No lord is a hero to his valet

CAN THE PRESENT SITUATION BE REDEEMED? YES

It was during a dinner hosted in Dehra Dun by the Chairman, Special Olympics Bharat, North and Central India, Air Marshal (retd) Ashok Goyal, PVSM,AVSM,VM that, I met and got talking to the Commandant Indian Military Academy, Lt Gen Manvender Singh, AVSM,VSM. After an exchange of the usual social pleasantries, the conversation slowly drifted to what was the most singular challenge in these contemporary times, which faced the officer as the Commandant of this pre commission Army Institute. The answer to this was no surprise and an obvious one to me, “To embed and consolidate in the Gentleman Cadets a Spiritual Temperament; which is our bloodline, and leverage this as an appropriate conduit for imbibing core values that, sustain Moral and Ethics in personal life and official conduct”. This opened up a very interesting and meaningful discussion on the subject, presupposing that it had not been as yet gainfully engaged and dealt with, in the training curriculum of the Academy. The Commandant further stated that from the feedback he receives from the environment about what should be the most desirable trait in a young officer? The unanimous ground swell is “to be morally and ethically strong”. Therefore, while all agree on this, it is also a telling response to a pedagogic deficit which continues to remain in our system. As, it demands incessant belaboring upon and is not inevitable, considering that our structured training syllabi has been in place for long and yet falls short of the requirement, necessitating added emphasis without commensurate results.  

While it is nobody’s case to either discredit or else disparage the young officer’s reputation, who on most occasions have unfailingly stood up to the onerous demands of their duty and profession. It is after the transition from a junior to a senior officer wherein the perceived moral and ethical decay sets in. It is when an officer grows in rank in the military hierarchy and acquires financial / material authority as also becomes entitled to service privileges; which is within the ambit of his position and control that, the lure of lucre overtakes his sense of righteousness, rectitude and probity. An objective analysis of perceived wrongdoings, involving acts of venality by officers, will nail the truth of the above statement. The likelihood of getting discovered for wrong doing in an environment, which is largely populated by subordinates who are ever willing to bend over backwards to please and accommodate, is rather remote. And, hence, tacitly encourages unbecoming conduct in the senior officers. This trend continues to grow and flourish in an exclusive coterie of successful and upcoming officers who fully appreciate and understand the virtues of professional cronyism and indulge in a quid pro quo for career advancement. Morality and ethics just become words, to be used for histrionics by this category of officers. The credo of this breed of military leaders becomes ‘Do as I Say and Not as I Do’.

The young and junior officers, who are time and again exhorted to stand up to the wrongs of their seniors and superiors, today find themselves in a predicament to display courage and stand up to the wrong of the latter. This, primarily, because of the veiled threat of

impairing the Annual Confidential Report and even victimization; an unwanted and distressing consequence for displaying moral strength. What should be upheld and applauded in the exercise of one’s moral prerogative instead gets singled out for isolation and punitive harassment. In the prevalent competitive environment and the steep pyramid promotion structure within the Army, the Confidential Report is a vital career advancement input and can undermine a good officer’s possibilities of further career growth. The possibility of this reality changing in the Army is rather distant, except if the subordinate and junior officers, who are the cutting edge of the Organization, believe in their ability to make a change. In terms of the numbers who comprise this group, these officers far outnumber the select rank and general officers, who are the cause for the increasing incidents of misuse of authority and financial embezzlement. It requires these officers to show spine and refuse to succumb to any perverse inducements made by their superiors, which puts them into a position of undeserving advantage. It is for this breed of officers to rely more on their competency and character to deserve their rightful position and rank. It is with this premise that the situation can be redeemed.

The prevalent situation in the Army has reached such a state that; structured Spiritual training in the Academy could well be an answer to remedy the malaise which exists. Our culture, which is inclusive and secular, has a rich repository of militant Spiritualism. It is this which must be leveraged and used to provide the bedrock for character building in the young cadets / gentleman cadets. When an enduring sense of righteousness becomes an all consuming passion with these young minds, the future will augur well for the Army.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal,VSM

E-102 Arborea

Dehra Dun-248001