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Whenever there is disillusionment with corruption, inefficiency or general chaos, a few bright bulbs write to me with that eternal blueberry, “Why can’t the Indian Army take over? We need martial law in India”. I have been hearing this ever since I left the army in 1999.

This is only said out of a sense of deep frustration. There are hardly any takers for a national level PT fall-in at 0545 hrs.

I will try and explain “why” as simply as I can.

For starters, it is treason. The Parliament represents the will of the people. To overthrow a democratically elected government, however bad, is not the job of the army. The army defends the nation and the people. It serves the nation. A situation where the nation serves the army is not only unimaginable but also reprehensible. This has never, ever been discussed in the army. Not formally, not informally, not over a few drinks. I repeat this is treason.

On the night intervening 14th and 15th August 1947, the British Indian Army was divided into the Indian Army and the Pakistan Army. At that moment, both armies were exactly the same in ethos, values, weapons, training, equipment and culture. There was absolutely no difference.

The trajectories that both these armies took post partition, is worthy of deep contemplation. It is said that while India has an army, the Pakistan Army has a country. That is what happens when you involve armies in politics. India becomes Pakistan.

The Members of Parliament are there in Parliament because we, the voters, put them there. Sometimes, if the Parliament looks like a circus to you, do remember that modern democracy is not very old. The earliest luminaries thrown up by this system were Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill. The system is still ‘work in progress’ in India. It has its faults but it is still the best system that there is.

The Indian Army is trained to fight. It is not trained to govern and rule. The motto of the Officers Training Academy is “Serve With Honour”. That is the army’s raison d’etre; to serve. In this service there is honour, glory and integrity. Remember, only those who serve India can die for India.

When we decide to vote on the basis of caste, religion and/or by accepting cash and gifts, we lose the moral right to object to corruption and inefficiency. If we want a clean system, let us first stop having double standards of our own. For some time initially, truth and integrity will hurt. It will be like injecting an alien chemical into the body. The body will react violently. But soon it will get used to it.

Yes, the Indian Army does fantastic work. It is great at fighting and winning wars, killing terrorists, defending India and helping civil authorities in times of natural calamities. It is also great at pulling out toddlers from bore wells, building railway bridges, controlling riots and cleaning lakes. But I beseech you; don’t applaud the army when it pulls out toddlers from bore wells, cleans lakes and builds railway bridges. Rather, step up and ask the system as to why is it that the Indian Army that has to step in for everything in this country. Is the system so rotten? Using the army to clean lakes is like cutting vegetables with a Katana. It defies all logic simply because it plays havoc with India’s finest institution.

Soldiers don’t have too many special skills outside of war fighting. But what they bring to the table is integrity, hard work and monk like commitment. That’s what gets the job done and that’s all that is needed. There is no secret sauce.

I could have given you many other practical reasons why the Indian Army will never take over. I could have said that this only happens in small countries, and that India is too large for the army to take over. I could have spoken about international pressure, governance structures, logistics and a thousand such things. I did not. You need to see this through the eyes of the soldier. To him, the Constitution is sacred. We have all, without exception, sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution of India. And soldiers do not defile what they consider sacred. No decent human being does.

As citizens, we must hold institutions accountable. That is the essence of democracy. Stop thinking that to question is simply your right. It is far more than that. It is your duty. Do your duty and everything will work like it is supposed to. Then there will be no need to call the Indian Army when a lake in Bangalore is dirty.

This is one war that the Indian Army will not fight for us. This is one war we must fight on our own. And our first attack must be on our own apathy.

The generals in South Block would approve.

Major Gaurav Arya (Veteran)

17th Battalion, The Kumaon Regiment

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