TALES OF TRAVESTY
DR. JITENDRA SINGH
Not much notice has been taken of sporadic reports in a section of press that the youth of this country are gradually turning away from a career in armed forces because they no longer find it attractive. Even though lack of preference for an army career has been visible over the last few years when newspapers are found carrying advertisements repeatedly extending the last date to apply for a commission job in Army for want of number of applicants, the incessant continuance of the trend without any signs of reversal is something that should sound alarm bells not only for the Army or the prospective youth aspirants but infact for the entire community of nation’s planners, social scientists and indeed the public in general.
There was a time, not many years ago, when a career in Army was considered a matter of pride bringing along with it as a package not only prestigious perks and social status but also enviable matrimonial prospects for the young. While even a ranker Army Sepoy was treated with respect and even free complimentary snacks, tea etc by market outlets, any prospective bride’s family invariably took great pride in finding alliance with a bridegroom from Indian Army. Not only the immediate post-independence generation of youth, but even in the aftermath of Bangladesh war in the 1970s the Indian youth was so highly enthused about serving in the Army that many a young engineering graduate from the prestigious IITs had turned down more lucrative options only to seek a career in the Indian Army or the Indian Air Force. Does that mean that we need another war to revive the Indian youth’s interest in an Army career ?
Indeed, the patriotic fervour is obviously on the upswing during or immediately after a freedom struggle or a war. This is a phenomenon universally observed in every part of the world. But, in India, there are several other factors too… some old, some new…which inherently affect the mind-set of country’s youth.
The increasing number of educated unemployed coupled with an increasing requirement of superior amenities arising from consumerist as well as neo-rich life style have put additional demands and constraints on the psyche of contemporary Indian youth. Hapless and stressed, today’s youth is not to be blamed if by a natural instinct he is driven to a career option which apparently promises him a higher degree of financial security with a relatively hassle-free day to day living for himself and his family. For that matter, an Army career has, of late, instead of being attractive turned more and more unattractive with the loss of its traditional aura and with the incessant deployment of Army personnel on inhospitable civilian security duties in militancy affected regions.
The trend of the Indian youth turning away from an Army career is infact too serious an issue with far too wider ramifications to be left to be dealt alone by the Army or Defence high-ups. This trend owes much of its genesis to changing social attitudes of a nation which is yet to come to optimum terms with the good and bad points of a multi-national or MNC culture. The trend is also linked to growing insensitivity of a nation which has perhaps started taking for granted the indespensable role of Army in enabling us to lead our day to day life in the manner that we wish to lead. The ultimate remedy lies in genuinely convincing the common man about his priorities instead of allowing an untrustworthy politician or an apathetic bureuacrat to be the master of his destiny lest Umapathy’s lack of faith in dispensation should end up in lack of hope, a La, ‘‘Na Gayi Teri Be-rukhi Na Gayi, Hum Teri Aarzoo Hi Kho Baithe’’.
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