Click to play videoNew Delhi: The parliamentary committee on army has sent a strong message asking officers in army to stop using soldiers as domestic helps. It has asked for the practice to be abolished immediately.
A relationship which has stood the test of time is now being subjected to the test of political correctness. A powerful parliamentary committee on Defense has condemned the use of soldiers as orderlies for household chores as "a shameful practice that should have no place in Independent India".
But the Indian Army which is already at loggerheads with the politico-bureaucratic establishment over meager pay insists that the impression of a sahib-servant relationship is highly misplaced and unfair.
“Certainly this is one set of personnel where the buddy during war can be your radio operator and your driver,” says Col (Retd) Anil Bhatt.
The parliamentary committee claims to have based its report on direct feedback from Jawans. It concludes that using soldiers as orderlies is humiliating and lowers their self-esteem, leading to higher-stress, which is increasingly triggering suicide and fratricide.
But the Army says that orderlies, or officer’s buddies, as they're now called, are an organizational necessity to relieve officer on operational duty from getting overwhelmed with personal chores and ceremonial requirements imposed by a peculiar military culture.
The Army wants the misuse of orderlies to be delinked from the legitimate requirement for them. And they're prepared to introduce more checks and balances to ensure that the dignity of soldiers is not trampled upon
“There should be a checklist of do’s and don’ts and one should religiously follow them,” says Col (Retd) Anil Bhatt
There are pointers from the neighbourhood on what could be the way ahead. The Pakistan Army has done away with orderlies. Instead, its officers get an allowance to engage private help. Indian army should now take clue from the arch rivals.
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