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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, SEPT 24: The Army has curtailed the peace station tenure of infantry battalions following increased engagements in field and high altitude areas. Infantry forces are being transferred from one field area to another with decreasing peace station stopovers and instead of mandated two years, infantrymen end up doing up to three years in extreme conditions.
The Army which had about 40 battalions in Jammu and Kashmir till six years ago, today has around 117 battalions, sources said. Though the Army says there has been no policy change but admits that increased deployment in combat and in anti-insurgency operations has resulted in a similar rise in field area duties.
Therefore peace stations duties have come down. Separation from families and toll on the health of the soldiers notwithstanding the Army says there is no alternative.
“Almost half of the Indian Army is presently deployed in the strife torn state of J&K. If it is not in Siachen then it is in Kargil, Kashmir and when they are relieved from there after two years they are packed off south of Pir Panjal or in the north-east. The situation is similar even in the north-east,” sources said.
And increased field area tenures are costing the Army dearly. The soldiers and officers are more tense and there are increasing cases of soldiers being involved in affray and even a few cases of soldiers beating up or killing their officers.
Apart from taking a toll on the health of the soldier, increased separation from the family is also leading to increased anxiety and worry about the welfare of families and vice versa. “Two years away from families is bad enough. Now soldiers are away from homes for an additional six to eight months and even in cases for an entire year. They do go home for a month or two on leave but that cannot be a substitute for a soldier staying with a family for three years,” sources added.
The Army says it is caught in a vicious circle. “Our aim is to ensure that soldiers get maximum time possible in peace stations with their families. We cannot increase the intake of soldiers in the Army so we try to balance it to the best of our capabilities. Therefore some battalions may have to spend a few more months in the field areas. But we try to move them down from extreme field areas to light field areas,” he said.
A military spokesman said: “Owing to increased deployment of units in difficult areas average peace tenure of infantry battalion has come down to well below three years. To remedy the imbalance somewhat, the tenure of some units serving in lesser difficult areas has been increased marginally.”
