"It is not enough to be intelligent, you must have the right character", wrote the Spanish writer and philosopher Baltasar Gracián. For Defence Services, laying emphasis on maturity, honesty, integrity, and cultivating respect for human lives and human values, is sine qua non for developing character qualities, and history attests the need for this.
In Vietnam War alone, military commanders were responsible for executing policies which cost the US 300 billion dollars. They delivered 13 million tons of high explosives (more than six times the weight of bombs dropped by the USA in all theatres of war during World War II), and 90,000 tons of gas and herbicides, resulting in the death of about two million people. Yet they lost the war. Military officers are often required to shoulder great responsibilities, and errors of such magnitude are a matter of serious concern.
During World War II, the Allies suffered 7000 men killed, wounded and missing during Operation 'Market Garden' (17 - 25 Sep 1944), just within a short span of about a week. The initiative, quickness of mind, fortitude, self heroism and the conduct of those who actually fought the battle can never be surpassed. By the same token, the men who planned and administered the operation were probably as intellectually gifted, well trained, professionally competent and dedicated, as any military planner had ever been. But the overriding feature of the plan was to gratify Field Marshal Montgomery's ambition to win the race for Berlin, leading to such heavy casualties, which could, and should have been avoided. Hence the importance of placing human values above one's personal ambitions assumes utmost importance.
A wrong decision on the part of a company chairman or board of directors may cost a great deal of money and depress a sizable population of shareholders but military errors of such magnitude have cost hundreds of thousands of lives and untold misery to civilians and soldiers alike. Such grave errors with disasterous consequences are a result of those defects of personality, associated with authoritarian and disordered achievement-motivation. This highlights the need for training cadets in military academies to produce matured and balanced leaders, with highest degree of respect for human lives and human values.
Just because a human body is functioning with a reasonably high degree of efficiency, does not mean that we can afford to ignore a small cancerous growth. Conversely, just because we focus our entire attention on how to remove that cancerous growth does not mean that rest of the body is not functioning efficiently. Hence certain wrong practices and traditions that had since long established its roots in NDA, with an unofficial stamp of acceptance at the working level, behind the scenes, being highlighted in this article, should be seen in this context.
NDA is undoubtedly one of the finest military academies in the world. But for any such institution to grow further, it is all important to continuously keep identifying and examining certain grey areas, which if not addressed adequately may prove to be detrimental to the health of the armed forces in the long run. For that, the first and the foremost requirement is to be open to an honest feedback from all quarters.
Recently I came across an article on NDA, written by Admiral Arun Prakash, former Chief of Naval Staff, and ex-Commandant of NDA, published in 'Hindustan Times' dated 28 January 2024, and another one by Lt Gen HS Panag, an ex Army Commander, published in 'The Print', dated 18 July 2019. Since both of them happen to be alumni of NDA, they have brought out some valid points, which need to be taken seriously. However, due to contraints of space, I will dwell upon the most important ones only.
The point mentioned by Admiral Arun Prakash, regarding the prevalence of some negative ethos of cheating, impersonation, minor thefts, and manhandling of juniors in NDA, is a matter of serious concern. Hence these acts need to be treated as 'serious offences', rather than closing the eyes and accepting the same unofficially at whatever the level. Such wrong practices have been carrying on since 'n' number of decades under the misnomer of developing initiative, resourcefulness, and toughening the cadets physically and mentally. Well, if something is genuinely justified, it should ideally be included in the training syllabus, but permitting anything behind the scenes, just because it has been continuing for decades together as a matter of tradition, is a recipe for disaster.
The day in NDA starts with the reciting of 'NDA Prayer' during the morning muster, which says, "O God, help us to keep ourselves physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. ........ Awaken our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and guide us to choose the harder right, instead of the easier wrong." Hence we need to examine whether these unofficial traditions that have crept in, are in consonance to the high ideals that NDA aspires to promote.
