Protect the protectors

The Indian states paramilitary forces count as one of the worlds largest armies. But its apparent that all that the state cares about is the chest-thumping that the possession of a large paramilitary allows. It certainly doesnt care about their living and working conditions. As this newspaper reported on Sunday,about a quarter of the Central Reserve Police Force is afflicted with long-term,sometimes terminal or life-threatening,diseases. India must face up to the fact that in less than half a decade,just past,the CRPF has lost only a few men less than how many it lost in combat since 1946. And about a half of the CRPFs 2.6-lakh workforce suffered serious illnesses from 2005 to 2008. And a half of that figure again is battling cancer,tuberculosis,hepatitis,AIDS,heart diseases,hypertension,or skin diseases,and so on.

There is of course no single explanation for our ailing paramilitary personnel. But,the Union government responsible for Central forces like the CRPF and the Central Industrial Security Force must assume that these horrifying figures are primarily the result of the horrendous and inhuman conditions in which our paramilitary forces live and work. Just last month this newspaper revealed after the NALCO siege in Orissa that saw 11 CISF men killed by Naxalites how one fan served 14 jawans in the summer,how 26 jawans shared one toilet,how they drank bilge water and how their own security provisions were almost non-existent.

Notable among the various ailments of CRPF jawans is the high incidence of psychiatric disorders and hypertension apart from skin problems that affect more than 52,000 men. These cannot be unconnected to the continuous,almost permanent deployment of CRPF personnel in trouble spots. In fact,about 80 per cent of its men havent got a static or non-combat posting in 20 years. Not only do such stress levels weaken paramilitary personnel,but they also prevent their effective utilisation. Above all,its all very cruel to the men we to whom we owe our own non-combat lives and work. When will the Indian state learn to protect those who protect it?