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| Tragic incident at Mansbal Army camp | | | When a trooper killed five soldiers
and then killed himself in Ganderbal area in North Kashmir on Wednesday-Thursday it was not a solitary incident. In fact it was part of series of such incidents that have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir during the last two decades of Pakistan sponsored proxy war.Reports said that a soldier fatally shot dead five of his colleagues and then turned the gun on himself following a heated argument in north Kashmir's Ganderbal district. Police said an angry trooper of the Rashtriya Rifles went berserk inside the Mansbal camp following an exchange of heated words.He resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in the death of five soldiers before he killed himself. Compared to the Mansbal type incident there have been more suicide cases in the Army and the paramilitary forces in the country but as far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned the rate is much higher than what the figures from other states reveal. At one stage reports had surfaced that about 15,000 soldiers had committed suicide between 1991 and 2012 but the central Government in general and the Ministry of Defence strongly denied such reports.
A total of 1,028 soldiers from the Indian Army have committed suicide during the last one decade.In fact this information had been given in the past by the Defence Minister A.K.Antony.In 2003 the total suicides among soldiers was 96 which rose to 100 in 2004. As many as 129 soldiers committed suicide in 2006 against 77 in 2005.In 2007 the figure was 118,in 2008 it was 123 and in 2009 it was 96 but rose to 115 in 2010 and 102 in 2011..By July 2012,, 62 had reportedly killed themselves. The major causes of suicides in the army were domestic problems, marital discord, stress and financial problems, according to studies by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR). The number of suicides in paramilitary forces BSF and CRPF has increased in recent years.Suicides in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) increased from 28 in 2009 to 42 in 2011. The incidents of fragging (one soldier killing other) was five in 2011, In the Border Security Force (BSF), the number of suicides in 2011 was 39, compared to 26 in 2009. In 2011, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police saw three suicides, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) recorded 12, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) recorded 11 while Assam Rifles saw nine suicides.
However,various steps taken by the Ministry of Defence to check suicides and fragging in the Army and the paramilitary forces have started bearing results.Government survey shows that there has been marked drop in the level of suicides and fragging in the Army and the paramilitary forces during the last two to three years.The Army have introduced Yoga exercises in the units for helping the soldiers to fight stress.In addition to this soldiers have to undergo regular counseling where experts help the jawans to come out of mild depression and dejection.Experts have suggested to the Ministry of Defence and the Union Home Ministry to allow jawans to proceed on leave after every six months so that they do not feel homesick.Another suggestion is to build additional family quarters so that majority of jawans,whether serving in the Army or the paramilitary forces,remain part of their family members which can prove helpful in tackling stress and loneliness.Each company commander needs to keep a watch on the mindset of each soldier and in case he finds ties among some soldiers getting strained he should report it to the higher authorities so that immediate steps were taken to segregate the soldiers.Besides this service condtions for troops and for men in the paramilitary forces need to be modified and upgraded especially in the field areas,on the border and in belts infested by terrorists, Naxals and Maoists. |
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