Indian Army: News and Discussion

Automatic Kalashnikov · Feb 21, 2021

What is the difference between vice cheif of army staff and deputy chief of army staff?

12arya · Feb 21, 2021

Automatic Kalashnikov said:
What is the difference between vice cheif of army staff and deputy chief of army staff?

Automatic Kalashnikov · Feb 21, 2021

12arya said:
View attachment 79131

Aspirant847 · Feb 21, 2021

Vande1947 said:
is the clip missing certain sequences? could not see the instance of glass throwing and verbal abuse etc.

There's probably no glass throwing. I've never in my whole life seen someone disrespecting the soldiers.

There was this once instance where the kid of a major did something bad and I saw him get a good whopping from his father.

Aspirant847 · Feb 21, 2021

12arya said:
He is a Veteran, i believe.
Unchecked power is dangerous. I'm some one who 99% of the time supports our armed forces; just go thru my other posts.

The point i saw was y r soldiers packing or unpacking stuff in officers house? Why? Are movers/packers not allowed inside cants? Even if they r not allowed, r u not supposed to pack and load ur stuff like millions of other ppl with transferable jobs?

Ya he may be exaggerating but many other veterans has posted videos of jawans walking dogs, taking kids to school and all. The point is soldiers/juniors r not paid for moving officers furniture or serve food at their parties; times r changing, soldiers aspiration r changing and its time for army to change as well. This kind of issues will affect the morale and i feel emotions r simmering, judging from videos on you tube.

Now plz don't say it happens in the police and babudom. They r the worst with this kind of behaviour. Also, Im not saying that all officers r bad and evil; but this shud not happen anymore.
Army needs to find a system that's updated to the current situation and also won't cause a security threat! We cannot stay static forever.

Recently there was mush reported case where a brig's wife slapped a junior officers wife at a public function at a cant, bcoz she came late? Ever heard of crap like this in any other sector? Asking wives to work for AWWA, on what basis? Not only that, they r forced into doing fashion shows and dances to entertain senior officers wives?

How on earth is this right? What if ur boss tells ur wife to dance/sing/entertain his wife, how will u or ur wife feel? This is all ridiculous.

View attachment 79097

Wife of Army officer slaps junior officer's spouse during an event; matter reaches PMO

An event organised by the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) at the Bathinda Military station witnessed a furious cat-fight between wives of two senior officers.

www.indiatoday.in

On wat basis is the dude summoning his subordinate's wife and questioning her?

View attachment 79098

Major's wife threatens action for being forced to rehearse for a show

The wife of an Army Major posted in Faridkot has complained to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Command for being allegedly forced to take part in rehearsals for a fashion show by the Brigade Commander of her husband.

www.indiatoday.in

Just google so many such cases r there. Many go unreported as well! How is any of this right? Wen bad things happen it shud b criticized & stopped, be it army or civil sector.

now you're mixing two topics.

There's a perfectly outlined seniority hierarchy in the army and these fringe elements are part of every force. The incident with the officers wife, that's extremely rare shit and it doesn't actually showcase how the things happen inside.

as for the sahayak system I support it, all men at all times can be doing patrolling or something else. These men are the ones who keep in camps in check and it's part of the job.

ezsasa · Feb 21, 2021

12arya said:
i feel army is esp bad with this whole archaic notions abt the spouses; how women shud spend their time; how soldier's wives personal time shud b utilized and all. Just go thru some pics by army wives blogs online...the amount of resources that is visible, being spent on an ngo is crazy.
and army apparently has no money to buy weapons for SF or guys on the border but can throw lavish dinners every month!this yr, i believe, awwa celebrated their "raising day jubilee"!!!
why? and this is the pic from the function.

also, who set up that office?
army.

who spend the money for it?
army.

How much was spend?
no idea.

was it possible to use that fund for the actual fighting fauj?
yes, absolutely but they didn't.

Yet the army shamelessly claimed awwa is an ngo in 2012 i believe! how can an ngo use army resources, logistics, funds and even logo(on that wall)??? yes, awwa has done some gud deeds too but it can easily/must b done by a welfare dept by qualified professionals in the army itself with half the amount that is wasted by these ladies

daily i read on SF thread, how our SF go without many integral upgrades "due to lack of funds" but they have enough funds for this non sense!.

from an army wives blog:

Vidhya, you might not know it yet, but you have just become an icon for so many Army wives in India who have to go through AWWA and FWO (Family Welfare Organisation) activities every day/week/month reluctantly, wondering who is at the receiving end of this welfare. Women in hushed tones are congratulating you for the courage you have shown to stand up to such irrational pressure tactics.

View attachment 79108

AWWA Atyachaar

This report in Hindustan Times’ Chandigarh edition, dated Aug 06, 2014, was a disturbing one to say the least. The report was widely circulated on all fauji whatsapp groups, especially the on…

acuriousarmywife.com

Perhaps utility of these organisations will be felt in “wartime”, during peacetime these might look like wasteful expenditure.

just a thought, not fully convinced of what I stated above.

12arya · Feb 21, 2021

ezsasa said:
Perhaps utility of these organisations will be felt in “wartime”, during peacetime these might look like wasteful expenditure.

just a thought, not fully convinced of what I stated above.

ya, u r probably right and I'm not calling all of them evil or useless. But this sort of system will aid nepotism, chamchagiri, and whatnot.

soldiers welfare is the duty of CO and senior-most JCO and ultimately army; it shouldn't be forced upon wives who come from different backgrounds, aspirations, and ambitions. now abt family welfare, be it jawans' or officers', that's a strictly personal matter and outsiders have no right to nose into it. this wives club is turning jawans against their officers(notably during peace postings) and in the end, our army and nation will be the losers.
i remember reading a veteran officer's comment where he said an entire unit opted/volunteered for field posting to avoid awwa chores! also, look where their "HQ" is: SOUTH BLOCK :shock:

An NGO at south block!!!

army delinked acr from awwa work but the coercion still goes on even in 2021 which is shameful.

Army proposal to impart ‘spouse training’ for new skill sets draws fire

A large number of spouses of serving officers resented the move, saying there was already enough pressure to take part in family welfare centre activities at lower formation levels and those of Army Wives Welfare Association at higher headquarter levels.

indianexpress.com

Indian Army and Management of Stress - Indian Defence Review

Military’s Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre (PRC) at Pune provides rehabilitation support to paraplegic and tetraplegic soldiers. Most of the inmates are

www.indiandefencereview.com

go thru this article and its comment section...just shows all the simmering dissent.

A REAL BRAINSTORMING FOR INDIAN ARMY

Recently a story published on NDTV read as under: "Savneet Paul's husband, an army officer is fighting insurgency in Kashmir but back home i...

theindiananalysis.blogspot.com

Bullied army wives to seek NCW help

www.indiatoday.in

The army isn’t what it used to be

What the Indian Army is experiencing right now is a churning as it tries to come to terms with a changing society, say experts

www.livemint.com

12arya · Feb 21, 2021

Interference by AWWA
Savneet Paul, the wife of Major P.S. Paul, had challenged the organization in court, alleging her husband”s annual confidential report (ACR) was tarnished by his commanding officer because she did not take an interest in AWWA activities. The charges come in the wake of two other Majors” wives going public with claims of serious harassment. During a ceremonial event at the Bhathinda military station, the wife of a Commanding Officer slapped the wife of a Lieutenant Colonel for coming late to an Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) event. The incident was witnessed by several army officers and jawans, and top officials did everything to hush up the case. The case reached PMO and the army was left red-faced as Army’s name was dragged into a catfight(6). Colonel (Retd) K.P. Bhatia asked why should AWWA get involved in the professional lives of officers when it was an NGO. “It influences the transfers and postings of serving officers, misusing the Army”s chain of command,” he said.

That said, AWWA has in recent years become the biggest bugbear, not only for the wives but for officers too, when the so-called welfare activities are stretched to include fashion shows, tombolas, and coffee mornings for wives of visiting senior officers for which the Army unit’s resources are freely used. A comptroller and auditor general report a few years ago also questioned the misuse of official aircraft.

Guneet Chaudhary filed an RTI and sought information on funding of the AWWA. He stated “Record reveals that all AWWA offices are run with the financial assistance from various units. Even the officer-in-charge of the schools run by AWWA is serving Army officers of the rank of Lt. Col. An interestingly point: If the Army doesn’t pump in money for AWWA, it’s a miracle who runs the sprawling network as there is no subscription fee for membership.” In March 2009, a ruling of the Central Information Commission (CIC — Appeal no: CIC/WB/A/2007/01155-SM) specified that AWWA is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists in the welfare of Army families but is not a part of the Indian Army and hence denied giving any replies to his sought information.(7)

However, one wonders if AWWA is just a civilian NGO managed by the wives of army jawans, how do they derive the powers to summon a soldier on any complaint filed by his wife. Further, what constitutional powers do they have when they behave like a kangaroo court and award maintenance by directly attaching the salary of the army men? These questions remain unanswered. The way the whole system resists being transparent on civilian interference in the army, it looks like we will not get these answers any time soon.

