Defence Notes
New Delhi, 7 May 2007
The Enemy Within
MENTAL DISORDER IN ARMED FORCES
By B.K. Mathur
A shocking, to say the least,
disclosure was made in Parliament the other day by Defence Minister A.K. Antony,
that as many as 559 personnel had to be discharged from the armed forces during
2006 due to what he described as “mental disorder”. Those “boarded out” from
the Air Force during the year were 35 and 15 from the Navy. The tragedy does
not end there. About 350 militarymen die annually in road accidents, about 250
in fighting terrorists and, most concernedly, about 120 lives are lost in stress-related deaths because of suicides and “fragging”
annually. The total number of the armed
forces personnel we lost last year during peace time is alarmingly eye-brow
raising 1,279---a figure officially stated in Parliament.
The causes of tragic end of India’s brave militarymen have been identified
by Antony as
“psychosis, neurosis, personality disorders, adjustment disorders and depression” and, of course, the “alcohol dependence
syndrome.” The tragic developments in India’s armed forces, once praised no end
by none other than Winston Churchill for their prowess
displayed in two World Wars while fighting for British Regiments, has not taken
place in just one year in 2006 for which figures were quoted by Antony. The
Army discharged 350 soldiers due to these reasons in 2004. The figure rose to
405 the next year. See, it is gradually rising year after year. The trend
requires immediate attention.
There are several causes for this
alarming state of affairs in the armed force. First among them is recruitment
of the type of personnel which the military services need. This column has
raised this issue several times in
the two decades and more. When we raised this issue
with George Fernandes, when he was the Defence Minister in the Vajpayee
Government, he had reacted sharply and stated that our information was wrong.
George reeled out figures to claim that the numerical strength of the trainees
at various military Academies was full and a good number of youngmen were
joining the Army. George’s statement at once brought to the force the fact that
it is not the quantity but the quality that matters.
Quality in-take has not been
there for various reasons, more so in the officer-cadre. There are three main
irritants for this increasing decline. First, lack of interest among the youth in
joining the armed forces because better career avenues are available to them
elsewhere. In fact, most of the brilliant students in the educational
institutions today prefer a career in the corporate world and not even in the
IAS which at one stage was considered the steel-frame of governance. Secondly,
the in-service conditions in the armed forces are deteriorating day by day.
This trend has, in fact, been set by the undesired command and control
situation, actually created by sub-standard recruitment.
Thirdly, and most importantly,
the armed forces personnel who retire early and require a second career do not
get one. On retirement they are not looked after by the state. There are
several cases of outstanding cadets in the Indian Military
Academy who retired as
Lt-Colonels have migrated to foreign countries for small jobs only because they
never got their due from the state and the Army which they served faithfully.
In fact, there are hundreds of cases where the boys offered their services to
the Army, and to the nation, suffered in return. It is natural, therefore, for
the youngmen to opt for an easy and comfortable career. I think of my own son whom
I suggested to take a chance for the armed forces after his graduation. He snubbed
me and his mother called me a “mad man.”
True, the Government and the
armed forces cannot possibly match
the salaries which the private sector offers to young marketing men promoting
sales of their produce. But better service conditions and post-retirement
benefits can certainly attract the youth. It is in this context that the
problems of ex-Servicemen require to be examined in their proper perspective.
In fact, quality intake could be made possible
not only by offering them just higher salary packets, undertaking quick cadre
reviews and increasing the retirement age. These are undoubtedly significant. Additionally,
an officer in the armed forces must get the respect in the civil society which
he earlier used to get.
In contrast what happens today. A
friend known to me from the Academy days retired from the Army a few years ago.
A year after retirement, Colonel Sahib felt humiliated when he had to stand in
a queue to renew his gun licence with great difficulty and days later he had to
pay bribe to have the plan for the construction of his house approved by the
Delhi Development Authority. These small but significant things are required to
be looked into to attract high quality recruitment into the armed forces. Alas,
a sense of pride needs to be restored in the minds of the armed forces
personnel. All this is no digression
from the main issue of this column.
Better command and control of the forces and their proper deployment is sure to
attract talent and decease mental disorder.
Relevantly, improper intake and poor
service conditions invariably create situations in the Units where a
militarymen is forced to commit suicide or face personality disorders and
adjustment disorders, leading one to take recourse to excessive consumption of alcohol which is freely and
cheaply available in Messes. In
regard to problems of psychosis, neurosis and depression
among Officers of the armed forces a thorough review of the methods adopted by
the Services Selection Boards is required, because at present officer-trainees
are selected by the Board on psychological basis. The selection is based on the
reports of three persons: the Psychologist who makes his assessment
from the answers to some questions in a written test without seeing the
candidates. Second is the Group Testing Officer (GTO) whose criteria is to
examine the physical aspect of the candidate and third is the President of the
Board whose report is based on the findings of the first two, and especially of
the Psychologist.
The entire system seems to be
defective, because it is not able to spot out rightly the personality of a
youngmen ready to join the forces. A boy’s psychological development of mind
could, we suppose, be determined at the recruitment stage. When a candidate
stays in a Selection Board for three days, there should be no difficulty in
determining if the candidate is sensitive and prone to taking such steps as
committing suicide or going into depression.
Additionally, there is also the need to review the deployment system of the
forces, so that a soldier is able to avail fully his annual leave, which is
presently for two months in a year. A soldier doing duty in difficult terrain
needs to go home compulsorily for two months in twelve months to look after
himself and his family back home.
What is now happening is that the
troops are deployed in the militancy-hit border areas in Jammu and Kashmir and the insurgency-hit
north-eastern States. They are not able to get leave when they want. And when
they get it, it is for short duration. The result? They are not able to meet
their families and resolve their problems back home. This leads to increasing
cases of militarymen suffering from depression
and at times taking their own lives and of others whom they think responsible
for their depression. Of course, the
forces must be deployed in areas affected by militancy and foreign
infiltration. But deployment system must ensure that the personnel deployed in
troubled areas do not suffer depression
as well as their training schedules which help them in future promotions. The forces need to be looked after well not
only during service but on retirement too.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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