By Air Cmde TK Chatterjee (retd)
Moral burden is a term that can refer to an obligation arising out of considerations of right or wrong. It can also refer to moral pain that a person experiences when his or her moral beliefs and values are violated or transgressed by oneself or others. When it comes to the armed forces, whether in actual war with another nation or carrying out internal security operations, the armed forces personnel are expected to act in the most professional, gentlemanly, meticulously moral, and exemplary manner, even if such righteousness costs them their lives. The burden of morality rests on the able shoulders of the armed forces – the military in particular. It is their undisputed privilege to live and die like gentlemen.
The above is the message that all commentators have conveyed on the death of three people in the aftermath of the Poonch episode where four army personnel were shot down and the perpetrators of the crime mutilated the bodies of two.
Why does the burden of morality rest on the armed forces alone? It is because all others in the business of running the country have gladly abandoned such silly frivolous preaching of saints, philosophers, scholars, etc. Nobody is surprised at any immoral actions of anyone else in positions of authority because they are well expected to not act any differently. Indian society, in its ultimate wisdom, has come to terms with these minor aberrations from righteous behaviour.
The hue and cry are about the alleged custodial death of three ‘people’. I do not use the term ‘civilian’ because the militants, jihadis or terrorists, whatever you may call them – they are all civilians. They mingle with the civilians and draw their weapons when the opportunity arises, and the timing suits them. As I write this piece, custodial death has not yet been proven, but the political activities and summary transfers of army officers in charge of the operation and the various comments of various commentators in the media suggest that the verdict has already been assumed. All that remains is the delivery of the coup de grace once the Court of Inquiry is formally signed.
I am surprised that the armed forces do not learn from the police force. How neatly they cover the extrajudicial killings which are famously called ‘encounters’. It is invariably the same story every time. The criminal snatched a revolver from the security guard while in transit and opened fire, hitting nobody, and the others had to shoot him in self-defence, thus evoking Sec 46 of CrPC and Sec 96 of IPC, which automatically exonerates the police personnel. No one is blamed. Nobody is surprised. Such news does not get politicised either. Any policeman who excels in this sport gets idolised too. They become the trouble-shooters of senior echelons of the force and henchmen of the local politicians. Bollywood celebrates them by filming their biopics, immortalising them with catchy dialogues and breath-taking action sequences. They are so lucky that they do not have to carry the burden of morality on their frail shoulders.
Whether the army was right or wrong in overstepping the red line, if they indeed did, with the people in custody is a moot point. One thing is certain, it could not have been a deliberate act. People are trained in the art of interrogation, but whether such people were available at the scene or not is not known. What is certain is that at the time when this episode happened, the culprits were still at large, and the army was combing the area in their search. So, time was critical because no one knew when and where the next attack was coming from. Neither could the army permit the culprits to escape to safety across the border. In that hurry, if someone did something wrong, it is certainly regrettable, but can it be called homicide? Those who have never seen the dismembered bodies of their comrades in arms, and hope they never do, will not understand the psyche of warfare, declared or not.
It is perhaps a foregone conclusion that those who oversaw the operation are doomed. It is politically expedient to punish them in the year of the election. Hope it does not demotivate those who are in harm’s way at our borders making sure we all have a great new year ahead.
The author is an Indian Air Force Veteran.
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