What should be done about it?
An organization called Voice of Ex-Servicemen Society (VESS) spoke about discrimination and exploitation of the Jawans within the AFU and as an outsider civilian, the following two demands by VESS are too costly to be ignored and any just person would completely agree with it.

Elimination of sewadari system from Army. Soldiers are for Fighting wars — not domestic servants

Discrimination prevalent in armed forces should be eliminated in all it form. Forces have become VVIP racism hubs with almost every facility being reserved for officers, including toilets.

The civilian lives of soldiers should be left for themselves to handle and the officers and the bosses of the soldiers should not have a say and interfere in a soldier's civil and social life outside of the duty that he reports for.

The grievances, first of all, should not reach the courts in the first place. If at all they do for a variety of reasons, the government as a matter of policy must not appeal to the compensations awarded by the trial courts and honour it by awarding the compensation in a timely manner without the petitioner having to go for execution of the order by the court.

The civilian NGO’s especially like the AWWA ones should not be permitted to have an influence or even a say over the annual confidential reports of the soldiers — whether it be soldier's own behavior and attitude or his wife’s.

The army should be guarded in contemplating action against soldiers who have allegedly been accused in criminal cases, especially filed by women. Any action, if necessary, should be taken only after the competent court convicts him for the said crime.

For the soldiers involved in domestic marital disputes, the participation of the soldiers in counseling, etc. by AWWA should be purely voluntary. The methods used by AWWA should be bought under the scanner and should be audited from time to time, incorporating the feedback of the people who went through their processes. At no point in time should AWWA act like a quasi court like issuing summons or ordering maintenance cuts from the salary etc.

The army, as traditionally trained, is gyno-centric in nature. The soldiers salute all women including civilian ones and salutes for men is limited to only their superior officers. This attitude must go. Societies all over the world are built upon the dead bodies of soldiers. In no way is a civilian woman (or even the wife of an army officer) deserving of a salute from the soldier who on due occasion would be ready to die.

Aspirant847 · Feb 21, 2021

12arya said:
Interference by AWWA
Savneet Paul, the wife of Major P.S. Paul, had challenged the organization in court, alleging her husband”s annual confidential report (ACR) was tarnished by his commanding officer because she did not take an interest in AWWA activities. The charges come in the wake of two other Majors” wives going public with claims of serious harassment. During a ceremonial event at the Bhathinda military station, the wife of a Commanding Officer slapped the wife of a Lieutenant Colonel for coming late to an Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) event. The incident was witnessed by several army officers and jawans, and top officials did everything to hush up the case. The case reached PMO and the army was left red-faced as Army’s name was dragged into a catfight(6). Colonel (Retd) K.P. Bhatia asked why should AWWA get involved in the professional lives of officers when it was an NGO. “It influences the transfers and postings of serving officers, misusing the Army”s chain of command,” he said.

That said, AWWA has in recent years become the biggest bugbear, not only for the wives but for officers too, when the so-called welfare activities are stretched to include fashion shows, tombolas, and coffee mornings for wives of visiting senior officers for which the Army unit’s resources are freely used. A comptroller and auditor general report a few years ago also questioned the misuse of official aircraft.

Guneet Chaudhary filed an RTI and sought information on funding of the AWWA. He stated “Record reveals that all AWWA offices are run with the financial assistance from various units. Even the officer-in-charge of the schools run by AWWA is serving Army officers of the rank of Lt. Col. An interestingly point: If the Army doesn’t pump in money for AWWA, it’s a miracle who runs the sprawling network as there is no subscription fee for membership.” In March 2009, a ruling of the Central Information Commission (CIC — Appeal no: CIC/WB/A/2007/01155-SM) specified that AWWA is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that assists in the welfare of Army families but is not a part of the Indian Army and hence denied giving any replies to his sought information.(7)

However, one wonders if AWWA is just a civilian NGO managed by the wives of army jawans, how do they derive the powers to summon a soldier on any complaint filed by his wife. Further, what constitutional powers do they have when they behave like a kangaroo court and award maintenance by directly attaching the salary of the army men? These questions remain unanswered. The way the whole system resists being transparent on civilian interference in the army, it looks like we will not get these answers any time soon.

What should be done about it?
An organization called Voice of Ex-Servicemen Society (VESS) spoke about discrimination and exploitation of the Jawans within the AFU and as an outsider civilian, the following two demands by VESS are too costly to be ignored and any just person would completely agree with it.

Elimination of sewadari system from Army. Soldiers are for Fighting wars — not domestic servants

Discrimination prevalent in armed forces should be eliminated in all it form. Forces have become VVIP racism hubs with almost every facility being reserved for officers, including toilets.

The civilian lives of soldiers should be left for themselves to handle and the officers and the bosses of the soldiers should not have a say and interfere in a soldier's civil and social life outside of the duty that he reports for.

The grievances, first of all, should not reach the courts in the first place. If at all they do for a variety of reasons, the government as a matter of policy must not appeal to the compensations awarded by the trial courts and honour it by awarding the compensation in a timely manner without the petitioner having to go for execution of the order by the court.

The civilian NGO’s especially like the AWWA ones should not be permitted to have an influence or even a say over the annual confidential reports of the soldiers — whether it be soldier's own behavior and attitude or his wife’s.

The army should be guarded in contemplating action against soldiers who have allegedly been accused in criminal cases, especially filed by women. Any action, if necessary, should be taken only after the competent court convicts him for the said crime.

For the soldiers involved in domestic marital disputes, the participation of the soldiers in counseling, etc. by AWWA should be purely voluntary. The methods used by AWWA should be bought under the scanner and should be audited from time to time, incorporating the feedback of the people who went through their processes. At no point in time should AWWA act like a quasi court like issuing summons or ordering maintenance cuts from the salary etc.

The army, as traditionally trained, is gyno-centric in nature. The soldiers salute all women including civilian ones and salutes for men is limited to only their superior officers. This attitude must go. Societies all over the world are built upon the dead bodies of soldiers. In no way is a civilian woman (or even the wife of an army officer) deserving of a salute from the soldier who on due occasion would be ready to die.

Wow, if the situation is so bad there should definitely be some checks put in place

Automatic Kalashnikov · Feb 21, 2021

12arya · Feb 21, 2021

Aspirant847 said:
Wow, if the situation is so bad there should definitely be some checks put in place

Instead of checks put in place, the new COAS wants "spouses training" to be imparted to young women at tax payer's expense!!!

12arya · Feb 21, 2021

Automatic Kalashnikov said:
View attachment 79132

I guess, not everything one reads on the net, is true :facepalm:

12arya · Feb 21, 2021

This is worrying and hopefully, milords won't give them bail!

Fake Army of Assam - Indian Defence Review

Incidents of terrorists wearing Army uniforms to attack army bases in Jammu and Kashmir have been happening over past years. Donning Army uniforms naturally would help terrorists close in to entrance of a unit base even by daylight, duping sentries posing as regular Army soldiers, open surprise...

www.indiandefencereview.com

samsaptaka · Feb 22, 2021

12arya said:
He is a Veteran, i believe.
Unchecked power is dangerous. I'm some one who 99% of the time supports our armed forces; just go thru my other posts.

The point i saw was y r soldiers packing or unpacking stuff in officers house? Why? Are movers/packers not allowed inside cants? Even if they r not allowed, r u not supposed to pack and load ur stuff like millions of other ppl with transferable jobs?

Ya he may be exaggerating but many other veterans has posted videos of jawans walking dogs, taking kids to school and all. The point is soldiers/juniors r not paid for moving officers furniture or serve food at their parties; times r changing, soldiers aspiration r changing and its time for army to change as well. This kind of issues will affect the morale and i feel emotions r simmering, judging from videos on you tube.

Now plz don't say it happens in the police and babudom. They r the worst with this kind of behaviour. Also, Im not saying that all officers r bad and evil; but this shud not happen anymore.
Army needs to find a system that's updated to the current situation and also won't cause a security threat! We cannot stay static forever.

Recently there was mush reported case where a brig's wife slapped a junior officers wife at a public function at a cant, bcoz she came late? Ever heard of crap like this in any other sector? Asking wives to work for AWWA, on what basis? Not only that, they r forced into doing fashion shows and dances to entertain senior officers wives?

How on earth is this right? What if ur boss tells ur wife to dance/sing/entertain his wife, how will u or ur wife feel? This is all ridiculous.

View attachment 79097

Wife of Army officer slaps junior officer's spouse during an event; matter reaches PMO

An event organised by the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) at the Bathinda Military station witnessed a furious cat-fight between wives of two senior officers.

www.indiatoday.in

On wat basis is the dude summoning his subordinate's wife and questioning her?

