Need for the military community to stay away from disruptive and litigious tendencies based on hearsay

I am all for enforcement of legal rights and fully believe that one of the most precious privileges of a citizen in our democracy is the ability to challenge the might of the State. However a recent phenomenon of fanning litigious tendency in the military, that too, based upon hearsay or perceived injustice, is quite alarming.

A false picture is embedded in many minds that litigation or creating an uproar coupled with notional and emotional calls is the answer to everything, forgetting in the bargain that Courts cannot intervene unless there is infringement of a legal right or policy or rule or when there is a patently perverse and arbitrary action. Every time a matter comes to note, many within the military community take recourse to commenting upon it, without even checking its background and veracity, displaying a tendency that goes beyond even trade unionism. Some even start floating calculation sheets based upon intended litigation, again on tittle-tattle, thus raising expectations without reason which might ultimately result in dejection and frustration.

While it is true that the system of redressal of grievances in the defence services leaves much to be desired, and I have written on it earlier, this disruptive tendency might succeed in drawing eyeballs on social media but only a graceful approach, that too limited to real and solid issues, can help in resolution- institutionally or legally. Many members of the military community also start deriding senior military leadership on social media by creating a hullabaloo but take no steps to institutionally resolve a matter by even putting it in writing to the concerned quarters or finally taking it to its logical legal conclusion. Again there might be instances wherein senior leadership would have taken actions that were not well-rounded but that may not always be the case. And where there is actual injustice, again the way to address is to take legal recourse in a refined manner, with malice towards the anomaly, not against the personalities involved.

Not just seniors, even civil servants continue to bear the brunt of the military community on social media. Most of this anger emanates from the real and perceived acts of bureaucracy in the Ministry of Defence. But one must not forget that the actions of elements in the Defence Ministry are not reflective of the entire civil services and neither should one’s vision be so restricted that the impression of the entire civilian staff of the Republic of India is tagged with what happens in some corner of a table of a junior staffer of one ministry in Delhi. The projection that goes out on social media is that the military is being persecuted, which we all know is not the case and one can imagine the negative impact this has on the morale of the rank and file, almost bordering on disaffection. This fastest finger first syndrome is also spilling into other domains. Certain messages with communal undertones are also spread on military groups, some injected by the adversary, and these are further embellished with utterly immature comments not expected from someone who has worn the uniform.

We fail to realise that this subtle injection of hate is meant to divide our society and this subtle injection of disaffection is meant to neutralize the strength of our military and create schisms.

Be aware. Be careful. Be wise.

Thanks,

Navdeep.