CrYsIs
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A string of incidents involving indiscipline and insubordination in the Indian armed forces has set off alarm bells in India's defense establishment. Since May last year, there have been at least four violent clashes between officers and jawans (soldiers) of the Indian army. Two of these occurred over a span of five days last month.The incident was described variously in the Indian media as a "brawl," "a free for all," "a mutiny," and even "a revolt."While the army sought to downplay the gravity of the incident by describing it as a "minor scuffle," "at worst an isolated act of indiscipline," it was nonetheless clearly rattled. This, after all, was the most serious breach of indiscipline in the army since 1984, when Sikh soldiers mutinied following military operations to flush out militants from the Golden Temple.
Given the nature of their job, stress is inevitable among soldiers the world over. The problem has deepened in India as soldiers are deployed to deal with insurgencies over prolonged periods. Because of operational requirements and a shortage of personnel, they are rarelyDixit tells The Diplomat that relations between officers and jawans have deteriorated over the past decade. This is in part the outcome of the huge shortage in the officers' corps. According to the doctor, "Overworked officers have little time to spare for their jawans or to pay attention to their problems or even to notice their depression."
full details ....India's Troubled Soldiers | The DiplomatAnalysts have attributed officer-jawan tensions to class conflict in the armed forces. Not only do officers look down on the lower ranks but also officers whose fathers were jawans are "subjects of condescension and worse; senior officers in the military have gone to lengths to conceal the fact that their fathers served as enlisted men." given time off to visit their families or to deal with problems back home.