View attachment 79098

Major's wife threatens action for being forced to rehearse for a show

The wife of an Army Major posted in Faridkot has complained to the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Command for being allegedly forced to take part in rehearsals for a fashion show by the Brigade Commander of her husband.

www.indiatoday.in

Just google so many such cases r there. Many go unreported as well! How is any of this right? Wen bad things happen it shud b criticized & stopped, be it army or civil sector.

12arya said:
i feel army is esp bad with this whole archaic notions abt the spouses; how women shud spend their time; how soldier's wives personal time shud b utilized and all. Just go thru some pics by army wives blogs online...the amount of resources that is visible, being spent on an ngo is crazy.
and army apparently has no money to buy weapons for SF or guys on the border but can throw lavish dinners every month!this yr, i believe, awwa celebrated their "raising day jubilee"!!!
why? and this is the pic from the function.

also, who set up that office?
army.

who spend the money for it?
army.

How much was spend?
no idea.

was it possible to use that fund for the actual fighting fauj?
yes, absolutely but they didn't.

Yet the army shamelessly claimed awwa is an ngo in 2012 i believe! how can an ngo use army resources, logistics, funds and even logo(on that wall)??? yes, awwa has done some gud deeds too but it can easily/must b done by a welfare dept by qualified professionals in the army itself with half the amount that is wasted by these ladies

daily i read on SF thread, how our SF go without many integral upgrades "due to lack of funds" but they have enough funds for this non sense!.

from an army wives blog:

Vidhya, you might not know it yet, but you have just become an icon for so many Army wives in India who have to go through AWWA and FWO (Family Welfare Organisation) activities every day/week/month reluctantly, wondering who is at the receiving end of this welfare. Women in hushed tones are congratulating you for the courage you have shown to stand up to such irrational pressure tactics.

View attachment 79108

AWWA Atyachaar

This report in Hindustan Times’ Chandigarh edition, dated Aug 06, 2014, was a disturbing one to say the least. The report was widely circulated on all fauji whatsapp groups, especially the on…

acuriousarmywife.com

Valid points, something that many of us don't know, the other side of the story.
This sahayak system is a relic of britshit era and needs to be abandoned, which modern army (may be the brishits also don't have it now) has this ? We are more british than british army. Does the US army have this system ? We are too much ganged up on this british culture and don't have our own way of doing things and happy in being in status quo. BTW this is also one of the reasons for not having separate SF command I feel.

12arya · Feb 22, 2021

samsaptaka said:
Valid points, something that many of us don't know, the other side of the story.
This sahayak system is a relic of britshit era and needs to be abandoned, which modern army (may be the brishits also don't have it now) has this ? We are more british than british army. Does the US army have this system ? We are too much ganged up on this british culture and don't have our own way of doing things and happy in being in status quo. BTW this is also one of the reasons for not having separate SF command I feel.

I felt so angry after watching so many videos by jawans on abuse with proof, hence the long posts on the topic.

Ya absolutely. no one can or shud defend this wretched system. first i thought may be these soldier abuse stories r fake stories created by leftists media. but the more i read, the more i got convinced; so many videos r posted by jawans on you tube.

how can they all lie abt it? this shud b ended if army wants to claim to be ethical. our own navy and air force don't have this crap.

brits had the old style batmen removed it after ww2; their current system luks like adc and that too for ceremonial (& flag officers) due to constant parades!

in US its more like our ADC system allotted only to very senior rank officers and not like washing, cooking or cleaning at homes of officers, actually it a big offense it seems.

regarding SF command, ya absolutely correct. below article by lt gen pc katoch

Special Forces – Combined Employment with Irregulars Author: Lieutenant General PC Katoch, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SC (Retd)@
separate SF regiment was scuttled and shut down by retd para officers lobby repeatedly; they once even threatened & forced the gen. sankar roy chaudhary (if i remember correctly) to shut it down which he did!!! this is shamefully a proven fact, believe it or not. now also, they r succeeding at it by including para as part of SOCOM. no wonder retd SF Veterans and senior members here on dfi scoff at our socom set up and other new sugestions! they can see thru it all.

we r such egoistic ppl that we need to show pomp at the cost of ethics! it needs to change it already causing extreme dissent among soldiers. y such wastage to maintain mess and y differentiate btw officers and jawans? off uniform all r equal na? also, so much dining ins and parties and stagnant get together all funded by regimental funds and not by govt where more elitist behaviour is practiced! recently there was complaints abt different qualities of alcohol for higher ranks and lower ranks among officers and then again lowered for JCOs and jawans; then more differentiation against service arms as even their spouses were treated in shitty manner which was reported in media like last yr. y do u need constant parties at peace stations? y spend military funds for it? if anybody needs to relax its those guys at the front; instead they r over pressured!

also y shud military provide servants for married officers in cants? how is that even a job of the army? like other wives y can't army wives handle it? against the wives r made to organize parties and fashion shows (jawans and young officers wives r forced to dance and cat walk)which leaves them with no time; if they r freed from the welfare non sense then they'll have enough time to do the household chores without needing much help which in turn will save money for the army. also, so many gadgets r available now, whats the point of "maids/help" any way?

if they want to save money they can easily do so by shutting down awwa & "welfare" menace, stop using soldiers for domestic work, cutting pomp, parties? But they won't since their wives r involved, these generals won't dare to put an end to it! then again hats off to bipin rawat for ending awwa work at field areas!

12arya · Feb 22, 2021

And read this...absolutely sickening!

Trial by ire
The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans
Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.
"Look at the length of this trial. Jawans have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years" - Major S.S. Pandey, Suman Kumar’s counsel
"What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they can't expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans to be afraid of the officer class" - Virbahadur Singh, Voice of Ex-servicemen
"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans
Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

It was a chilly morning at the Mahe field firing ranges in Nyoma area of Ladakh on May 10, 2012. A unit of the 226 Field Artillery Regiment, based in Durbuk area, had arrived with their howitzers for firing practice. It was supposed to be a serious affair: the troops had to be trained in warfare in high altitudes and chilly deserts like Ladakh. And, Nyoma was just 20 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border. But the practice was picnic time for some officers in the regiment.

In clear violation of Army rules, Col Prasad Kadam, the commanding officer of the unit, and four of his subordinates—Major Amit Tiwari, Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik—had arrived in Nyoma with their wives. They were staying at a government guest house near the training ground.

Sepoy Suman Kumar, a 21-year-old fresh recruit, was assigned as one of the ‘batmen', the Army lingo for orderlies assigned to commissioned officers as personal servants. “Suman was asked to provide hot bathing water to an officer’s wife in her room at the guest house when she was alone. That was the beginning of his sad story,” said Vijay Rajgeer, Suman’s brother-in-law.

As per recorded statements in a general court-martial, the wife of the officer showed Suman porn clips on her laptop on the morning of May 9. “And she asked him whether he was married,” Major S.S. Pandey, Kumar’s counsel, told THE WEEK.

Suman, who was to get engaged on his return to his village in Chhattisgarh, did not say anything in reply, and returned to his barracks nearby. When he went to the guest house again at 11am the following day, she allegedly tried to seduce him by standing topless in her room. He turned back and left again. At 12.40pm, he returned to switch off the kerosene heater in the officer’s room, as batmen were required to do. “That was when she made her move,” Suman later told the court-martial. “She asked me to come to bed, and threatened to complain to my boss and implicate me in a false charge if I didn’t. And then she hugged me tight.”

Suman Kumar, who was allegedly manhandled by officers in Nyoma.

When he refused to cooperate, she hurled abuses at him. He ran out and informed the junior commissioned officers of the incident, and pleaded with them to remove him as the batman to the officer concerned. “One of the subedars, Mahender Singh, has given a statement in the court-martial and in the court of inquiry that the jawan [Suman] had told him about the misbehaviour of the officer’s wife,” said Pandey.

But Suman got no help.

In fact, soon after he left the guest house and told the JCOs about the incident, Major S.K. Sharma, the second-in-command of the unit, summoned him and, without asking any question, punched him in the face. Sharma was reportedly joined by fellow officers Amit Tiwari, Kapil Malik and A.D. Kanade, who hit Suman in the presence of several jawans till he fell down unconscious. “I was present in the gun area when the whole incident happened,” said Naik Amresh Tiwari. “I saw Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik beating Suman Kumar and pouring water on him after taking off his clothes in the extreme cold of the open area.”

But, when Tiwari told the court of inquiry about the incident, doctors of the Army Medical Corps stationed at the 3 Division area in Ladakh, under which the unit fell, declared that his eyesight was weak. They said he could not have seen the alleged manhandling of Suman, as he was unable to see beyond 10 metres. Tiwari's statement was later dismissed by the court of inquiry headed by Brigadier Ajay Talwar, the deputy general officer commanding the 3 Division. Interestingly, within a month, the Army doctors declared that Tiwari’s eyesight was a perfect 6/6.

