Incident at Nyoma camp, Ladakh-11May12

The incident at Nyoma camp involving a fracas between officers and jawan is symptomatic of the changes tearing at the cultural fabric of the Indian Army. It would not be presumptuous to say that that it is not the last incident of its kind if urgent measures are not taken.


The incident needs to be examined in the following contexts before we explore the measures that need to be taken :-
a. Diminishing gap between the backgrounds of officers and jawans.
b. Conduct of officers and ladies.
c. Effective command vs failure of command.

The gap between the backgrounds of the officers and the jawans has rapidly diminished. The intake into the officer cadre is no more from the ‘elite’ or the ‘educated’ class only as it was sat three decades ago. Earlier, a large percentage of officer’s children use to follow their father’s footsteps into the armed forces. Now that space has been occupied by children of Junior Commissioned Officers/ Other Ranks. This has been made possible by the urgent and necessary steps taken by the armed forces to make quality education available to children of JCOs/Ors by way of establishing Army Schools and other institutes. These children are driven by the natural ambition of achieving a better station in life than their father did. There are other children who join the army as a jawan.

Now imagine a hypothetical situation wherein two boys are studying in the same class. Both have a crush on the same girl but she likes only one. One kid gets through the entrance exam and joins the NDA. The other boy, who was liked by the girl, could not get through the entrance test and his father gets him enrolled as a jawan with the hope that he can work his way to a commission while in the army.

The first boy comes to the unit as a lieutenant after getting commissioned. The second boy is serving in the same unit as a jawan. What will be the relationship between the two?

Their secret ‘crush’ in the meanwhile has gone through college and her father gets her married to the officer. The other man is crestfallen. Potential for personal conflict spilling into the professional domain?

Having said that, the issue is much more complex. It is about reduced tolerance of indiscreet acts committed by officers, amongst the other ranks. I remember the time when as young officers we acted rashly a number of times but the jawan continued to look up to us and was very unquestioning. The gap in our educational and social backgrounds had a lot to do with this. Now with a large number of officers and jawans coming from similar backgrounds, the gap is indistinguishable. The unquestioning attitude has given way to expressing dissent. The onus is now on the officer to win the respect of men under him by way of his professional conduct. He cannot take it for granted.

The actions of officers are deeply scrutinized and questioned by the men under his command. An officer’s conduct has to be above board at all times. This responsibility devolves on to officers’ families also. They have to conduct themselves in a manner that does not give reason for anybody to take liberties or invite opprobrium. This includes the way they dress, talk and conduct themselves in public or at home where the ‘sahayak’ is present. Unfortunately, many of our young ladies are not adequately made aware of this responsibility and they behave as college-going students would do. There is a need to sensitize them about what is appropriate conduct in the context of the armed forces.

A few officers’ families staying in non-family stations/ field-areas was a privilege and it was not questioned earlier. But given the present socio-economic aspirations, the jawan has started resenting this privilege and questions as to why he cannot keep his family too. Such thought process often leads to frustration resulting in unacceptable behavior. Therefore, the commanders at all levels will have to revisit this aspect and a uniform policy implemented. There can be no exceptions.

There are greater demands being placed on the commanding officer in terms of man-management. The aspiration and expectation levels are very high all around. The commanding officer has to be and seen to be above perceived partisan interests. He needs to know the pulse of the men under his command including his officers.

In this particular incident, the Commanding Officer did well to intervene but was not effective. Only the court of inquiry will bring out whether the act of young officers beating up the jawan for misbehaving with a Major’s wife was one of spontaneous outburst or the culmination of a series of misdemeanors on part of the jawan which were not appropriately addressed earlier. If it was the latter, it would be clear case of failure of command.

The court of inquiry would certainly bring out the causes of the incidence and exemplary punishment meted out to those found guilty.

The Army also needs to do serious introspection and come up with a code of conduct keeping the present socio-economic realities in mind. And as always the onus lies with those in command, at all levels. The officer cadre has its task cut out for itself.

RTE Act- More issues

The upholding of the RTE Act by the Supreme Court has been a shot in the arm for the HRD ministry. However, instead of ushering in a 'licence raj' wherein only private institutions are held accountable, the government should do some soul-searching too.

The focus currently appears to be on the responsibility that private schools have to share by admitting 25% of students at the entry level. There are two issues related to this that I wish to bring out.

Firstly, there is ambiguity in the definition of 'entry level'. Most of the schools have their entry at the KG level. Let us assume that they have 4 sections with 40 students each. The intake of students from economically weak sections would be 40 in this case (25% as per RTE).

Schools would be well within the law if they start a pre-school with only one section with say 40 students. Then they would have to admit only 10 students from the poor sections of the society. 4 sections continue to function from the KG level onwards with new admissions. This is a situation wherein pre-school is the de-jure entry level and KG is the de- facto entry level.

