Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Indian army faces shortage of officers and frustration of jawans

India's army, the world's fourth largest, faces a dire shortage of officers because the booming private sector is recruiting the best talent, and may have to consider conscription. Just 86 officer recruits enlisted in the current academic session of the British-built Indian military academy, which had vacancies for 250. Meanwhile, 62 of 148 college graduates who passed a separate military entrance test for officers opted out and sought jobs in the private sector. The recruitment issue has become an urgent priority for the volunteer army after 3,000 mid-level commanders recently sought early retirement on top of an existing shortage of 11,200 officers. The army needs a total of 46,615 officers.

Another worry for Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor is that most of those applying are not the right material, the private sector, which has been luring away India's best talent by offering hefty wages and generous perks, has left the military with poor pickings. The government and the services cannot compete in matters of salary and perks with the corporate world. Our deficiencies should not be met by lowering the quality standards of the world's largest army. India has never turned to compulsory recruitment, compulsory military service could be one of the avenues before the government sometime in the future, but it's not the stage for such a step now.
Thanks to India's billion-plus population and high unemployment, the 1.23-million-strong army has no shortages in the lower ranks. But the National Defence Academy, India's largest army training ground, which enlists high school graduates and turns them into officers for the navy, air force and also the army, is struggling. According to defence ministry records just 190 students signed up this month against the academy's sanctioned strength of 300 for this academic session. Stress, low pay, slow promotions and the military's tough lifestyle are a turn-off for young people. After entering the army, an entry level officer must wait up to 10 years before donning the flashes of a lieutenant-colonel. But even at that level the monthly basic salary does not exceed 12,000 rupees (300 dollars).

These facts reveal that Indian qualified youth has no interest in serving the nation because of the high perks and privileges offered by the private sector. On the other hand, lower rank jawans in Indian Army has miserable plight, they have no other option except working under tough circumstances and low pays to meet their family needs and upbringing of their children. Their status as lower rank jawans is not more than paid servants for their high-ups and consequently they face high frustration leading to suicidal ideation. Working as lower rank personnel has become a punishment for them. The growing number of suicidal rate is not hidden from any one; low pays, discrimination, maltreatment are the most common reasons of suicide, despite knowing these causal factors of suicide Indian officers has shown no improvement in their treatment with them.

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