The sight of a bruised jawan lying unconscious and unattended fanned the flames of protest in Nyoma. It snowballed into a no-holds-barred brawl between officers and jawans. The incident was later termed as mutiny—the first by jawans against officers in the history of independent India.
“After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a number of Sikh soldiers revolted against the alleged atrocities on fellows Sikhs and against Operation Bluestar. But this [the Nyoma incident] was the first time in independent India that troops had risen against their officers,” said Virbahadur Singh of the NGO Voice of Ex-servicemen.

As news of the incident spread, jawans from around the area reportedly started rushing to the unit location. They found a badly injured Suman lying at a makeshift medical inspection room in the barracks. To cover up the assault, the officers had refused to admit him to the military hospital, said advocate Anand Kumar, who is fighting charges of mutiny against jawans in different parts of the country. “The trouble started when jawans saw that the whole chain of command had failed to help Suman,” said Pandey. “There was no effort to take him to a hospital. The sole aim of the officers was to hush up their own deeds.”

The officers sensed the mood of the troops in Nyoma and panicked. They, along with commanding officer Col Prasad Kadam, tried to flee the area in their official vehicles. It made the jawans even more belligerent. Fisticuffs ensued, but reportedly no weapons or ammunition were used. The Leh-based 14 Corps rushed in to quell the alleged fighting. When reports of the incident reached Delhi, the media termed it as mutiny. The Army, however, denied it, saying the “minor scuffle” could only be described as “an act of indiscipline”.
From THE WEEK archives: Everyday combat

Soon after the incident, Gen Bikram Singh took over as Army chief and the top leadership was asked to ensure that the Nyoma incident was not repeated. “The Army leadership decided to term the incident, which was a creation of a few officers of the unit, as a mutiny to ensure that the jawans were either court-martialled or shown their place in the force,” said Virbahadur Singh, who has been fighting to ensure justice for jawans accused of rebelling against officers.

Soon after Suman was admitted to the military hospital, he was forcibly discharged. Ajay Talwar allegedly told him that he would make sure that his Army career was finished and he was sent to jail.

From left: Major S.S. Pandey, Virbahadur Singh, Anand Kumar

Suman's trial went on for more than two years. His counsel did not get permission to cross-examine the wife of the officer. During the course of the trial, she made three different statements at various points of questioning. She alleged that Suman had tried to molest her when she was alone in her room and her husband was away on the training field.

Today, Suman is at the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu, where he is serving a sentence of seven years of rigorous imprisonment. “He was charged with attempt to molestation as an afterthought by the higher authorities in the division,” said Pandey. “They knew that the situation was getting out of control for them, as the higher-ups were cautious about their career advancement.”

He questioned the legality of the 3 Division nominating one of its officers to investigate the incident involving Suman. For the sake of probity and fairness, said Pandey, an external officer should have been appointed. “The division commander probably wanted to insulate himself from the charge of failure of command, as this would have hurt his career advancement prospects,” he said.

Lawyers of the jawans who have been accused of taking part in the alleged mutiny have termed the sentence given to Suman as grave injustice. “Can anyone explain the logic behind awarding seven years’ rigorous imprisonment to Suman, who not only was beaten up, but was also in a condition in which he was unable to even raise slogans against officers?” asked Pandey.

As many as 164 soldiers, including junior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, have been accused of participating in the alleged mutiny. They are facing charges ranging from gross indiscipline to molestation. Twenty-five of them have already been convicted and given jail terms from seven to ten years. The rest, who are attached to different locations in northern parts of the country, have been facing trials for the past three years. Legal proceedings against them are taking place in military cantonments in Akhnoor near Jammu and Chandimandir in Chandigarh.

Most of them have not been allowed to go on leave or even see their families. It seems the Army does not want anyone to argue on their behalf in military courts. Lawyers of the jawans say the Army has not provided them accommodation even in remote areas where trials are going on. Anand Kumar had to stay in a gurdwara for many days during the trial of a group of jawans in Jammu.

Even those jawans who had stayed away from the scene of trouble in Nyoma have been charged with indiscipline. Col Yogi Sheron, who was commanding officer of the unit before Col Prasad Kadam took charge, flew in to the area and picked up jawans who he suspected could have taken part in the brawl. “He picked up even those who were not present [at the site of the incident],” said Kumar. “These boys are facing [charges] today. Does the law permit a former commanding officer of a unit to involve himself in the inquiry or investigation [into a matter] that did not happen during his command?”

Sources said that 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. Apparently, the ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.
According to Kumar, the legal proceedings against the jawans have been marked by prejudice. He said soldiers who were tried in Chandigarh were publicly abused and intimidated to sign statements as per instructions given to them by superiors. When the audio clips of an officer abusing and threatening the jawans were produced before the general court-martial, the Army authorities refused to admit them as evidence of prejudice. Kumar said it clearly showed that the fate of the jawans had already been sealed, and that the proceedings were only a waste of time.

“Look at the length of this trial,” said Pandey. “Jawans are attached to different units, and they have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years.”

There is criticism that the trials have been farcical. “The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence,” said Kumar. “Instead, written statements of these officers have been provided in the summary of evidence, even though these officers are still serving and can be summoned at this stage. Even the wives [of the officers] who had earlier given statements in the court of inquiry have not been made available during the recording of evidence.”

The Army has shown a certain zeal in pursuing the case against the jawans. But, in the case of the five officers (Col Prasad Kadam and the four majors) who were reportedly the root cause of the incident, the harshest punishment that the Army could think of was a few years of loss of service, which could affect their promotion. And, some of the majors have even been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

“Kadam and the other officers will be promoted in a few years,” said Virbahadur Singh. “But what about the jawans who would spend the next seven to ten years in jail, as they are certain to get punished under the charges of mutiny. What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they cannot expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans of the future to be afraid of the officer class.”

Former Army officers, however, say one should not look at the Nyoma incident as a clash between officers and jawans, as both the classes are equally important parts of the Army that fight and work together in times of war and peace. “You have to understand the structure of the Army,” said Lt-Gen (retd) Rameshwar Roy, former commander of 16 Corps. “Officers are leaders of men in all the tasks assigned to the force, and this is how the tasks are done. Mutiny is the most serious offence, after cowardice, in the force. Collective insubordination can lead to serious consequences for the war-fighting capabilities of the force. Just imagine what it could mean for the country if 50 troops of a company tell the officer in a war situation that they have decided against fighting.”

The jawans and their families say that because of their poor knowledge of legal systems and hurdles, they were sent to different corners of the country to file cases in the armed forces tribunal to avoid media glare on the issue. “We were misguided by some officers who told us to go to Lucknow [to file cases],” said Rajgeer. “By the time we came to know that we could file the case in Delhi itself, it was very late.”

The Nyoma incident and several similar cases that followed have raised serious questions on the practice of assigning batmen to officers. Officers say batmen help them in their official work. But, in reality, batmen are relegated to household chores such as cleaning, cooking, serving food, gardening and washing and ironing uniforms of officers. “Go to any cantonment, and you can see batmen, who were recruited for combat duties, taking officers’ dogs for walks or standing outside schools of officers’ children with tiffin and vehicles to take them back,” said Virbahadur Singh.

Singh has written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar seeking justice for the “victims” of the Nyoma incident. “The Indian soldier of 2015 is not the soldier of the earlier era. He is educated, aware and armed with smartphones. He knows about his surroundings even if he is in the jungle. The officers have to accept this,” said a senior Army officer.

The divide between the officer and the jawan in the Army is now too stark to ignore. One could see the fissures at the sit-ins demanding ‘One Rank, One Pension’, organised by ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. That the officers and jawans were sitting in different tents was conspicuous.

The Nyoma incident has become a rallying point for jawans. “Why has no one raised questions in the court of inquiry as to what the ladies were doing in the training area illegally and who gave them the permission to do so?” asked Pandey. “The inquiry into the incident, [headed] by Brigadier Talwar, was not for fact-finding, but for fact-fixing.

Trial by ire

The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

www.theweek.in

FGFAPilot1 · Feb 22, 2021

Nothing happened to the lady who sexually harassed a jawan, just proves that women can get away with anything.

Also, thanks to @12arya, for letting us know of this horrible situation in the army. No one should be allowed to meddle in the personal affairs of army spouses (read: wives).

Also, the promotion system should be looked at, it involves a lot of boot licking and buttering and external factors which should not be even a distant concern for an army officer to get promotion.

samsaptaka · Feb 23, 2021

12arya said:
And read this...absolutely sickening!

Trial by ire
The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans

Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

"Look at the length of this trial. Jawans have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years" - Major S.S. Pandey, Suman Kumar’s counsel

"What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they can't expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans to be afraid of the officer class" - Virbahadur Singh, Voice of Ex-servicemen

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans

Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

It was a chilly morning at the Mahe field firing ranges in Nyoma area of Ladakh on May 10, 2012. A unit of the 226 Field Artillery Regiment, based in Durbuk area, had arrived with their howitzers for firing practice. It was supposed to be a serious affair: the troops had to be trained in warfare in high altitudes and chilly deserts like Ladakh. And, Nyoma was just 20 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border. But the practice was picnic time for some officers in the regiment.

