Soldiers are not Chowkidars; take their lives seriously
In the suicide attack carried out by a terrorist in Pulwama few weeks ago, 40 of our CRPF jawans were killed. We still have not come out of that shock and another incident has been reported from paramilitary camp in Udhampur of Jammu Kashmir on Wednesday night. A CRPF Jawan has shot dead three of his superiors and attempted to kill himself too at the end. It is said that the jawan has a psychological condition that prompted him to do so. Unfortunately our soldiers are causing big damage and killing themselves over complications relating to their mental health. The number of soldiers who kill themselves is higher than the ones that get killed in the warfront, as per a report submitted to the home ministry to the parliamentary committee last year.
In the last six years, more than 700 soldiers have committed suicide in para military troupes in our country. This is the case of paramilitary such as CRPF. But the situation is not any different in defence sector either. Last year alone, 80 soldiers have committed suicide including 8 from navy, and 16 from Army. In 2017, 75 soldiers had committed suicide and 104 had killed themselves in 2016. As per defence ministry data, about 348 soldiers have ended lives between 2014-17 while on duty.
Unfortunately our BSF, CRPF, CAPF, ITBP, SSB and other security agencies lose more men to suicide than in operations. Another concerning issue is many recruited soldiers are quitting service midway even before the completion of their term. For instance about 44,000 men left service either by resignation or voluntary retirement between 2009 and 2012. This has raised some serious questions about internal aspects of our armed forces. Working in such agencies is not the same as working elsewhere. Those men carry the responsibility of the entire nation on their shoulders. It is the responsibility of every citizen to be concerned about their welfare. Every time a soldier kills himself, a possible reason is given. But such issues are not as simple as they seem at the outset.
Senior officers of different defence forces have conducted a study into the matter and have found a few reasons that led the soldiers into such extreme steps. For example: people serving in security forces have to stay far from their families and friends. A normal jawan spends 25 years of his 30 year service period on the line of duty. He gets less than five years to be with his family. To reach home during their month-long holiday takes many days if they hail from remote parts of India. In the next few days, he has to again return to his workplace. Weather is too adverse in places like North East and Kashmir. Mind and body both undergo a lot of uncertainties when serving in such areas.
Jawans and those working under their category do not get any better facilities as the higher officers do. Many people in these forces have a lot of simmering discontentment regarding this. Repeated transfers lead to mental stress. Jawans are angry about the lowly comments and mental torture they have to hear from their seniors. They hate doing personal tasks for their seniors. Promotion hardly comes by and even if a jawan is most diligent, he has to wait at least for 15-20 years till he is promoted. This leads to major feeling of discontentment.
The limitations within security forces are the reason why jawans are subjected to harassment. Government and senior officers have taken up a few reconciliatory steps to fix this disparity. Services of mental health professionals has been sought to address many issues during times when they leave on holiday, come back from home and at the time of their joining. This gives them some solace. Uniforms and food has been improved, and family accommodation is being provided to those who are newly married and been posted by the border. Yoga, sports and entertainment opportunities have been increased. But none of these have brought any solace to the soldiers who feel these are just bare compensation.
At the same time, vacant positions across the army are another reason for increased pressure on soldiers. About 61,000 recruitments are awaited. CRPF needs 18,000, BSF needs 11,000, CISF needs 3,182, UTBP needs 5,786, Sashastra Seemabal needs 18,942, Assam Rifles needs 3,840 posts to be filled up. As of now the soldiers have to cover up for those posts too which have been lying vacant. Hence they face additional work pressure. These posts are to be filled on priority. Staff of security agencies are the ones that guard us with their lives. It is the duty of the country to provide them with proper facilities. Our central government, especially the defence ministry has to do the needful since this is the question of India’s safety.
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NDA sweeps bypolls to four assembly segments in Bihar
Patna (PTI): The ruling NDA in Bihar on Saturday swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, receiving a boost ahead of the assembly elections due next year.
Candidates of the Jan Suraaj, floated recently by former political strategist Prashant Kishor with much fanfare, lost deposits in all but one seat, in a clear indication that the fledgling party, despite claims of taking the political landscape in the state by storm, needs to cover much ground.
The biggest setback for the INDIA bloc, helmed by the RJD, came in Belaganj, a seat the party had been winning since its inception in the 1990s, but this time lost to the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the arch-rival of its founding president Lalu Prasad.
The JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi, a former MLC, defeated by a margin of more than 21,000 votes RJD’s Vishwanath Kumar Singh who made his debut from a seat that fell vacant upon election to Lok Sabha of his father Surendra Prasad Yadav, a multiple term MLA.
The margin of victory was greater than the 17,285 votes polled by Mohd Amjad of Jan Suraaj, whom the RJD may have liked to blame for its defeat by causing a split in Muslim votes.
JD(U) national spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, "The people of Bihar deserve kudos for rejecting the negativity of the opposition and reposing their trust in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Under his leadership, the NDA will win more than 200 seats of the 243-strong assembly in 2025."
The RJD also suffered an embarrassing defeat in Ramgarh, where Prashant Kishor’s prediction of the party “finishing third or fourth” came true. The forecast had caused Sudhakar Singh, son of state RJD president Jagadanand Singh, the MP from Buxar who had won the assembly seat in 2020, to threaten that Jan Suraaj cadres in the constituency will be “beaten up with sticks”.
Singh’s younger brother Ajit finished a distant third after BJP winner Ashok Kumar Singh, a former MLA, and Satish Kumar Singh Yadav who fought on a ticket of the BSP, which has little foothold in Bihar.
Jan Suraaj, though, was hardly a factor in Ramgarh, where its candidate Sushil Kumar Singh polled less than four per cent votes.
The BJP also pulled off a stunning victory in Tarari, which falls under the Arrah Lok Sabha seat, currently represented by CPI(ML)’s Sudama Prasad, who had won the assembly segment for two consecutive terms.
CPI(ML) candidate Raju Yadav lost, by a margin of a little over 10,000 votes, to BJP debutant Vishal Prashant, better known as the son of local strongman Sunil Pandey, who was formerly with the JD(U) and had joined the saffron party a few months ago.
Jan Suraaj had initially announced that it was fielding a former Vice Chief of the Army in Tarari but later disclosed that he could not contest because of technical reasons. Its candidate Kiran Singh got less than four per cent votes.
The most respectable performance from Jan Suraaj came in the reserved Imamganj seat where its candidate Jitendra Paswan stood third, polling well over 20 per cent votes.
The seat, however, went to Deepa Kumari, daughter-in-law of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who defeated RJD’s Raushan Kumar by a slender margin of less than 6,000 votes.
Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, vacated Imamganj earlier this year upon getting elected to Lok Sabha from Gaya.
With the exception of Ashok Singh in Ramgarh, the winners in all the seats shall be making their debut in the state assembly.
