THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 27 November 2018 (Preventing another scuffle)

Preventing another scuffle

Mains Paper 1: Governance
Prelims level: Bomdila incident
Mains level: Various government organisations and their disputes

Context

•  In Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh recently, two soldiers of the Indian Army were arrested by the local police and reportedly beaten up for alleged incorrect behaviour during a festival, which was then followed by alleged retaliatory high-handedness by their Army compatriots.
•  This is an apt example of the leadership on both sides not using their superior skills to prevent the unsavoury happenings and living up to the requirement of statecraft.
•  In aviation, for example, there is a maxim, ‘a superior pilot is one who uses his superior judgment to avoid situations which require the use of his superior skills’.
•  The term ‘statecraft’ is important because the leadership at every level of the government is a vital cog in maintaining a harmonious relationship with other arms, all the while respecting the other’s domain specialisation.

Why it is so significant?

•  The Bomdila incident is not the first instance of the civil administration and the military having locked horns.
•  It is just that earlier incidents did not get publicity in the absence of fast communication.
•  Though the issues were “resolved”, tensions have continued to simmer. Social media and near instantaneous communications now amplify the damage, as seen at Bomdila.
•  The Ministry of Defence was sent on leave after a tweet from the spokesperson’s official Twitter handle was viewed as an insult by veterans.
•  The controversial tweet, which was in response to a remark made by a former Indian Navy chief, is another example of the attitude of some in the civil administration towards the uniformed forces.

Impacts on Civil and Military relations

•  The fallout in both cases has been unsavoury to say the least, highlighting the vital intangible called ‘civil-military’ relations.
•  There is a delicate thread that links the uniformed and non-uniformed sections. Pride in one’s job should not translate to contempt for another’s job.
•  The civil administration has challenges that no uniformed person ever faces, such as the pressures from social strife, economic hardships, and law and order.
•  The uniformed services, on the other hand, see themselves as protectors of the nation even at the cost of their own lives.
•  This requires implicit faith of the soldier, the sailor and the airman in their leadership.
•  A commander’s order is sacrosanct and a soldier on the front line follows it unflinchingly despite knowing that he could lose his life the next moment.
•  It is this implicit faith that permeates the psyche of a uniformed person based on the belief that his commander is supreme and will always look after his interests as well as those of his family.
•  This is how the military works, by laying emphasis on the point that military effectiveness requires a military culture that is different from that of a civilian’s.
•  This is the heart of the ‘chip on the shoulder’ feeling that drives a soldier to sacrifice his life at his superior’s command.

Core issues

•  ‘Feeling special’ is not the customary platitudes on television, political rallies and slogans in times of conflict.
•  In finding solutions to the everyday pressures that a soldier and his family face, such as issues of pay and allowances, precedence with civilian counterparts, a lack of good schooling on account of frequent postings, housing issues, land litigation and the like.
•  This results in healthy civil-military relations.
•  At the heart of civil-military relations are two questions that Professor Mackubin Owens of the Institute of World Politics, poses in an essay.
•  First, who controls the military and how? Is there civilian control or has it degenerated into civilian bureaucratic control?
•  Second, what degree of military influence is appropriate for a given society?
•  While direct intervention in domestic affairs is a big no, on the other extreme is the utilisation of the armed forces in happenings that should logically come under the civilian domain.

Do not deify the military

•  Deification of the military could lead to resentment among certain sections of society. And here is where the politician comes in: using the armed forces very often as a bulwark to sort out civil issues is detrimental to military philosophy.
•  So also is the absence of oversight to prevent civilian bureaucratic control and delays in resolving the problems service personnel face.
•  The trick is to anticipate and prevent a Bomdila type incident so that ‘superior judgment is not required to firefight something that could have been prevented had those superior skills been used at the right time’.

Way forward

•  An unequal civil-military dialogue, wherein a soldier begins to doubt his ‘uniqueness’ (not deification) in society does not bode well for good civil-military relations.
•  Similarly, the important role played by the civilian bureaucracy in governance should be acknowledged.
•  Civil-military relation is an art that require delicate nursing through statesmanship. Good leadership from both sides is the key to preventing new Bomdilas.

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General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1) Bomdila is the headquarters of?
A. West Kameng district
B. Tawang District
C. Kamle District
D. Lohit District

Answer: A

Mains Questions:
Q.1) What degree of military influence is appropriate for a given society?