In clear violation of Army rules, Col Prasad Kadam, the commanding officer of the unit, and four of his subordinates—Major Amit Tiwari, Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik—had arrived in Nyoma with their wives. They were staying at a government guest house near the training ground.

Sepoy Suman Kumar, a 21-year-old fresh recruit, was assigned as one of the ‘batmen', the Army lingo for orderlies assigned to commissioned officers as personal servants. “Suman was asked to provide hot bathing water to an officer’s wife in her room at the guest house when she was alone. That was the beginning of his sad story,” said Vijay Rajgeer, Suman’s brother-in-law.

As per recorded statements in a general court-martial, the wife of the officer showed Suman porn clips on her laptop on the morning of May 9. “And she asked him whether he was married,” Major S.S. Pandey, Kumar’s counsel, told THE WEEK.

Suman, who was to get engaged on his return to his village in Chhattisgarh, did not say anything in reply, and returned to his barracks nearby. When he went to the guest house again at 11am the following day, she allegedly tried to seduce him by standing topless in her room. He turned back and left again. At 12.40pm, he returned to switch off the kerosene heater in the officer’s room, as batmen were required to do. “That was when she made her move,” Suman later told the court-martial. “She asked me to come to bed, and threatened to complain to my boss and implicate me in a false charge if I didn’t. And then she hugged me tight.”

Suman Kumar, who was allegedly manhandled by officers in Nyoma.

When he refused to cooperate, she hurled abuses at him. He ran out and informed the junior commissioned officers of the incident, and pleaded with them to remove him as the batman to the officer concerned. “One of the subedars, Mahender Singh, has given a statement in the court-martial and in the court of inquiry that the jawan [Suman] had told him about the misbehaviour of the officer’s wife,” said Pandey.

But Suman got no help.

In fact, soon after he left the guest house and told the JCOs about the incident, Major S.K. Sharma, the second-in-command of the unit, summoned him and, without asking any question, punched him in the face. Sharma was reportedly joined by fellow officers Amit Tiwari, Kapil Malik and A.D. Kanade, who hit Suman in the presence of several jawans till he fell down unconscious. “I was present in the gun area when the whole incident happened,” said Naik Amresh Tiwari. “I saw Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik beating Suman Kumar and pouring water on him after taking off his clothes in the extreme cold of the open area.”

But, when Tiwari told the court of inquiry about the incident, doctors of the Army Medical Corps stationed at the 3 Division area in Ladakh, under which the unit fell, declared that his eyesight was weak. They said he could not have seen the alleged manhandling of Suman, as he was unable to see beyond 10 metres. Tiwari's statement was later dismissed by the court of inquiry headed by Brigadier Ajay Talwar, the deputy general officer commanding the 3 Division. Interestingly, within a month, the Army doctors declared that Tiwari’s eyesight was a perfect 6/6.

The sight of a bruised jawan lying unconscious and unattended fanned the flames of protest in Nyoma. It snowballed into a no-holds-barred brawl between officers and jawans. The incident was later termed as mutiny—the first by jawans against officers in the history of independent India.
“After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a number of Sikh soldiers revolted against the alleged atrocities on fellows Sikhs and against Operation Bluestar. But this [the Nyoma incident] was the first time in independent India that troops had risen against their officers,” said Virbahadur Singh of the NGO Voice of Ex-servicemen.

As news of the incident spread, jawans from around the area reportedly started rushing to the unit location. They found a badly injured Suman lying at a makeshift medical inspection room in the barracks. To cover up the assault, the officers had refused to admit him to the military hospital, said advocate Anand Kumar, who is fighting charges of mutiny against jawans in different parts of the country. “The trouble started when jawans saw that the whole chain of command had failed to help Suman,” said Pandey. “There was no effort to take him to a hospital. The sole aim of the officers was to hush up their own deeds.”

The officers sensed the mood of the troops in Nyoma and panicked. They, along with commanding officer Col Prasad Kadam, tried to flee the area in their official vehicles. It made the jawans even more belligerent. Fisticuffs ensued, but reportedly no weapons or ammunition were used. The Leh-based 14 Corps rushed in to quell the alleged fighting. When reports of the incident reached Delhi, the media termed it as mutiny. The Army, however, denied it, saying the “minor scuffle” could only be described as “an act of indiscipline”.
From THE WEEK archives: Everyday combat

Soon after the incident, Gen Bikram Singh took over as Army chief and the top leadership was asked to ensure that the Nyoma incident was not repeated. “The Army leadership decided to term the incident, which was a creation of a few officers of the unit, as a mutiny to ensure that the jawans were either court-martialled or shown their place in the force,” said Virbahadur Singh, who has been fighting to ensure justice for jawans accused of rebelling against officers.

Soon after Suman was admitted to the military hospital, he was forcibly discharged. Ajay Talwar allegedly told him that he would make sure that his Army career was finished and he was sent to jail.

From left: Major S.S. Pandey, Virbahadur Singh, Anand Kumar

Suman's trial went on for more than two years. His counsel did not get permission to cross-examine the wife of the officer. During the course of the trial, she made three different statements at various points of questioning. She alleged that Suman had tried to molest her when she was alone in her room and her husband was away on the training field.

Today, Suman is at the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu, where he is serving a sentence of seven years of rigorous imprisonment. “He was charged with attempt to molestation as an afterthought by the higher authorities in the division,” said Pandey. “They knew that the situation was getting out of control for them, as the higher-ups were cautious about their career advancement.”

He questioned the legality of the 3 Division nominating one of its officers to investigate the incident involving Suman. For the sake of probity and fairness, said Pandey, an external officer should have been appointed. “The division commander probably wanted to insulate himself from the charge of failure of command, as this would have hurt his career advancement prospects,” he said.

Lawyers of the jawans who have been accused of taking part in the alleged mutiny have termed the sentence given to Suman as grave injustice. “Can anyone explain the logic behind awarding seven years’ rigorous imprisonment to Suman, who not only was beaten up, but was also in a condition in which he was unable to even raise slogans against officers?” asked Pandey.

As many as 164 soldiers, including junior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, have been accused of participating in the alleged mutiny. They are facing charges ranging from gross indiscipline to molestation. Twenty-five of them have already been convicted and given jail terms from seven to ten years. The rest, who are attached to different locations in northern parts of the country, have been facing trials for the past three years. Legal proceedings against them are taking place in military cantonments in Akhnoor near Jammu and Chandimandir in Chandigarh.

Most of them have not been allowed to go on leave or even see their families. It seems the Army does not want anyone to argue on their behalf in military courts. Lawyers of the jawans say the Army has not provided them accommodation even in remote areas where trials are going on. Anand Kumar had to stay in a gurdwara for many days during the trial of a group of jawans in Jammu.

Even those jawans who had stayed away from the scene of trouble in Nyoma have been charged with indiscipline. Col Yogi Sheron, who was commanding officer of the unit before Col Prasad Kadam took charge, flew in to the area and picked up jawans who he suspected could have taken part in the brawl. “He picked up even those who were not present [at the site of the incident],” said Kumar. “These boys are facing [charges] today. Does the law permit a former commanding officer of a unit to involve himself in the inquiry or investigation [into a matter] that did not happen during his command?”

Sources said that 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. Apparently, the ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.
According to Kumar, the legal proceedings against the jawans have been marked by prejudice. He said soldiers who were tried in Chandigarh were publicly abused and intimidated to sign statements as per instructions given to them by superiors. When the audio clips of an officer abusing and threatening the jawans were produced before the general court-martial, the Army authorities refused to admit them as evidence of prejudice. Kumar said it clearly showed that the fate of the jawans had already been sealed, and that the proceedings were only a waste of time.

“Look at the length of this trial,” said Pandey. “Jawans are attached to different units, and they have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years.”

There is criticism that the trials have been farcical. “The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence,” said Kumar. “Instead, written statements of these officers have been provided in the summary of evidence, even though these officers are still serving and can be summoned at this stage. Even the wives [of the officers] who had earlier given statements in the court of inquiry have not been made available during the recording of evidence.”

The Army has shown a certain zeal in pursuing the case against the jawans. But, in the case of the five officers (Col Prasad Kadam and the four majors) who were reportedly the root cause of the incident, the harshest punishment that the Army could think of was a few years of loss of service, which could affect their promotion. And, some of the majors have even been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

“Kadam and the other officers will be promoted in a few years,” said Virbahadur Singh. “But what about the jawans who would spend the next seven to ten years in jail, as they are certain to get punished under the charges of mutiny. What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they cannot expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans of the future to be afraid of the officer class.”

