Author: Rahul Singh, New Delhi
Publication: Hindustan Times
Dated: February 6, 2008
Introduction: Soldiers have been asked by
the top brass not to ease the way for others to do wrong and stand up for
their beliefs
The army has invoked the Mahabharata and the
Vedas to check sliding morality and ethics in its ranks. An honour code circulated
to soldiers across India quotes Bhishma's advice to the Pandavas, asking them
to control passion for wealth, promotion and luxuries as these "frailties"
erode leadership.
Drafted by the Shimla-based Army Training
Command, the code dubs sycophancy and manipulation deadly diseases caused
by the "virus of ambition and selfishness". It also makes the point
that a morally bankrupt force, even if effective, risks alienation from the
community it serves. Officers say the code, or 'army training note' in military
jargon, is as honest as a self-appraisal can get.
The code carries case studies of a unit involved
in selling rations meant for troops to civilians and that of a captain who
stole his colleague's ATM card and withdrew money, reflecting a decline in
army values.
Officers have been warned that double standards
can undermine leadership. "Ac countability for officers should not be
lower, and consequences for infractions should be fair, if not equal,"
the code says.
Citing the Bhagwad Gita, it says, "The
army draws its inspiration from the high moral ethics of our civilisation,
which considered it righteous to take up arms against evil." Soldiers
have been asked not to ease the way for others to do wrong and stand up for
their beliefs. Hard task masters have been advised against the typical approach
towards subordinates: "I don't care how you get it done - just do it"
or setting impossible goals.