The second point that I wish to highlight is that when admitting children from economically weaker backgrounds under the RTE, the government is only making the class rooms and the infrastructure available to these children. But a school is much more. It is an entire socio-economic-academic system. Have we given a thought about what psychological and financial impact will studying in an affluent school have on the child and the parent. The RTE has ensured entry, but who will pay for the school trips or dresses to be bought for annual day or the birthday parties of classmates. A child at the age of 5 or 6 or even 10 is too young to understand the financial implications of these. In trying to keep up with the classmates, the parents of the child are likely to suffer severe financial strain or the child is likely to grow up with a deep sense of inferiority. Where then would the RTE lead us to?
Let us not close our eyes to these practical issues which almost every parent experiences.

Instead of getting into a debate with the private schools and trying to enforce the rules for them, government should examine its own performance on the educational front. The government should focus on improving the facilities in government-aided schools, quality of teachers and act as an enabler for improving the educational environment. The only focus should be on ways to improve the standard of schooling, teaching and learning, not just for the poor and underprivileged children but all children.

Enhancing Employability. Whose baby is it?

An industry-academia interaction was organised by Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal on April 10th & 11th.The issue of enhancing the employability of our graduates was addressed from all perspectives. It was aptly called "MANTHAN".

The initiative taken by the University is indeed laudable. The large participation of industry representatives was an indication that the everyone is siezed with this concern and we should hope for some synergetic actions from the industry and the academia.

I happened to attend the inaugural session and found the remarks of one of the key speakers to be a little out of tune. He mentioned that "training is the job of the academia and not the industry". This remark could have evoked a sense of consternation in the minds of the audience, but for the fact that training is considered a critical aspect in the organisation that the speaker heads. Considerable investments are made for training the employees.

Another speaker, head of an infrastructure company was very candid when he said that " it is not only our need to train the employees in order to ensure our own growth,it is also our responsibility". He went on to point out that "there should be greater cross movement of people from the industry to academics and vice-versa". As of now, the academic world is insulated from reality which is evident from our teaching curriculum which has not evolved with time.


The answer to the question ' Enhancing employability. Whose baby is it?' is both, the industry and the academia. The industry has to work more closely with the academia and the latter has to be receptive to the changing needs of the industry and dynamic enough to modify their curriculum as per the needs.

Academic institutions in the US have very strong linkages with the industry and that is perhaps why top quality research leading to product development is the norm there. In order to maintain the growth of the economy, Indian industry will have to collaborate with the academic institutions in order to get the right material at the entry level and will have to continue investing in training the employee in order to enhance his productivity and the growth of the organisation. Statistics show that organisations which have invested in employee-training have sustained their growth while others were like comets.


The step by the HRD ministry to affiliate regional ITIs with the co-located industrial units is a step in the right direction. But a lot more still needs to be done.

Democracy at Work

Last evening, 27th Dec, while surfing the channels i chanced upon Lok Sabha TV. Time 9.45 pm.
The honourable House was in the process of passing the Lokpal Bill. Mr Pranab Mukherjee was at his parliamentary best. Interspersed with rhetoric, he chided the opposition for disrupting the functioning of the Parliament and took delight in rebuking Mr Yashwant Sinha on his "PM's farewell speech" remark.
Dr Manmohan Singh looked positively out of place and wishing that he were not there. His body language was closed as if he had been asked by the 'High Command' to sit tight and stay quiet.
Anoushka, my thirteen year old, had been pestering me to change the channel but got a lecture on the landmark occasion she was witnessing!
Soon the voting started on the various clauses and amendments.
It was quite a charade. The Honourable Speaker trying to maintain order in the House. The members seemed to be enjoying every bit of it, shouting 'AYE' or 'NO' as the proposals were brought up by the Speaker. Mrs Meira Kumar reminded me of a Cheshire cat, sans its whiskers, well coiffeured, smiling yet trying to look stern and passing/rejecting the proposals based on the noise made by the 'ayes' and the 'noes'.
She went on and on "...I think the 'ayes' have it, the 'ayes' have it. ....", or "... I think the 'noes' have it, the 'noes' have it...."
Anoushka was enjoying herself mimicking her. I looked at the clock. It was nearly eleven pm. I told Anoushka to go off to sleep.
"Papa, this is better that any serial on TV. It is so much more entertaining. Please let me watch for some more time."
Not willing to see the mockery of parliamentary proceedings and the proceedings being mocked at by genx, i switched off the TV.

Accepting Change!!