Former Army officers, however, say one should not look at the Nyoma incident as a clash between officers and jawans, as both the classes are equally important parts of the Army that fight and work together in times of war and peace. “You have to understand the structure of the Army,” said Lt-Gen (retd) Rameshwar Roy, former commander of 16 Corps. “Officers are leaders of men in all the tasks assigned to the force, and this is how the tasks are done. Mutiny is the most serious offence, after cowardice, in the force. Collective insubordination can lead to serious consequences for the war-fighting capabilities of the force. Just imagine what it could mean for the country if 50 troops of a company tell the officer in a war situation that they have decided against fighting.”

The jawans and their families say that because of their poor knowledge of legal systems and hurdles, they were sent to different corners of the country to file cases in the armed forces tribunal to avoid media glare on the issue. “We were misguided by some officers who told us to go to Lucknow [to file cases],” said Rajgeer. “By the time we came to know that we could file the case in Delhi itself, it was very late.”

The Nyoma incident and several similar cases that followed have raised serious questions on the practice of assigning batmen to officers. Officers say batmen help them in their official work. But, in reality, batmen are relegated to household chores such as cleaning, cooking, serving food, gardening and washing and ironing uniforms of officers. “Go to any cantonment, and you can see batmen, who were recruited for combat duties, taking officers’ dogs for walks or standing outside schools of officers’ children with tiffin and vehicles to take them back,” said Virbahadur Singh.

Singh has written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar seeking justice for the “victims” of the Nyoma incident. “The Indian soldier of 2015 is not the soldier of the earlier era. He is educated, aware and armed with smartphones. He knows about his surroundings even if he is in the jungle. The officers have to accept this,” said a senior Army officer.

The divide between the officer and the jawan in the Army is now too stark to ignore. One could see the fissures at the sit-ins demanding ‘One Rank, One Pension’, organised by ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. That the officers and jawans were sitting in different tents was conspicuous.

The Nyoma incident has become a rallying point for jawans. “Why has no one raised questions in the court of inquiry as to what the ladies were doing in the training area illegally and who gave them the permission to do so?” asked Pandey. “The inquiry into the incident, [headed] by Brigadier Talwar, was not for fact-finding, but for fact-fixing.

Trial by ire

The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

www.theweek.in

What a shame !

samsaptaka · Feb 23, 2021

12arya said:
And read this...absolutely sickening!

Trial by ire
The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans

Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

"Look at the length of this trial. Jawans have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years" - Major S.S. Pandey, Suman Kumar’s counsel

"What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they can't expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans to be afraid of the officer class" - Virbahadur Singh, Voice of Ex-servicemen

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans

Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

It was a chilly morning at the Mahe field firing ranges in Nyoma area of Ladakh on May 10, 2012. A unit of the 226 Field Artillery Regiment, based in Durbuk area, had arrived with their howitzers for firing practice. It was supposed to be a serious affair: the troops had to be trained in warfare in high altitudes and chilly deserts like Ladakh. And, Nyoma was just 20 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border. But the practice was picnic time for some officers in the regiment.

In clear violation of Army rules, Col Prasad Kadam, the commanding officer of the unit, and four of his subordinates—Major Amit Tiwari, Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik—had arrived in Nyoma with their wives. They were staying at a government guest house near the training ground.

Sepoy Suman Kumar, a 21-year-old fresh recruit, was assigned as one of the ‘batmen', the Army lingo for orderlies assigned to commissioned officers as personal servants. “Suman was asked to provide hot bathing water to an officer’s wife in her room at the guest house when she was alone. That was the beginning of his sad story,” said Vijay Rajgeer, Suman’s brother-in-law.

As per recorded statements in a general court-martial, the wife of the officer showed Suman porn clips on her laptop on the morning of May 9. “And she asked him whether he was married,” Major S.S. Pandey, Kumar’s counsel, told THE WEEK.

Suman, who was to get engaged on his return to his village in Chhattisgarh, did not say anything in reply, and returned to his barracks nearby. When he went to the guest house again at 11am the following day, she allegedly tried to seduce him by standing topless in her room. He turned back and left again. At 12.40pm, he returned to switch off the kerosene heater in the officer’s room, as batmen were required to do. “That was when she made her move,” Suman later told the court-martial. “She asked me to come to bed, and threatened to complain to my boss and implicate me in a false charge if I didn’t. And then she hugged me tight.”

Suman Kumar, who was allegedly manhandled by officers in Nyoma.

When he refused to cooperate, she hurled abuses at him. He ran out and informed the junior commissioned officers of the incident, and pleaded with them to remove him as the batman to the officer concerned. “One of the subedars, Mahender Singh, has given a statement in the court-martial and in the court of inquiry that the jawan [Suman] had told him about the misbehaviour of the officer’s wife,” said Pandey.

But Suman got no help.

In fact, soon after he left the guest house and told the JCOs about the incident, Major S.K. Sharma, the second-in-command of the unit, summoned him and, without asking any question, punched him in the face. Sharma was reportedly joined by fellow officers Amit Tiwari, Kapil Malik and A.D. Kanade, who hit Suman in the presence of several jawans till he fell down unconscious. “I was present in the gun area when the whole incident happened,” said Naik Amresh Tiwari. “I saw Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik beating Suman Kumar and pouring water on him after taking off his clothes in the extreme cold of the open area.”

But, when Tiwari told the court of inquiry about the incident, doctors of the Army Medical Corps stationed at the 3 Division area in Ladakh, under which the unit fell, declared that his eyesight was weak. They said he could not have seen the alleged manhandling of Suman, as he was unable to see beyond 10 metres. Tiwari's statement was later dismissed by the court of inquiry headed by Brigadier Ajay Talwar, the deputy general officer commanding the 3 Division. Interestingly, within a month, the Army doctors declared that Tiwari’s eyesight was a perfect 6/6.

The sight of a bruised jawan lying unconscious and unattended fanned the flames of protest in Nyoma. It snowballed into a no-holds-barred brawl between officers and jawans. The incident was later termed as mutiny—the first by jawans against officers in the history of independent India.
“After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a number of Sikh soldiers revolted against the alleged atrocities on fellows Sikhs and against Operation Bluestar. But this [the Nyoma incident] was the first time in independent India that troops had risen against their officers,” said Virbahadur Singh of the NGO Voice of Ex-servicemen.

As news of the incident spread, jawans from around the area reportedly started rushing to the unit location. They found a badly injured Suman lying at a makeshift medical inspection room in the barracks. To cover up the assault, the officers had refused to admit him to the military hospital, said advocate Anand Kumar, who is fighting charges of mutiny against jawans in different parts of the country. “The trouble started when jawans saw that the whole chain of command had failed to help Suman,” said Pandey. “There was no effort to take him to a hospital. The sole aim of the officers was to hush up their own deeds.”

The officers sensed the mood of the troops in Nyoma and panicked. They, along with commanding officer Col Prasad Kadam, tried to flee the area in their official vehicles. It made the jawans even more belligerent. Fisticuffs ensued, but reportedly no weapons or ammunition were used. The Leh-based 14 Corps rushed in to quell the alleged fighting. When reports of the incident reached Delhi, the media termed it as mutiny. The Army, however, denied it, saying the “minor scuffle” could only be described as “an act of indiscipline”.
From THE WEEK archives: Everyday combat

Soon after the incident, Gen Bikram Singh took over as Army chief and the top leadership was asked to ensure that the Nyoma incident was not repeated. “The Army leadership decided to term the incident, which was a creation of a few officers of the unit, as a mutiny to ensure that the jawans were either court-martialled or shown their place in the force,” said Virbahadur Singh, who has been fighting to ensure justice for jawans accused of rebelling against officers.

Soon after Suman was admitted to the military hospital, he was forcibly discharged. Ajay Talwar allegedly told him that he would make sure that his Army career was finished and he was sent to jail.

From left: Major S.S. Pandey, Virbahadur Singh, Anand Kumar

Suman's trial went on for more than two years. His counsel did not get permission to cross-examine the wife of the officer. During the course of the trial, she made three different statements at various points of questioning. She alleged that Suman had tried to molest her when she was alone in her room and her husband was away on the training field.

Today, Suman is at the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu, where he is serving a sentence of seven years of rigorous imprisonment. “He was charged with attempt to molestation as an afterthought by the higher authorities in the division,” said Pandey. “They knew that the situation was getting out of control for them, as the higher-ups were cautious about their career advancement.”

He questioned the legality of the 3 Division nominating one of its officers to investigate the incident involving Suman. For the sake of probity and fairness, said Pandey, an external officer should have been appointed. “The division commander probably wanted to insulate himself from the charge of failure of command, as this would have hurt his career advancement prospects,” he said.

Lawyers of the jawans who have been accused of taking part in the alleged mutiny have termed the sentence given to Suman as grave injustice. “Can anyone explain the logic behind awarding seven years’ rigorous imprisonment to Suman, who not only was beaten up, but was also in a condition in which he was unable to even raise slogans against officers?” asked Pandey.

