Various opinion polls, held at different times in the country, on the integrity and honesty scale, have invariably placed the defence services officers at the very top. Recent misdeeds by a few army officers, highlighted or infact sensationalised by the press seem to erode this impression, particularly that of a casual observer. To place the issue in its correct perspective it needs to be viewed in the larger context of the national scene, the prevailing environments and the army’s handling of such cases.
India is known to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. The cancer of corruption has spread in all of the nation’s body. It is all-encompassing and universal in its spread and scope. There is hardly a scheme, project or line of business which is free from this virus. Adulteration of food items, chemically treating vegetables, fruit, making artificial milk and spurious medicines is fair game. Those tasked to check such adulteration are in hand and glove with the adulterators. Mass cheating in examinations to fake degrees and certificates is a common feature of our education system. We are adept at fudging of accounts, concealing incomes, evading taxes.
The majority of the political class, bureaucracy, police and public sector organisations are steeped in corruption. In it’s report, the Volcker Committee of the UN on Iraq’s oil for food deals, has noted that the present Indian foreign minister was a beneficiary in these deals. State Trading Corporation of India also bribed Saddam’s government. Enron bribed Indian politicians and others at a massive scale and in its accounts noted the expenditure as, ‘ education of Indians.’ Any project/deal etc when subjected to close scrutiny would reveal a scandal. Little gets cleared from a government office without greasing palms.
These mal practices are supported and sustained by the knowledge and experience that corruption is a safe enterprise. That it is universal and acceptable. As the saying goes, ‘ Rishwat leyta pakra gaya aur rishwat de kar choot gaya.’ (was caught while taking bribe and got away by bribing.) The special feature of the Indian anti corruption net is its elasticity, where the big fish can swim through without a problem while some fingerlings may get trapped. Corruption has acquired the sheen of respectability and the corrupt take pride in vulgar display of their ill-gotten wealth and that too with a touch of arrogance. There is no feeling of guilt or shame in acquiring assets through corrupt means.
This then is the national scene, setting and the stock from where the army draws its officers. Not withstanding this distressing scene, the army sets its own standards of probity and character. It requires its officers to scrupulously follow and abide by a set code of conduct. From the day of joining the service as a cadet, he is expected to be a gentleman and all that goes by that acronym. Nothing short of being a gentleman qualifies him for the profession. No other standard of personal conduct can make one fit to lead troops into battle and expect them to follow him unhesitatingly and storm the very gates of hell. Troops would not place their lives in the hands of a cheat nor will a crook willingly and so easily lay down his life when such a demand is made on him. So anything less than being a gentleman renders one unfit for the profession of arms
Given the state of the stock from where the army draws its officers, it does not always succeed in turning them into gentlemen. They are witness to the general scene around them, come in frequent contact with their compatriots and relatives in civil street and see the general climate of loot and plunder. A few fall victim to the temptation. The redeeming feature is that misconduct, misdemeanor, corruption and the like are totally unacceptable in the service. Therefore, major Surinder of the fake encounter at Siachen, the ‘ketchep colonel’ the ‘rum brigadier’ and the ‘booze general’ are rounded up and dealt with by the service itself.
Military justice continues to be fair but rarely prompt any more. Excessive interference by the civil courts and the increasing application of delaying tactics by the defence, result in delays. Thus it took much time to bring to justice the miscreants of the Tehelka scandal. Opposed to this the additional secretary to whom the Tehelka team allegedly gave a gold chain was soon promoted. Bengaru Lakhsman and those in the MoD who took money are happily moving up the ladder. At Lucknow a number of IAS officers were found stealing electricity, some police officers at Bhatinda were involved in a similar activity and innumerable others involved in more serious misdemeanours go scoot free. No army officers caught in a similar act or even less serious cases can hope to escape the rigours of military law.
In a cadre of over 35000 officers, a few black sheep make a miniscule component and in no way portray the overall level of probity, moral fiber and character of the officer cadre of the army, which fortunately continues to be intact and in good health. Media should exercise restrain and show balance in reporting cases of misdemeanors of service personnel and not blow these out of proportion.
(Published in the Tribune)
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