| #196 |  | 925 |  |
June 01, 2009 |  | By Maj Gen A K Mehra | ||
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Shortage of officers in the Indian Army is neither a recent phenomenon nor is it based on dearth of young men who are prepared to face danger and often a life of deprivation. In fact our selection system is inundated with candidates who wish to seek commission in the Indian Army. The problem is of quality. Nearly forty years ago, when this author joined the army, more than 95 per cent of the candidates seeking commission belonged to primarily middle class stock. Barring different languages, all these candidates could easily relate to each other; similar education, financial standing, parents similarly placed in the social set-up and even nearly similarly placed siblings. The most common factor that brought these candidates together was the value system they inherited from their families; honesty, integrity, sincerity, hard work and above all a culture of placing country above everything else. These values are still intact in middle class Indian homes but boys from these families are no longer opting for army as a career. It may be of interest to know that there have always been a miniscule percentage of boys belonging to wealthier families with a tradition of service in the army, or for that matter young men from political families. When they did opt for a military career, it must be noted that while in the academy, their wealth was never flaunted and there was no meddling by influential fathers. Now of course, army as a career does not attract rich candidates or boys from political families.
The New Middle Class
There has been a major shift in perceptions as what constitutes the middle class. Higher income levels, easy access to consumer goods and at least a college degree have created a new class of citizens who consider themselves as part of the new middle class of this nation, mostly without any allegiance to the traditional value systems which was synonymous with this class of citizens. The Indian Army’s selection system today is inundated with young boys and girls from this strata of society, without in some cases knowing why they are there, despite having been found unsuitable on a number of previous occasions.
It might be of interest to the readers to know that a candidate who had been rejected on a number of previous occasions revealed, during an interview, that this time around he was not tense because he had already been selected as an Assistant Sub Inspector in the State Police. He simply had no idea of the difference between the two career options. All he wanted was a government job.
Another example of a different value system is a young man finding nothing wrong with his father sending an amount more than his monthly salary to support this gentleman in college. Another very important change in the stock of aspirants for commission in the army is the absence of sense of adventure and participation in outdoor activities; so essential for a career in the army.
Cadets from the new Indian middle class also lack an important prerequisite for becoming an officer, good reading habits and a general knowledge of the world around them, a common feature of children of the ‘old’ middle class. I have come across cases where cadets felt nothing wrong in admitting that reading a newspaper or indeed any reading besides their studies was not part of their daily routine. It is indeed in stark contrast to young officers, earlier, who spent a substantial amount of money on buying books and periodicals from their meager salaries to keep themselves informed and have intelligent opinions on subjects of national importance.
Officer of the Indian Army
All armed forces serve a nation according to the role assigned to them. However, the army’s role is somewhat different in that it is the only force, amongst the Services, whose actions, in some cases, can directly impact the lives of people, such as during natural calamities or while intervening in the issues of law and order. It is the officer corps of the Indian Army, which maintains the army in a very high state of readiness at all times to respond to and counter any external or internal threats. Thus it will not be wrong to say that the officer corps is an important pillar of the Indian Army, which in turn supports the edifice of the sovereign state. Officers of the Indian Army, who are known to always leading from the front, possibly suffer the highest number of fatal casualties amongst officer cadres of armies the world over.
Selection Criteria
As a nation we need to take care that only the very best of our nation’s youth get to serve as officers in the Indian Army. The selection process, to identify candidates suitable for commission in the army, includes assessment through three stages: individual interview, psychological testing and group testing to establish the candidates’ physical fitness as well as response to stress-full situations, both individually and as part of a group. These tests are conducted by three sets of assessors, trained in these disciplines, to assess the candidates for the same basic qualities. Assessment of these basic qualities can fairly accurately describe the personality of a prospective candidate.
The assessment: In broad terms the assessment of basic qualities includes an individual’s intellectual and analytical abilities, social traits, communication skills, leadership traits, motivation and physical and mental strengths.
The intellectual capability relates to an individual’s ability to see a situation in detail, assimilate essentials, decide an appropriate course of action and express it coherently. It includes ability to see essentials of a problem and finding efficient solutions through logical reasoning.
Social traits are qualities related to compassion, inter-personal skills and integrity. These include willing participation in team effort and subjugating personal interests to organisational goals and accept challenges even beyond the call of duty.
Leadership traits: These include the ability to Initiate and continue action even in unfamiliar and adverse situations coupled with self belief and a positive attitude.
Physical and mental strength:
· Inner strength to achieve a goal despite obstacles and setbacks.
· Ability to willingly meet a danger.
The qualities described above are multi-dimensional in nature, all equally significant, and are used to determine the personality profile of a candidate and establish his/her suitability for commission in the army. In this regard the following issues are important:
· The basic qualities described above have been the basis for selecting candidates for becoming officers in the armed forces for decades. Any number of young officers of the Indian Army who walked in to certain death, during operations or while engaging terrorists, while keeping their men safe, were all selected based on an assessment of these very qualities.
· The military academies today have adequate number of candidates not because suddenly, by some divine intervention, there is an overflow of suitable candidates but due to some measures taken by a desperate organisation with responsibilities towards the nation. We will not have to wait very long see the results of these steps.
· Instead of finding remedies, which may compound the problems of one of the finest fighting machines in the world, the decision makers and their advisers need to think of this pan-Indian organisation as ‘their’ army, and which needs help. They need to rise above some petty, parochial considerations and make a career in the Indian Army so attractive that the cream of youth of this nation considers it amongst their first choices.
· We need to remember that a positive movement and corrective action in this matter is long overdue. There is a need for this issue to be included in the national agenda to be resolved by the new government that has lately taken charge.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views either of the Editorial Committee or the Centre for Land Warfare Studies).
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Maj Gen A K Mehra |