A 'minor theft', unofficially accepted as a positive quality, presuming that it will develop initiative and resourcefulness, will actually end up encouraging a cadet to be a thief, and at some stage of life, it might motivate him to indulge in a major act of corruption, depending upon the opportunity. Because he would then not see it as a negative quality, but as a smart act of initiative by grabbing a golden opportunity; something to feel proud of, especially for not having been caught, which by itself would be assumed to be another achievement. But a theft is a theft. Whether it is minor or major, is purely a matter of opportunity, hence it must be dealt with a heavy hand. Anyone indulging in this malpractice should be relegated forthwith, and withdrawn from the Academy, in case the offence is repeated.
Moreover, how can stealing be ever encouraged ? Are we training the cadets to be thieves ? Should a successful theft, however small, be considered as an act of initiative or resourcefulness ? Isn't it shameful ? I still remember two of my own squadron-mates as well as course-mates stealing my monthly pocket-money of Rs 30/- those days, which we initially used to put inside the chest pocket of Shirt KD, hung in the wooden almirah, without latching our cabins from inside at night. This happened during the last night at NDA, the night before our final passing out of the Academy. A few others too were victims of the series of thefts committed by this duo that night. Though I later came to know who they were, yet it was rather too late, and when I remember that incident, it shakes my confidence in trusting my own NDA course-mates, since two of them had betrayed my faith beyond belief, after training together for three long years, after which we should have built bonds of dying for each other. On their part, they convinced themselves psychologically, that they had just 'maaroed' money; in performance of the last smart act at the Academy. For them, it was something to feel proud of, for having accomplished a mission without getting caught. But was this supposed to be the aim and end result of our three-year training together at the NDA ? In fact, we ended up being the victims of wrong practices, and those of us who resisted acquiring such useless and shameful qualities, owe it to the good bringing up by our parents, who had sent us to NDA with the high hope of being trained better than what they could possibly have done at home, in matters pertaining to personality development.
Then comes the concept of 'beg, borrow or steal', unofficially accepted as an impressive tradition in NDA, behind the scenes, as the ultimate 'mantra' for measuring the smartness and efficiency of a cadet. It is another misnomer for a useless concept, that needs to be dealt with strictly, since it ends up developing negative traits. This is no way of developing initiative and resourcefulness. The resultant effect of encouraging such a concept is that the seniors tend to forcefully acquire things from their helpless juniors, under the garb of having 'borrowed' and the chain reaction carries on, course after course. The junior is helplessly left to fend for himself, developing dislike and hatred for such seniors. He feels frustrated due to total absence of fairplay and justice. If a particular uniform item gets lost or damaged, a cadet should not be asked by the seniors to resort to the tactics of 'beg, borrow or steal'. Instead, a system of such items being readily made available on payment, within the squadron/battalion should be catered for. 'Forceful acquisitions' from juniors and 'minor thefts' should not be glamorized under the street-smart and high sounding impressive terminologies like 'borrowed' and 'maaroed'. Honesty should take precedence over all this concocted nonsense, and anyone indulging in such malpractices should be relegated forthwith. The very use of this terminology depicts complete lack of 'Emotional Intelligence', a quality so essential for a good leader.
We, as ex-NDA cadets, still have those sad and painful memories of some of the seniors with angular personalities, taking away our uniform items like riding boots, water bottles, NDA ties etc. While we were compelled to accept this slavish injustice in an utter state of helplessness, it made us feel subservient, killing in us the basic pride as an NDA cadet.
Then comes the most heinous and unkind of all the malpractices -- 'manhandling of juniors', which was widely prevalent during our NDA training period. All the courses were victims of this evil practice and no wonder we developed a hatred for those seniors who manhandled us, a shameful act which destroys an individual's self respect and kills the spirit of pride in him. When it acquires an unofficial stamp of acceptance at the working level, it makes a junior feel like a slave, making him realize his helplessness, as if there is nothing called justice, which ultimately leads to utter frustration. However, I must state that 95% of the seniors were good, but that cancerous growth of 5% is a matter of serious concern, which we can ill-afford to overlook, and that is what this article is all about.
