers became prisoners at Delhi8217;s Red Fort where attempts were made to segregate them along communal lines again. At this point, Gandhiji came to visit them. He was impressed by the communal harmony and unity of the INA. One of the prisoners complained to him that while the INA never maintained any distinction between religions, in jail they were served 8220;Hindu tea8221; and 8220;Muslim tea8221;. These soldiers then decided to resist such attempts by mixing the 8220;Hindu tea8221; and 8220;Muslim tea8221;, before imbibing it. The same with the food. Gandhiji was very pleased with this.

It was imperative that we protect our Armed Forces from the 8220;Hindu tea, Muslim tea8221; culture. Enough harm has been done to the fabric of Indian consciousness because of our short-sighted policy of quotas. Let us remember the plaque at the defence ministry8217;s South Block Office, where the soldier says, he has no religion, no caste and, even when he prays to God, it is to ask for strength to discharge his duty to the nation.

The writer is a former MP