As many as 164 soldiers, including junior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, have been accused of participating in the alleged mutiny. They are facing charges ranging from gross indiscipline to molestation. Twenty-five of them have already been convicted and given jail terms from seven to ten years. The rest, who are attached to different locations in northern parts of the country, have been facing trials for the past three years. Legal proceedings against them are taking place in military cantonments in Akhnoor near Jammu and Chandimandir in Chandigarh.

Most of them have not been allowed to go on leave or even see their families. It seems the Army does not want anyone to argue on their behalf in military courts. Lawyers of the jawans say the Army has not provided them accommodation even in remote areas where trials are going on. Anand Kumar had to stay in a gurdwara for many days during the trial of a group of jawans in Jammu.

Even those jawans who had stayed away from the scene of trouble in Nyoma have been charged with indiscipline. Col Yogi Sheron, who was commanding officer of the unit before Col Prasad Kadam took charge, flew in to the area and picked up jawans who he suspected could have taken part in the brawl. “He picked up even those who were not present [at the site of the incident],” said Kumar. “These boys are facing [charges] today. Does the law permit a former commanding officer of a unit to involve himself in the inquiry or investigation [into a matter] that did not happen during his command?”

Sources said that 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. Apparently, the ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.
According to Kumar, the legal proceedings against the jawans have been marked by prejudice. He said soldiers who were tried in Chandigarh were publicly abused and intimidated to sign statements as per instructions given to them by superiors. When the audio clips of an officer abusing and threatening the jawans were produced before the general court-martial, the Army authorities refused to admit them as evidence of prejudice. Kumar said it clearly showed that the fate of the jawans had already been sealed, and that the proceedings were only a waste of time.

“Look at the length of this trial,” said Pandey. “Jawans are attached to different units, and they have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years.”

There is criticism that the trials have been farcical. “The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence,” said Kumar. “Instead, written statements of these officers have been provided in the summary of evidence, even though these officers are still serving and can be summoned at this stage. Even the wives [of the officers] who had earlier given statements in the court of inquiry have not been made available during the recording of evidence.”

The Army has shown a certain zeal in pursuing the case against the jawans. But, in the case of the five officers (Col Prasad Kadam and the four majors) who were reportedly the root cause of the incident, the harshest punishment that the Army could think of was a few years of loss of service, which could affect their promotion. And, some of the majors have even been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

“Kadam and the other officers will be promoted in a few years,” said Virbahadur Singh. “But what about the jawans who would spend the next seven to ten years in jail, as they are certain to get punished under the charges of mutiny. What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they cannot expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans of the future to be afraid of the officer class.”

Former Army officers, however, say one should not look at the Nyoma incident as a clash between officers and jawans, as both the classes are equally important parts of the Army that fight and work together in times of war and peace. “You have to understand the structure of the Army,” said Lt-Gen (retd) Rameshwar Roy, former commander of 16 Corps. “Officers are leaders of men in all the tasks assigned to the force, and this is how the tasks are done. Mutiny is the most serious offence, after cowardice, in the force. Collective insubordination can lead to serious consequences for the war-fighting capabilities of the force. Just imagine what it could mean for the country if 50 troops of a company tell the officer in a war situation that they have decided against fighting.”

The jawans and their families say that because of their poor knowledge of legal systems and hurdles, they were sent to different corners of the country to file cases in the armed forces tribunal to avoid media glare on the issue. “We were misguided by some officers who told us to go to Lucknow [to file cases],” said Rajgeer. “By the time we came to know that we could file the case in Delhi itself, it was very late.”

The Nyoma incident and several similar cases that followed have raised serious questions on the practice of assigning batmen to officers. Officers say batmen help them in their official work. But, in reality, batmen are relegated to household chores such as cleaning, cooking, serving food, gardening and washing and ironing uniforms of officers. “Go to any cantonment, and you can see batmen, who were recruited for combat duties, taking officers’ dogs for walks or standing outside schools of officers’ children with tiffin and vehicles to take them back,” said Virbahadur Singh.

Singh has written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar seeking justice for the “victims” of the Nyoma incident. “The Indian soldier of 2015 is not the soldier of the earlier era. He is educated, aware and armed with smartphones. He knows about his surroundings even if he is in the jungle. The officers have to accept this,” said a senior Army officer.

The divide between the officer and the jawan in the Army is now too stark to ignore. One could see the fissures at the sit-ins demanding ‘One Rank, One Pension’, organised by ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. That the officers and jawans were sitting in different tents was conspicuous.

The Nyoma incident has become a rallying point for jawans. “Why has no one raised questions in the court of inquiry as to what the ladies were doing in the training area illegally and who gave them the permission to do so?” asked Pandey. “The inquiry into the incident, [headed] by Brigadier Talwar, was not for fact-finding, but for fact-fixing.

Trial by ire

The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

www.theweek.in

@Hellfire your thoughts on this, is there another side to this story ? (I take news published from leftist rags with a bunch of salt)

FalconSlayers · Feb 23, 2021

12arya said:
And read this...absolutely sickening!

Trial by ire
The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans

Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

"Look at the length of this trial. Jawans have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years" - Major S.S. Pandey, Suman Kumar’s counsel

"What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they can't expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans to be afraid of the officer class" - Virbahadur Singh, Voice of Ex-servicemen

"The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence"- Anand Kumar, counsel for accused jawans

Sources said 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. The ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.

It was a chilly morning at the Mahe field firing ranges in Nyoma area of Ladakh on May 10, 2012. A unit of the 226 Field Artillery Regiment, based in Durbuk area, had arrived with their howitzers for firing practice. It was supposed to be a serious affair: the troops had to be trained in warfare in high altitudes and chilly deserts like Ladakh. And, Nyoma was just 20 kilometres from the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border. But the practice was picnic time for some officers in the regiment.

In clear violation of Army rules, Col Prasad Kadam, the commanding officer of the unit, and four of his subordinates—Major Amit Tiwari, Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik—had arrived in Nyoma with their wives. They were staying at a government guest house near the training ground.

Sepoy Suman Kumar, a 21-year-old fresh recruit, was assigned as one of the ‘batmen', the Army lingo for orderlies assigned to commissioned officers as personal servants. “Suman was asked to provide hot bathing water to an officer’s wife in her room at the guest house when she was alone. That was the beginning of his sad story,” said Vijay Rajgeer, Suman’s brother-in-law.

As per recorded statements in a general court-martial, the wife of the officer showed Suman porn clips on her laptop on the morning of May 9. “And she asked him whether he was married,” Major S.S. Pandey, Kumar’s counsel, told THE WEEK.

Suman, who was to get engaged on his return to his village in Chhattisgarh, did not say anything in reply, and returned to his barracks nearby. When he went to the guest house again at 11am the following day, she allegedly tried to seduce him by standing topless in her room. He turned back and left again. At 12.40pm, he returned to switch off the kerosene heater in the officer’s room, as batmen were required to do. “That was when she made her move,” Suman later told the court-martial. “She asked me to come to bed, and threatened to complain to my boss and implicate me in a false charge if I didn’t. And then she hugged me tight.”

Suman Kumar, who was allegedly manhandled by officers in Nyoma.

When he refused to cooperate, she hurled abuses at him. He ran out and informed the junior commissioned officers of the incident, and pleaded with them to remove him as the batman to the officer concerned. “One of the subedars, Mahender Singh, has given a statement in the court-martial and in the court of inquiry that the jawan [Suman] had told him about the misbehaviour of the officer’s wife,” said Pandey.

But Suman got no help.

In fact, soon after he left the guest house and told the JCOs about the incident, Major S.K. Sharma, the second-in-command of the unit, summoned him and, without asking any question, punched him in the face. Sharma was reportedly joined by fellow officers Amit Tiwari, Kapil Malik and A.D. Kanade, who hit Suman in the presence of several jawans till he fell down unconscious. “I was present in the gun area when the whole incident happened,” said Naik Amresh Tiwari. “I saw Major S.K. Sharma, Major A.D. Kanade and Major Kapil Malik beating Suman Kumar and pouring water on him after taking off his clothes in the extreme cold of the open area.”

But, when Tiwari told the court of inquiry about the incident, doctors of the Army Medical Corps stationed at the 3 Division area in Ladakh, under which the unit fell, declared that his eyesight was weak. They said he could not have seen the alleged manhandling of Suman, as he was unable to see beyond 10 metres. Tiwari's statement was later dismissed by the court of inquiry headed by Brigadier Ajay Talwar, the deputy general officer commanding the 3 Division. Interestingly, within a month, the Army doctors declared that Tiwari’s eyesight was a perfect 6/6.

