Describing the shortage of officers in the Indian Army as the 'most critical' and 'scary' problem, a security expert has asked the government to attract the youth by offering them post-retirement 'lateral induction' into paramilitary and police services, a move which would not only continue their employment but also provide these forces trained and experienced manpower.
"The most critical problem the Indian military faces today is the huge shortage of officers. Particularly, the levels of deficit at 25 per cent for Army is scary," Indian Defence Review journal Editor Bharat Verma said in the editorial of the latest issue.
The problem was 'scary' because it comes at a time when the army was not only involved in protecting the vast borders and fighting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast on a day-to-day basis, but the officers' shortage was at the levels where it hurts most - lieutenants, captains and majors - the ranks that give the cutting edge leadership on ground without which no General can win a battle, leave alone a war, he said.
Observing that the prevailing practice of ensuring that every officer reached the rank of at least a Colonel would result in bloating of the senior echelons of the Army, Verma said within a few years, 'it would be natural that expectations will enhance and the limit is raised to a Brigadier.' This, however, will still not attract the youth to join the military, he added.
Given the growing menace of terrorism and internal violence, Verma said commonality between the army on one hand and police and paramilitary on the other should be considered, instead of commonality between police-paramilitary forces and the bureaucracy.
"Lateral induction is the only way to attract the young but savvy population to the toughest profession where risk-to-life factor is an everyday affair. Once they (army officers) know that after a short and demanding tenure they have an assured career elsewhere, with seniority of service intact, and their family will not be on the roads, the deficit in officer cadre will disappear," he said.
"Similarly, a jawan after ten-year tenure must be laterally inducted into paramilitary, coast guard, marine police and the central and state police set-ups. It is necessary to create that we create and maintain a lean and mean fighting machine," the strategic expert said.
Modernisation of the armed forces required not only induction of sophisticated weapons, equipment and systems, but also infusion of fresh manpower so as to retain the requisite youthful zeal - a key determinant of military prowess, Verma said, adding that among the advantages would be the transfer of disciplined, trained and skilled manpower to the civil set-up.
Pointing to the strange mindset that guarding the borders was the sole responsibility of the security forces, which had little relevance to the civil society and other professions, he said leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose and Morarji Desai were among several leaders who had flirtations with the uniform while being part of the British Ambulance Corps, the University Corps or the Training Corps.
"Awareness and appreciation of military matters among Indians is imperative if India is to become a key player in Asia. It would also serve as an antidote to casteism and communalism," Verma said.
