Targeting armed forces personnel The Excelsior 30 Aug 2025 Maj Gen Harsha Kakar

https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/targeting-armed-forces-personnel/

Targeting armed forces personnel The Excelsior 30 Aug 2025

          Recent floods and cloudbursts in J and K, Himachal, Punjab and Uttarakhand saw the army out as first responders. They were there assisting and supporting the population even before the SDRF and NDRF could reach, largely because of their proximity. It is not that their camps were not affected by the disaster, but priority was to their national brethren, a sign of dedication.

Army helicopters were rescuing those trapped in collapsing building while troops, apart from rescue, were accommodating and feeding those who were stranded on roads or had lost their homes. Every rescue operation carries risks; but since it involves saving our own, these must be taken.

When the nation is humiliated as in Pahalgam or Pulwama, it is the armed forces which regain national prestige.           It is in these times that those in power look towards the forces. Once trouble has passed and normalcy restored, the forces are ignored and treated as second class citizens, its members attacked when alone and vulnerable.

Incidents targeting soldiers have been on the rise in recent years. The case of Spice Jet in Srinagar, where the officer has been placed on a five-year flying ban by the airline, with no action against the staff which initiated the assault is a case in point. Neither has DGCA taken the airline to task.  

Other instances include those of manhandling of a soldier at a Meerut toll plaza, an officer and his friend in Bhubaneswar, police inspector slapping an officer in Lucknow and the Col Bath case in Patiala. While the toll plaza company has been banned from further bidding, six arrested, in most other cases there has been hardly any movement in the investigation, especially when police personnel are involved.

In the Col Bath case, the officer had to approach the Supreme Court to get the case handed over to the CBI, which the Punjab government was unwilling to do, in spite of a High Court order.  

The Supreme Court, rightly refused to intervene. In its observation, it stated, ‘When war is going on, you glorify these Army officers… Your SSP says, I am not able to arrest them (police personnel) in spite of rejection of anticipatory bail because they are police officers… Eight days delay in lodging FIR?! Have respect for Army people. You are sleeping peacefully in your house because that man is serving the border at -40 degrees.’ Nothing could be truer. But such statements fall on deaf ears.

          What message did the Punjab Police action convey. Most importantly it sent the message that police protect their own, despite them being in the wrong. Secondly, they can delay action till the case loses media limelight and then quietly reinstate those they supposedly suspended. It would also provide them time to possibly manipulate witnesses to change statements.  

Today, in the same Punjab, the army is out rescuing those trapped in floods, possibly including family members of the same state police.  

          Simultaneously, the army is expected to behave with decorum. If it employs force to target concerned police officials, as has happened in the past, it is accused of highhandedness and unlawful action. This also does not bode well for a disciplined force. If it does not support its own, it is considered weak, and targeted by its own veterans.

In most cases senior officers are blamed for being meek and not acting, whereas they have been pushing for action. It has also been seen that interacting with concerned police authorities has been fruitless, as the Bath case has proved. The police will promise the moon, do nothing, while expecting army officials to maintain a neutral stance.

          Simultaneously, soldiers are compelled to approach courts for redressal of their pension cases arising out of disability compensations, cut short by an inconsiderate bureaucracy at the MoD. In Feb this year the Delhi High Court expressed ‘dismay’ at the way medical board proceedings were being conducted by the MoD and legitimate claims denied at the ‘whims and fancies’ of certain officials.

In Jul this year the Delhi High Court dismissed nearly 300 writ petitions filed by the MoD, challenging disability pension awards granted to retired armed forces personnel by the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT). It even rebuked the MoD for objecting to every decision of the AFT.

The High Court observed that disability benefits are not generosity, but recognition of ‘hardships endured during military service and it is the government’s responsibility toward those who have served the nation.’ Has the MoD learnt its lessons. Unlikely. It is a matter of days before the same exercise is repeated again. If this be the case, then why did the government even set up AFTs.

AFTs were established for speedily managing grievances concerning the armed forces, most of which are linked to pay and pensions. The MoD appoints members of the tribunal. Currently most of the tribunals remain understaffed for reasons best known to the MoD. Yet the MoD is the body which objects to most of their decisions.

At the end of the day, the MoD loses most of its appeals, yet continues wasting government funds to challenge them at the next higher level. It is an example of pushing good money after bad, but then it is government funds and no one is accountable. The day a bureaucrat is made to pay legal costs for failed appeals; the scenario will change.

At the same time, the armed forces never hesitate to support where the need arises, ignoring their own difficulties. There are thousands of citizens, rescued by the army, after being stranded or impacted by natural calamities, who remain grateful all through their lives. While the common Indian remembers the armed forces and acknowledge its performance, it is the bureaucracy and police which consider themselves superior.

However, whenever an adversity strikes, they are the first to turn to the armed forces for assistance. Even national politicians exploit armed forces success in operations during elections but forget them a day later. A sad state for the country.

Unless realization dawns and the government pushes, nothing will change. Respecting armed forces personnel and protecting their rights can only happen when politicians at the helm understand what a soldier goes through. Sadly, this will remain a dream, solely because in a democracy, the armed forces have little voice.