The sight of a bruised jawan lying unconscious and unattended fanned the flames of protest in Nyoma. It snowballed into a no-holds-barred brawl between officers and jawans. The incident was later termed as mutiny—the first by jawans against officers in the history of independent India.
“After the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a number of Sikh soldiers revolted against the alleged atrocities on fellows Sikhs and against Operation Bluestar. But this [the Nyoma incident] was the first time in independent India that troops had risen against their officers,” said Virbahadur Singh of the NGO Voice of Ex-servicemen.

As news of the incident spread, jawans from around the area reportedly started rushing to the unit location. They found a badly injured Suman lying at a makeshift medical inspection room in the barracks. To cover up the assault, the officers had refused to admit him to the military hospital, said advocate Anand Kumar, who is fighting charges of mutiny against jawans in different parts of the country. “The trouble started when jawans saw that the whole chain of command had failed to help Suman,” said Pandey. “There was no effort to take him to a hospital. The sole aim of the officers was to hush up their own deeds.”

The officers sensed the mood of the troops in Nyoma and panicked. They, along with commanding officer Col Prasad Kadam, tried to flee the area in their official vehicles. It made the jawans even more belligerent. Fisticuffs ensued, but reportedly no weapons or ammunition were used. The Leh-based 14 Corps rushed in to quell the alleged fighting. When reports of the incident reached Delhi, the media termed it as mutiny. The Army, however, denied it, saying the “minor scuffle” could only be described as “an act of indiscipline”.
From THE WEEK archives: Everyday combat

Soon after the incident, Gen Bikram Singh took over as Army chief and the top leadership was asked to ensure that the Nyoma incident was not repeated. “The Army leadership decided to term the incident, which was a creation of a few officers of the unit, as a mutiny to ensure that the jawans were either court-martialled or shown their place in the force,” said Virbahadur Singh, who has been fighting to ensure justice for jawans accused of rebelling against officers.

Soon after Suman was admitted to the military hospital, he was forcibly discharged. Ajay Talwar allegedly told him that he would make sure that his Army career was finished and he was sent to jail.

From left: Major S.S. Pandey, Virbahadur Singh, Anand Kumar

Suman's trial went on for more than two years. His counsel did not get permission to cross-examine the wife of the officer. During the course of the trial, she made three different statements at various points of questioning. She alleged that Suman had tried to molest her when she was alone in her room and her husband was away on the training field.

Today, Suman is at the Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu, where he is serving a sentence of seven years of rigorous imprisonment. “He was charged with attempt to molestation as an afterthought by the higher authorities in the division,” said Pandey. “They knew that the situation was getting out of control for them, as the higher-ups were cautious about their career advancement.”

He questioned the legality of the 3 Division nominating one of its officers to investigate the incident involving Suman. For the sake of probity and fairness, said Pandey, an external officer should have been appointed. “The division commander probably wanted to insulate himself from the charge of failure of command, as this would have hurt his career advancement prospects,” he said.

Lawyers of the jawans who have been accused of taking part in the alleged mutiny have termed the sentence given to Suman as grave injustice. “Can anyone explain the logic behind awarding seven years’ rigorous imprisonment to Suman, who not only was beaten up, but was also in a condition in which he was unable to even raise slogans against officers?” asked Pandey.

As many as 164 soldiers, including junior commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, have been accused of participating in the alleged mutiny. They are facing charges ranging from gross indiscipline to molestation. Twenty-five of them have already been convicted and given jail terms from seven to ten years. The rest, who are attached to different locations in northern parts of the country, have been facing trials for the past three years. Legal proceedings against them are taking place in military cantonments in Akhnoor near Jammu and Chandimandir in Chandigarh.

Most of them have not been allowed to go on leave or even see their families. It seems the Army does not want anyone to argue on their behalf in military courts. Lawyers of the jawans say the Army has not provided them accommodation even in remote areas where trials are going on. Anand Kumar had to stay in a gurdwara for many days during the trial of a group of jawans in Jammu.

Even those jawans who had stayed away from the scene of trouble in Nyoma have been charged with indiscipline. Col Yogi Sheron, who was commanding officer of the unit before Col Prasad Kadam took charge, flew in to the area and picked up jawans who he suspected could have taken part in the brawl. “He picked up even those who were not present [at the site of the incident],” said Kumar. “These boys are facing [charges] today. Does the law permit a former commanding officer of a unit to involve himself in the inquiry or investigation [into a matter] that did not happen during his command?”

Sources said that 119 jawans accused in the incident are close to being punished. Apparently, the ‘summary of evidence’ against them is nearing completion and they could soon be recommended for court-martial.
According to Kumar, the legal proceedings against the jawans have been marked by prejudice. He said soldiers who were tried in Chandigarh were publicly abused and intimidated to sign statements as per instructions given to them by superiors. When the audio clips of an officer abusing and threatening the jawans were produced before the general court-martial, the Army authorities refused to admit them as evidence of prejudice. Kumar said it clearly showed that the fate of the jawans had already been sealed, and that the proceedings were only a waste of time.

“Look at the length of this trial,” said Pandey. “Jawans are attached to different units, and they have been waiting for more than three years for their cases to be completed. It seems that the wait will continue for many more years.”

There is criticism that the trials have been farcical. “The officers involved in the incident have not been made available for the recording of evidence, so as to enable the jawans to cross-examine them and prove their innocence,” said Kumar. “Instead, written statements of these officers have been provided in the summary of evidence, even though these officers are still serving and can be summoned at this stage. Even the wives [of the officers] who had earlier given statements in the court of inquiry have not been made available during the recording of evidence.”

The Army has shown a certain zeal in pursuing the case against the jawans. But, in the case of the five officers (Col Prasad Kadam and the four majors) who were reportedly the root cause of the incident, the harshest punishment that the Army could think of was a few years of loss of service, which could affect their promotion. And, some of the majors have even been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

“Kadam and the other officers will be promoted in a few years,” said Virbahadur Singh. “But what about the jawans who would spend the next seven to ten years in jail, as they are certain to get punished under the charges of mutiny. What is the example we are going to set for our troops? That they cannot expect justice? It’s a class war between officers and jawans. [It tells] the jawans of the future to be afraid of the officer class.”

Former Army officers, however, say one should not look at the Nyoma incident as a clash between officers and jawans, as both the classes are equally important parts of the Army that fight and work together in times of war and peace. “You have to understand the structure of the Army,” said Lt-Gen (retd) Rameshwar Roy, former commander of 16 Corps. “Officers are leaders of men in all the tasks assigned to the force, and this is how the tasks are done. Mutiny is the most serious offence, after cowardice, in the force. Collective insubordination can lead to serious consequences for the war-fighting capabilities of the force. Just imagine what it could mean for the country if 50 troops of a company tell the officer in a war situation that they have decided against fighting.”

The jawans and their families say that because of their poor knowledge of legal systems and hurdles, they were sent to different corners of the country to file cases in the armed forces tribunal to avoid media glare on the issue. “We were misguided by some officers who told us to go to Lucknow [to file cases],” said Rajgeer. “By the time we came to know that we could file the case in Delhi itself, it was very late.”

The Nyoma incident and several similar cases that followed have raised serious questions on the practice of assigning batmen to officers. Officers say batmen help them in their official work. But, in reality, batmen are relegated to household chores such as cleaning, cooking, serving food, gardening and washing and ironing uniforms of officers. “Go to any cantonment, and you can see batmen, who were recruited for combat duties, taking officers’ dogs for walks or standing outside schools of officers’ children with tiffin and vehicles to take them back,” said Virbahadur Singh.

Singh has written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar seeking justice for the “victims” of the Nyoma incident. “The Indian soldier of 2015 is not the soldier of the earlier era. He is educated, aware and armed with smartphones. He knows about his surroundings even if he is in the jungle. The officers have to accept this,” said a senior Army officer.

The divide between the officer and the jawan in the Army is now too stark to ignore. One could see the fissures at the sit-ins demanding ‘One Rank, One Pension’, organised by ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. That the officers and jawans were sitting in different tents was conspicuous.

The Nyoma incident has become a rallying point for jawans. “Why has no one raised questions in the court of inquiry as to what the ladies were doing in the training area illegally and who gave them the permission to do so?” asked Pandey. “The inquiry into the incident, [headed] by Brigadier Talwar, was not for fact-finding, but for fact-fixing.

Trial by ire

The inquiry into the Nyoma ‘mutiny’, believed to be the biggest in the history of troops in independent India, is dragging on. And, it points to the widening rift between officers and jawans in the Army

www.theweek.in

Sometimes I feel we overhype Indian Army as professional, disciplined etc, but then Fake encounters, Rapes, Molestations, Colonial era Batmen practices and regiments made up on castes and mass suicides, what tf is this? I used to get angry at ekta kapoor’s web series where she showed the wife of an army officer having an extra marital affair but this seems to be real life. I am ashamed of hearing all this, why don’t I hear such news from other countries? This is disgusting.

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Indian Army: News and Discussion

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