Soldier blues

Discrete reports of Armed Forces personnel turning their guns on fellow soldiers, superior officers or themselves 8212; or fragging 8212; represented a larger narrative. In response, the army establishment has already decided to be more liberal with leave, family postings and general facilities for its personnel, and the Union cabinet has just put together an interim cash compensation package before the Sixth Pay Commission process kicks in.

There can be no arguing against improving the salaries and working conditions of the defenders of the country8217;s security and integrity. Over the years the cleavage between the pay and perks of the civilian and defence administrations has widened, which has in turn has led to a palpable dissatisfaction within the ranks and high attrition rates. This April, Parliament was informed that the Armed Forces were short of 14,165 officers and 20,432 personnel below officer rank. The cumulative effect of this reality on serving officers and jawans, not just in terms of tougher working conditions but self-image, can well be imagined.

But while measures like easing working conditions and shoring up pay packages are extremely important 8212; the pay structure of a lieutenant, for instance, is a paltry Rs 8,250-10,050 8212; they are insufficient. As one of our columnists argues today, fragging is too complex an issue to be addressed by the mere doling out of sops. In their landmark work on US soldiers during the Vietnam war, later compiled into a book, Crisis in Command, Richard A. Gabriel and Paul L. Savage argued that among the reasons for high levels of fragging in the US army at that juncture was a lack of cohesion within the ranks as also the poor quality of officers, many of whom failed to supervise and empathise with their juniors. In India, there is the added problem of high levels of corruption, sycophancy and nepotism. The rising incidence of fragging is an important pointer to a dangerous lowering of general morale in the ranks. It can be ignored no longer.