879 (1st of 10 series) There will be nothing below dignity or wrong if Indian Army Officers and Police Officers polish their own shoes or wear soiled shoes

Personally, I believe that there will be nothing below dignity or wrong, if INdian Army Officers and Police Officers polish their own shoes, or wear soiled shoes. Trigger for this loud thinking: Videos are doing rounds on the Youtube.com, and in social media, where one BSF soldier openly lamented about the abominably meagre and poor quality food served to them, and another video in which a soldier expressed his grievance about the soldiers being asked to polish the shoes of superiors. Of course, now the Army and the BSF will initiate corrective measures, and for some years to come, the working lives of soldiers will improve. It is good that Government of India responded fast. That is the provisional solution, of a 'prApta kAlagna' (English: A person who knows how to scape through dangerous situations, using a temporary safety solution). Okay. But, there is a need for the Government to find lasting solutions, to guard against recurrence of situations which severely damage the morale of soldiers.

First, let us have links to the videos streaming at youtube.com.
Link to the video of Indian soldier complaining about "being asked to polish shoes": Click to go to view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1adpzdIWoE.
Link to the video of BSF soldier complaining about meagre and abominable food: Click to go to view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laZiMynQFWE.

Today, I have seen on TV Channels, India's Army Chief, asking soldiers to use the 'grievance boxes' which will be made available to them, and advising them to use internal channels, and not to rush to social media. Great advice.

But, some harsh realities may not "trickle-up" to the attention of top-bosses.

Corruption has seeped through all the layers of Indian society, without exceptions, including Defence, and Judiciary. Besides, Corruption is a Universal Phenomenon,and India cannot remain immune. Euro-American Nations and their Multinationals import to us corruption, and we also reciprocally export corruption to them.

ARMY FOOD SUPPLY CONTRACTS

Army Food Supply Contracts cannot be exception to the pest of corruption. There is their own synergy, between the Army Contractors and the Army Officials who extend them continuous business. Hence, a need arises to keep continuous surveillance on the activities of both the contractors and the Army Officials dealing with them.

Corruption in Indian Defence forces is not a new issue. For example, in 2010, there was a tumult about the quality and quantity of meat given to our soldiers. Here is a link to Times of India news dated 2nd Aug. 2010: Click to go to 2010 news of Times of India. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Includes/TOI/ArtWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOIKM%2F2010%2F08%2F04&ViewMode=HTML&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00101&AppName=1.

Here is a quote from the above report.

(2010 position)

The Army is already reeling under a series of meat, egg, atta, dal and other ration scams in recent years, with even Lt-General rank officers indicted in the scandals. Now, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has punched several holes in the Army’s entire ‘‘supply chain management of rations’’, hinting at widespread corruption and existence of cartels.

Tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the latest CAG report paints a dismal picture of the Army’s procurement and supply of dry rations (rice, wheat, dal, sugar, tea, oil, tinned items) and fresh rations (vegetables, fruits, meat, milk), undertaken at 1,440 crore a year.

Noting that satisfaction levels of troops about quantity, quality and taste of rations was ‘‘very low’’, the CAG has called for a complete overhaul of the existing system, ranging from computerization and better procurement procedures to expansion in the vendor base and blacklisting of defaulting parties. According to the CAG, the main villains of the piece are the Army Service Corps and the Army Purchase Organization, under the benign gaze of the Army HQ and the defence ministry.

Around three lakh soldiers under the Northern Command in Jammu and Kashmir, for instance, got rations that were past the original estimated storage life (ESL), based on ‘‘repeated extensions’’ given by the Central Food Laboratory at Jammu.

What has happened during these six years?
Top Army Bosses, IAS Officials in Government of India, successive Defence Ministers both in UPA-2 and NDA-2, have not come to know about the sad State of Affairs, because there are no grievance boxes? The present Army Chief has been Lieutenant General at the penultimate-top level of the Army, during the last six years. Why have our Defence Officials, and Officials of our Military Forces waited, till soldiers went to Social Media Channels, to air their grievances, because they might have lost confidence that they will not get redressed through traditional channels?

ISSUE OF SOLDIERS BEING ASKED TO POLISH SHOES

The basic duty and function of a soldier is to train themselves sufficiently, and equip themselves adequately, so as to be ready to employ them when an opportunity arises during combat times, to use the skills. During peace times, they are already rendering services to Indian society through out the country, by assisting in flood relief, and other national disasters. Whatever be the designation of the soldiers, it will be very sinful to ask them to polish boots of superior officers.

MAY BE A EUROPEAN RELIC

European Army Officers, and European ICS Officers who ruled India from 1751 to 1947 were very particular about their uniforms and shows. And they have the Indian native soldiers in serfdom to polish their shoes. In spite of doing everything, Indian native soldiers used to be insulted by the European Superiors. That culture of ill-treatment seems to be continuing in India, even after the British Left.

There is a proverb in Telugu language: "pilla caccinA pIti kampu pOlEdu". Approx. English gist: Even after the death of the baby, the room still stinks of excreta.

Excessive attention and concern for "cleanliness" and "tip-top" dressing, will be unwarranted for a poor country like India. Wealthy countries can have servants to polish shoes, press the clothes. No need of perfection and excellence to such an extent that army officials, bureaucrats, and politicians become dandies. It will become an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This trend we are seeing in some Indian politicians, who change their dresses five six times everyday.

Tail piece धुम केतु. తోక చుక్క.

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Courtesy and credit Firstpost.Com dated 17.9.2014

Sep, 17 2014 08:26:57 IST, Ahmedabad: The electricity board in Ahmedabad has been instructed to avoid any power cuts and officials have been told to have their shoes polished and their shirts tucked in, nothing has been left to chance for today's visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Nothing wrong in wearing soiled shoes, or unpressed uniforms.

To continue adding and editing. सशेष. ఇంకా ఉంది.