A matter of dishonour

Philip Mason, who immortalised the glorious traditions of the Indian army and the inner source of its tremendous strength in his famous book...

Philip Mason, who immortalised the glorious traditions of the Indian army and the inner source of its tremendous strength in his famous book A Matter of Honour, would have recoiled upon learning about senior officers of one of the finest regiments of one of the most professional armies of the world faking enemy casualties in battles that never existed.

They ostensibly did this to improve their regimental performance — even if in reality for personal gain and glory built on deceit and dishonour.

This is a crime against the fair name and centuries-old traditions of the Indian army that has acquitted itself with great courage and glory, time and again, in some of the most difficult circumstances in peace and war.

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The Indian army’s noble traditions and selfless sacrifices have been the stuff of legend; and it cannot afford the type of conduct and failures visible in this episode.

This sustained record has been possible only with a leadership that can proudly claim the highest standards of personal example, integrity and courage, not to talk of loyalty to the oath and honour of the regiment.

Such an army can only be defeated from within, if at all.

That is the import of the incidents at Siachen that have come to light. Besides taking action in this specific case, the army must inquire into the phenomenon that has led some senior officers to resort to such conduct.

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Is our reward and punishment system going off the rails? Is a culture of zero-error tolerance coupled with monetary awards for gallantry and distinguished service now distorting temptations?

Or is the broader degradation of values in society at large now seeping in? We must honestly seek answers to these and other questions to find the reason why some officers are deviating from the honourable path.

The reported incidents of fake shooting of Pakistani soldiers by one of the elite army units in the Siachen area needs to be seen in its appropriate context.

Like a single swallow does not a summer make, isolated incidents of the type that has come to light do not in any way imply that our entire system has become rotten.

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But it is difficult to escape the conclusion that if even an isolated incident of organising fake encounters and claiming great successes takes place, it would tend to destroy the faith of the nation and the loyalty of the jawans in the great professional institution that our army is.

And if the rot in the integrity of military leadership has gone that far, we may be heading for very serious crises ahead.

It is vital that inquiry and action pertaining to this event be finalised at the very earliest; and justice must not only be done, but also seen to be done without any attempt to shield anyone. The Indian army owes this to the nation.