Driving to work today accompanied by my younger daughter, switched on the FM. Kolaveri di was playing. I reminded Anoushka that just about six months back, 'DK Bose' was a hot favourite and people seem to have forgotten about it now. The following conversation follows.
"Papa, that song is really old. Better songs have come."
"But I still hum the songs that i did when i was your age or younger."
"You did not have much choice those days."
"But i do have them now. So why do i still sing those songs?"
"Its so boring, sticking to the same songs. You need to change."
While I know that change is the only constant, i need to recalibrate my existing yardstick for expecting and accepting change!!

Shortage of Coal- Conspiracy Theories

Shortage of Coal: Conspiracy Theories
The rather candid acceptance sometime in Oct,before Diwali, by Mr SP Jaiswal, the Union Coal Minister regarding corruption, inefficiencies and low productivity in Coal India Ltd raises hopes that the government is at last willing to do a little introspection.

I was wondering whether the statement was just a canard or is the minister serious about 'Diwali cleaning' ?
Just then a little bird perched itself on the railing of my balcony. As I sipped my cup of tea, it told me that there were various conspiracies by different agencies to hurt the thermal power industry and further their own vested interests. It went on to tell me that following forces were responsible for the state of thermal power generation.
a. Foreign companies' stake in developing India's nuclear power plants. Some foreign companies were looking forward to getting multi-billion dollar contracts for setting up nuclear power plants in India. These plans have received a setback due to the recent protests against setting up of nuclear power plants in various parts of the country.
Considering the investments and returns at stake, I would not put it beyond these companies to try and disrupt the coal supplies and run the thermal power plants dry. This would create a climate of power shortage, influencing public opinion in favour of nuclear-based plants. The key protestors would be marginalised and the government would be forced to actively consider expediting nuclear power plant projects. The foreign companies could then step in as 'saviours' to build our plants and charge a premium towards expediting the projects. I would also not be surprised if emissions from thermal plants were brought under hard scrutiny during the next environmental conference.
b. China's long-term approach and their belief in Sun Tzu's dictum "… those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle .... They conquer by strategy". The Chinese strategy to undermine India's growth story is to hit at the driver for growth - power generation. The Chinese could be covertly creating conditions that is impeding coal production in our country, leading to a crisis situation. The Indian companies have been quite agile in acquiring coal mines overseas. However, I see a time coming when China, with its trade-surplus muscle will overtly attempt to bully the host countries and hinder deals with Indian corporates. Its attempted muscle flexing in the India-Vietnam oil exploration in the South China Sea is a case in point.
c. Government doing an Air India to Coal India Ltd. The manner in which private airlines grew in size at the cost of Air India/Indian Airlines as per CAG reports, the government is trying to push private players in coal mining by going slow on improving efficiencies in CIL. Further, is the environment ministry taking urgent steps for checking illegal mining as well as preparing alternatives and strict guidelines for 'rehabilitation' after mining in 'no-go' areas.
The above theories are a throwback to the good 'old' days when every setback had a 'foreign' hand. I thanked the little bird profusely for enlightening me. Perhaps, there IS a 'foreign' hand.

FDI in Retail

The resistance by the opposition parties in letting the government introduce the bill permitting FDI in retail is ill-conceived and short-sighted.
The government should highlight the benefits that have already accrued due to growth of modern retail. The number of jobs that have been created by the Big Bazaars and the Hypercities is phenomenal.
We are witnessing the change in the way people shop in places like Bhopal, Nasik, Patna or even Bhubaneshwar. What is heartening is that young people from surrounding smaller towns and villages are getting an opportunity to be gainfully employed in these outlets. Based on their individual skills, they are engaged in sales, supply chain, housekeeping or security services. The companies also make efforts to train them to enhance their skill sets.

However, the Indian players have apparently achieved their scale and there is a need to infuse fresh capital and expertise to take retailing to the next level. Recent statements made by senior functionaries of retail chains point towards this.
The move by the government is a long over-due one. The diminished and fragmented land holdings have made farming highly unprofitable for the marginal farmers. The FDI will enable consolidation by the companies and support being provided to the marginal farmers in order to secure their (retailer's) source of supplies. Infact this is already happening in a number of states.
Newer technologies and methods will be available for increasing farm productivity. Fresh investment will radically improve the infrastructure and the cold chain thereby reducing wastages in the journey of edibles from farm to fork (or finger) . The gap between the price that the consumer pays and what the farmer receives will drastically come down.The farmers and the consumers both stand to benefit immensely due to improved efficiencies. A number of jobs shall also be created for operating this chain.

It is only the middlemen and the APMC who stand to lose.

Having said that, the resistance by the main opposition party is understandable, given that their main constituents are the traders and middlemen. However, I am sure given the scales, the middlemen also will find gainful employment in the logistics chain, be it in procurement or transportation.

The political parties need to rise above parochial political gains, see the larger picture and not misguide their constituents. The government needs to be firm. Otherwise it will be another wasted opportunity.