We may have been educated in many disciplines, but when it comes to developing character qualities, I found NDA was infected with some serious malpractices during our training period, so much so that about a year and a half after we passed out, one of the 6th-Termers was beaten to death by their juniors during the 'Social Function' held two nights prior to passing out. It was the ultimate wake up call.
When we joined IMA Dehradun, we found an absolute positive change - no manhandling and no encouragement of the useless and senseless doctrine of 'beg, borrow or steal'. We were treated like 'Gentleman Cadets', and it was an unbelievably refreshing change, inculcating in us, a sense of pride. We really felt like 'Officer Cadets'.
One of our seniors in NDA from our squadron, a sadist of the highest order, happened to meet me 22 years later, while we both were still in service, but he could not look straight into my eyes. He should have ideally been relegated in NDA for lack of Officer Like Qualities (OLQ), but instead, it is we who had to suffer for his deficiencies. As a result, we carried that baggage of bitterness instead of the NDA spirit. Well, I am not aware whether such malpractices are still prevalent. I hope, wish and pray, they are not. But as per the unofficial feedback, these are still prevalent, at least in some measure. However, it is so encouraging to see General Officers like Admiral Arun Prakash, and Lt Gen HS Panag, honestly highlighting these malpractices. I appreciate their courage and concern.
While each one of us has had different types of experience, we all would agree, that dignity of a person supersedes all other considerations, and manhandling is one evil practice which is a direct attack on the dignity of a human being. It amounts to violation of human rights. Even the Prisoners of War, are not manhandled, but treated as per Geneva Conventions.
A cadet being manhandled suffers silently, with a bruised ego and an eroded self esteem, which totally numbs his soul. No human being deserves this state of affairs, since it destroys that very sense of pride in him, which the Academy is supposed to develop. An element of human understanding and consideration for others is an allpervading factor in military life. No matter how great an officer's qualifications, or how high the rank or appointment he holds, his overall competence is reduced if he lacks the personal qualities as a gentleman.
The most recent cases that occurred during the last two decades, not to mention many others that may have occurred at the lower level, pertain to quite a few General Officers. Two Army Chiefs, one Army Commander, alongwith three Lt Gens and four Maj Gens were found guilty of their involvement in Mumbai's Adarsh Society scam at Colaba military station. However, since they had retired and ceased to be under Army Act, the government closed their cases after conveying them its 'Displeasure', thus allowing them to get off scot-free.
The next two cases also pertain to two Lt Gens, which qualify for a classic 'case study' on violation of the spirit of the 'NDA Motto' and the 'NDA Prayer'. One pertains to one of the Commandants of NDA (who was a cadet during our training period), and another one to an Army Commander, about five years our senior in NDA. CBI inquiries were initiated against both, immediately after their retirement, for their involvement in malpractices of severe and sensational nature, amounting to moral turpitude. While they may have been able to escape the clutches of law, a defence officer is not fit to command troops or face his colleagues and subordinates, unless he can stand straight on the moral high ground.
We must remember that as long as armies are made up of people, the human element will remain an irreplaceable consideration in command and leadership. In fact, an officer is not worthy of the rank he holds, unless he honours and respects his subordinates, and possesses an impeccable integrity. Hence, these are the first and foremost qualities that need to be taught and inculcated in the cadets during their NDA training; not to bully and manhandle their juniors, and certainly not to follow the third rate doctrine of 'beg, borrow or steal'. These result in demeaning the subordinates, and are totally inhumane and un-officer like. Let us not forget that an ounce of prudence is worth a pound of cleverness, and any act which violates the high ideals enunciated by the 'NDA Prayer' and the 'NDA Motto' - "सेवा परमो धममः " (Service Before Self), is to be condemned and eradicated right from its roots.
The author is an alumnus of NDA (44th NDA Course), who was commissioned in 2nd Battalion Brigade of the Guards in June 1974.
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