The psychological effects on soldiers must be considered

 There are more than 14 lakh soldiers serving in the Indian Army and many of them have taken extreme measures like suicide due to work stress. It is a matter of great concern that the number of suicides in the country is on the rise. Apart from this, the number of martyrs on duty in the Naxal-affected areas is also increasing. CRPF personnel have the highest number of martyrs. 950 CRPF personnel deployed in Naxal-affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir have been martyred in the line of duty in the last three years. On the other hand, if we look at the suicide statistics of soldiers, in 2021, 153 soldiers have committed suicide. Of these, 56 were CRPF personnel and 42 were BSA personnel. The number of martyrs in Naxal-affected areas is 57%. If all the troops are taken together, in 2019 there will be 622, including 15 Gazetted Officers. In 2020, 691 jawans including 14 Gazetted Officers and in 2021, 729 jawans including 18 Gazetted Officers have been martyred. According to the Home Ministry, the number of suicides among Central Armed Police Force (APF) personnel including BSF, CRPF and SSB is higher than the number of encounters between 2015 and 2020. Between 2015-2020, about 680 soldiers attempted suicide, while 323 soldiers were martyred in the encounter. This means that the suicide rate of soldiers is more than double that of martyrs.

Irregular working hours, neglect from superiors, lack of resources, corruption in transfers and promotions, insensitive leadership, months of unpaid leave and inconvenience of living, hours on duty in dangerous places, work on difficult terrain, loneliness, separation from family The inability to do anything about domestic problems and the uncertainty about virtually everything has serious consequences for the physical and mental health of soldiers. Soldiers often have to bear the brunt of the lack of high-tech weapons. Even a small mistake in following the guidelines can be overwhelming. Diseases in remote areas also cause their deaths. For the last 15 years, the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defense have failed to take care of the mental health of their soldiers.

Soldiers are not allowed to use mobile phones in the army. Mobiles distract the jawans. Soldiers' mobiles were confiscated at a training center to curb the use of mobile phones. They were stoned to death. The purpose of blowing up mobiles is to instill a sense of discipline in the jawans. In the only incident this year, on July 17, Major Shikar Thapa was shot dead by a trooper in the Uri sector near the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. Nike's Kathy Ratan attacked him with his AK-47 rifle after the officer insulted him for using a mobile phone while on duty. Despite all the so-called measures taken by the defense establishment to defuse tensions between the ground forces, the air force and the navy, suicide and crime cases in the armed forces have not stopped. Because soldiers are isolated from their families, they are becoming victims of loneliness.

In 70 per cent of the cases, it was found that the soldiers had been talking on the phone for a long time before committing suicide. This is called a psychological autopsy. How does that person behave before death? This is analyzed. Psychological autopsy was performed in the army to curb suicides. Psychological autopsy is a psychological postmortem. When a person dies instead of the body, his behavior is closely scrutinized. Who was the person talking to, sometimes, before he died? How was his eating and drinking routine? Who was he meeting? How does he treat them? It is seen. Accordingly, in many cases of suicide, it was found that the jawan had just returned from home after returning from vacation. Soldiers to their families, Not being able to cope with domestic problems often leads to tremendous mental stress, ranging from property disputes and harassment by social factors to financial and marital problems. When he returned home, he found that he had a heated argument with a close relative. The quarrel would have escalated to such an extent that the soldier would have thought of committing suicide. Prolonged deployment in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast also affects the soldiers' physical endurance and mental health. All of these factors include low pay, denial of leave, lack of basic amenities, ineffective leadership, and sometimes humiliation at the hands of officials. When he returned home, he found that he had a heated argument with a close relative. The quarrel would have escalated to such an extent that the soldier would have thought of committing suicide. Prolonged deployment in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast also affects the soldiers' physical endurance and mental health. All of these factors include low pay, denial of leave, lack of basic amenities, ineffective leadership, and sometimes humiliation at the hands of officials. When he returned home, he found that he had a heated argument with a close relative. The quarrel would have escalated to such an extent that the soldier would have thought of committing suicide. Prolonged deployment in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast also affects the soldiers' physical endurance and mental health. All of these factors include low pay, denial of leave, lack of basic amenities, ineffective leadership, and sometimes humiliation at the hands of officials.

In addition to the Ministry of Defense appointing some psychological counselors to provide mental health services, a large number of officers have been trained as counselors. Other measures have also been taken to improve living and working conditions, additional family accommodation and liberalized leave policy as well as strengthening the grievance redressal mechanism and regular practice of yoga and meditation in each unit of the army. The families of the martyred soldiers are given a lump sum compensation of Rs. 25 lakhs to 45 lakhs. The Bharat Ke Veer 'portal also provides a public contribution of up to Rs 15 lakh and an additional assistance of Rs 10 lakh from Veer Corps of India to the parents of martyred married soldiers.

Even your security guards have a high incidence of stress disorders. But in a country where even physically handicapped soldiers are fighting for their legitimate rights, it is a long way to go to recognize mental disability and take some measures for it. The military has introduced a number of measures to curb the rising number of suicides, such as more leave, better food and infrastructure, more interaction with the authorities, counseling sessions, etc. They can also be of some use. But physical suffering alone does not cause mental trauma! If that were the case, the US military, the world's richest military, would have taken action long ago. The ongoing infighting - which is most prevalent when fighting the citizens of one's own country - causes moral turmoil in the minds of the soldiers, and one day it loses its balance. The fact that the soldiers who defended the country by being generous with their lives are mentally exhausted is a proof that not everything is alright in the affairs of the Indian Army. In the past, a video of an Indian soldier reading about the mistreatment and lack of facilities in the army went viral on social media. Shortly afterwards, he was suspended from the Indian Army. There have been several cases of direct and indirect pressure on the Indian Army to prevent its misconduct from being read out.

-Suresh Mantri