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| YOGA: AN ALTERNATIVE TO PANIC BUTTON FOR TROOPS BATTLING IN KASHMIR | | (SUNDAY SPECIAL) | |
Srinagar,August 19 : In any conflict zone the cases of mental depression and stress are a common phenomena and Kashmir– is no exception to this.
Not only there has been an alarming increase in the number of local patients suffering from one or the other mental ailments during the ongoing conflict looming with uncertainty, but the security forces fighting insurgency from the last seventeen years in Jammu and Kashmir are also hugely affected by the constant stress.
There have been numerous cases of suicides among troops, cases of opening fire on their colleagues and several other panic reactions.
The officials have been attributing such panic reactions to plethora of reasons like continuous work under extreme hostile conditions, perpetual threat to life, absence of ideal living conditions, lack of recreational avenues, and of course; the home sickness due to long separation from families.
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FACTOID
A soldier suicide has been reported almost every fifth day for the past three years, the frustration being worst among those battling militants in Kashmir and the Northeast for a long time.
Statistics placed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament recently show 66 soldier suicides in 2002, 96 in 2003, 100 in 2004 and 71 till November in 2005.
The number of "assault and affray" cases — including battering of officers or violence among troops — was 95 between 2002 and 2004 and 18 till November in 2005.
A separate table on murders shows six killings in 2002, 16 in 2003, 18 in 2004 and 16 till November in 2005.
BRIEF TIMELINE:
January 25, 2006: Indian paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable Avtar Chand gunned down four of his colleagues and injuring one critically–a day before Indian Republic Day celebrations in restive region of Indian administered Kashmir, inside heavily guarded CRPF (96 Battalion) camp housed in Firdous Cinema in downtown Srinagar. After entering into a verbal brawl with one of his colleagues Mr Avtar reportedly went berserk and opened fire. He was later overpowered and arrested.
APRIL 02, 2006: After apparently being denied leave, a CRPF soldier identified as Anand Kumar Singh opened indiscriminate fire on his colleagues at the Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's official residence at Jammu, killing three. The dead included company commander and two head constables of CRPF. Mr Singh was later arrested.
APRIL 20, 2006: An Inspector Chander Paul, 40-year-old, a resident of Bulandshaher in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh, of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) committed suicide by hanging himself in his room inside a training centre at Srinagar. Mr Paul was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his room in the residential quarters at the Subsidiary Training Centre STC) at Humhama, near Srinagar Airport, during April 19, 2006 night. Motive behind his suicide was not known immediately. Paul was reported to be tense over some family trouble. The police later registered a case.
JUNE 16, 2006: Commissioned in the Indian Army just about eight months ago, the 25-year-old female Army officer Lieutenant Sushmita Chakraborthy from Bhopal- the capital of Indian State of Madhya Pradesh, shot herself at the Indian administered Udhampur-based officer's mess of the 5071 Army Service Corps (ASC). Holding and M.Sc. degree in Chemistry, Sushmita was reportedly not happy with her job.
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YOGA: THE PANACEA
Various security agencies have now not only engaged counselors and psychologists to combat stress among troops but have also found panacea in meditation, exercises and yoga, all used as techniques against stress.
In this connection, the CRPF recently asked the government for more benefits for its troopers and a better compensation package for families of personnel who die while on duty. It argued the soldiers are frustrated because Army personnel, often doing similar jobs in militancy infested pockets, are better looked after.
The armed forces, too, have circulated among their commanders reports of psychologists and defence analysts on tackling mental disorders among troops.
Dalip Singh Ambesh who was the CRPF public relations officer (PRO) in Srinagar until very recently while talking to KIP on this issue said the force has started employing de-stressing techniques in the form of creating music groups–Jazz, playing VCDs for recreational purpose, doing exercises in gymnasiums, and above all, meditation and yoga sessions.
"Yoga has worked wonders for troops. It keeps their minds under control during hostile circumstances and helps them remain controlled persons and behave properly with civilians," he said.
Indian troops have often been alleged of gross human rights abuses in Kashmir and Ambesh candidly admitted there have been abuses but he said the yoga classes have improved results.
Responsible for internal security and guarding important installations, there are about 27 units of CRPF in summer capital Srinagar alone. Each unit comprises of approximately 1000 personnel, taking the count of CRPF men in Srinagar city to about 27,000.
At least 75 CRPF men belonging to the First Battalion (Bn) based at picturesque and hilly Harinavas camp take part in yoga each morning for about two hours.
Meet Constable Ratan Lal from the state of Madhya Pradesh here at Harinavas. Suffering from home sickness since long, Lal decided to take part in yoga and he says he lost 9 Kgs of weight in just 18 days. "Amazing! After yoga I feel relaxed, hungrier, and the tension is relieved. I also get a good sleep now," says Lal. "Gussa Bhi Kam Aaata Hai" (Anger is also controlled), he adds.
Safai Karamchari (sweeper) Om Prakash from Rajasthan says he would reluctantly talk to any of his colleagues before being part of the yoga crew.
"I had lost hope of serving CRPF. I would always think of dying. But after yoga it is altogether a different story. It has changed me, freed my mind from bad thoughts and made me a better person," Prakash says with a perennial and optimistic smile on his face.
He had spent forty thousand rupees on his treatment in Tripura to no avail but yoga has changed his life completely without spending a penny, he says.
Mr Koslia is the commandant of First Battalion and talking to 'KIP' he says the breathing exercises help his men overcome the stress and makes them control their anger and behave more humanely.
Explaining the exercises as 'PRANAYAM', a Sanskrit word derived from Pran meaning life and Ayam meaning air, Koslia says in whatever battalion he has served he has made his men participate in the yoga.
"There are different poses in Pranayam like butterfly, cobra and lotus. All have their utilities for specific body parts," he says.
"My experience with yoga makes me believe it can add five more years to my life," says a CRPF constable Bivinder Singh from the state of Haryana, adding, "I will never leave yoga even after my retirement from the force".
Quite in tune with the views of his junior colleagues is Sanjay Singh, the second in command of the First Battalion, who hails from Agra city. "In hostile conditions one can just snap. And the assistance of paramilitary forces is always sought in unfriendly and stressful circumstances but yoga comes to our rescue to overcome stress," he says.
Deliberating on the stress conditions and the defence mechanism to overcome these, a renowned researcher, educationist, psychologist and social scientist Dr Abdul Gani Madhosh says, "The overall situation in Kashmir is not all that pleasant. Here, the depression itself is a sort of defence mechanism."
As a way out, Mr Madhosh suggests, "Counseling is a first step. Exercises and yogic activities can definitely help."
Dr Amit Wanchoo, the president of Rotary Club of Kashmir reveals that in 1989 there were only 1500 patients registered with the lone mental hospital in Srinagar suffering from one or the other mental diseases but the figure has shot up to an alarming number of 65,000 until December 2005.
"This is not a good sign. We got to do something about it collectively without waiting for governmental aid. NGOs have to gear up to deal with the crisis. We have to anticipate the disaster and have to be ready with the crisis management plans," Dr Wanchoo says.
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