WHERE HAVE ALL THE MEN GONE?

WHERE HAVE ALL THE MEN GONE?

By

Maj Gen VK Singh

At the Army Day Parade on 15^th January, the Army Chief, General Deepak Kapoor, expressed his concern about the shortage of officers in the Indian Army. He hinted that if other measures fail, the country may have to resort to conscription to tide over the crisis. This was probably the first time a serving Army Chief had uttered the dreaded word, and there were many raised eye brows.  Of course, this is not the first time the problem has been highlighted – it has been there for several decades. The fact that it fell to the Army Chief to emphasize it and suggest a drastic solution indicates the root of the crisis - the apathy and indifference of the political class and the general public to the military. One would imagine that since soldiers exist only for their protection and well being, citizens of this country would be worried about their numbers. Considering our population, conscription for all ranks may be impractical. Say, if all those turning eighteen were to be drafted, it would mean over two crore young men, which is more than ten times the size of the Indian Army. It would be well nigh impossible to feed, clothe and house them, even for a year. A large percentage of our fighting units would comprise relatively untrained and inexperienced soldiers, which would certainly affect their fighting capabilities. However, the scheme could certainly be considered for entry into officer ranks, where the shortages exist.

Before suggesting solutions, it is necessary to identify the problem. The Indian Army is a volunteer Army, the second largest in the World. There is no shortage of volunteers in the ranks - recruiting rallies often result in stampedes. The shortage is confined to the officer class, where young men join as lieutenants (the rank of second lieutenant was abolished a few years ago). There are basically two types of commission granted in the Army. The permanent commission (PC) is granted to those passing out from the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun. This category of officers comes to Dehradun either after passing out from the National Defence Academy at Kharakvasla or joins the IMA directly after graduation. They serve in the Army for up to forty years, until they reach the age of retirement, which varies from 52 to 60 years, depending on the rank one attains.  The short service commission (SSC) is granted to officers after undergoing training at the Officers Training Academy (OTA) at Chennai.  These officers serve for a maximum of ten years, after which they are discharged. Those who wish to continue are screened by a services selection board, and if selected, are granted permanent commissions. Women officers are presently being granted short service commissions in the Services and supporting Arms such as Engineers and Signals.

The Army is authorised about 45,000 officers. For the last 15-20 years, its officer strength has been between thirty and thirty-five thousand, In other words, the shortage of about eleven thousand officers that it is presently facing is nothing new. These shortages are in the junior ranks of lieutenant, captain and major. These are the officers who actually lead men in battle, and shortage in their numbers can have serious consequences. Until a few years back, the quota at the IMA and NDA were always filled, and it was the OTA that was undersubscribed. The reason was very simple – insecurity. SSC officers who left the Army after serving for ten years had no guarantee of employment, and had to literally run around to look for a suitable job. Most of them were about 35 years old and found that there were very avenues of employment open for them. Then why have the SSC entry, one may ask? Why not have only regular commissions? After all, the IAS and IPS do not have such an entry. The answer lies in the hierarchical structure of the Army. If all officers were to be granted permanent commissions, there would be a virtual massacre when they reached ranks where promotion was by selection. The number of vacancies in higher ranks being small, very few would be promoted. A large number of good officers would not be promoted, simply because there were no vacancies. When I was in the MS Branch, we used to call it the ‘Milkha Singh Syndrome’. The ‘Flying Sikh’ broke the Olympic record at the Rome Olympics in the 400 metres, but did not get a medal, because there were three others who did the same. There was space on the podium for only three, and Milkha did not get a chance to stand there. A similar situation prevails in the Army, where deserving officers do not get promoted because of lack of vacancies. The result is stagnation and dissatisfaction. The large numbers of superseded officers has an adverse effect on the functional efficiency and fighting capability of the Army.

To overcome the problem of stagnation and increase satisfaction levels, most armies in the World follow the system of dual entry in the officer cadre. The SSC officers serve up to the rank of major, and do not compete with PC officers for select ranks. Ideally, about 80% of the officer intake should be through SSC, with only 20% coming from the IMA. The system would function only if the SSC quota was fully subscribed, which has never happened. The reason is known – lack of guaranteed employment. A large number of studies have been carried out in the last two or three decades. Their recommendations have never been seriously discussed. Since the problem affects the nation’s security, it should have been discussed in Parliament, but this has never happened. The solution is simple, provided we have the political will to solve it.

Most people who have studied the problem agree that the only method of attracting young men to the short service commission in the Army is to assure them of a career when they leave. This can be done by making Army service mandatory for entry to the All India Services such as the IAS, IPS, IFS etc. Presently, a SSC officer joins at the age of 21 or so. If he were to leave after five years, he would be around 26, which is the age at which most candidates join the All India Services. The SSC officer would be permitted to apply for the IAS entrance examination after he has completed five years service. If he qualifies, he will be permitted to leave the Army. If he fails, he can continue sitting for the examination every year until he completes ten years service in the Army. The measure, if implemented, will benefit the Army as well as the Civil Services. The Army’s quota will be fully subscribed, and it will not face the shortage of officers it is facing today. The Civil Services will benefit since all officers would have served for at least five years in the Army. Apart from improving their leadership qualities, military service will stiffen their back bones, and they will be able to stand up to their political bosses. In fact, this one advantage is reason enough to implement this measure.

There is bound to be vehement opposition to the scheme, especially from those who will not be eligible to join the All India Services. This includes those with engineering, medical and management degrees. This may be good thing, since they waste their qualifications, depriving others who aspire to seats in professional colleges. Some resistance may also be encountered from the bureaucracy, which considers its rules sacrosanct, vehemently combating attempts by others to interfere with them. The political class may also not be very happy about the proposal – the new breed of babus may not genuflect and do their bidding. However, what is at stake is the nation’s security, which transcends all else. If there are no officers to lead the men, battles will be lost even before they are joined. When all else fails, it the Army to which the nation turns for help. If the Army itself is crippled, can the nation march forward?

19 Jan 2008