Author: Nitin A. Gokhale in Kargil
and Dras With Aniruddha Bahal in Kargil
Publication: Outlook
Date: July 26, 1999
Officers drove their men by setting
examples to follow.
When it was a victory, the Cavalier
claimed it outright, the Gunner boasted of his prowess, the Signalman publicised
his worth but the Infantryman remained silent with victory at his feet.
This old infantry saying was never
more aptly demonstrated than in the just-concluded Kargil conflict. Heavy-duty
Bofors guns and state-of-the-art aircraft with their laser-guided bombs
were brought in to pound the enemy, but ultimately it was left to the largely
unsung foot soldier, the Infantryman, to evict the Pakistani troops from
the commanding heights that they had occupied in the mountains in Kargil.
And leading the brave men right
from the front were the officers. It was the captains and majors-considered
to be the cutting edge of the Indian army-who once again proved their mettle.
As army spokesman Col Bikram Singh says: "The ratio of number of officers
to number of jawans killed in this conflict is the highest in any war that
India has fought. In '65, for every officer killed there were 18 soldiers
who died. In '71, the ratio of officer to jawans killed was 1:20 while
in the current conflict it is something like 1:17." Normally, the juniormost
officer leads a platoon with a strength of 30 jawans so logically, the
ratio should be around 1:30. But as the figures clearly show, officers
have taken the lead in carrying out almost impossible, sometimes suicidal,
missions.
Each battle that different infantry
units fought, be it for the strategic Tiger Hills, Tololing, Points 5140
and 4875, Jubar or Three Pimples, the officers had to lead by example,
motivate, cajole and sometimes even coerce the troops into charging well-fortified
bunkers. As Col S.V.E. David, deputy commander of the Dras-based 56 Brigade,
says: "Nowhere in the world has any army fought a battle at such a daunting
altitude for such a prolonged period. In these circumstances, officers
had to make extra efforts to motivate their men." Says a battalion commander,
"The company commanders (captains and majors) had to not only apply the
normal leadership qualities and man-management skills but also motivate
the men to go into what were mostly suicidal missions. The terrain was
such that only the officer's raw courage would have motivated the jawan
to go straight into the hail of bullets. And he needed to show exceptional
physical prowess to climb the mountains and sustain the company through
adverse conditions."
The sheer courage, resourcefulness
and leadership qualities shown by the company commanders helped wrest the
initiative decisively. But this tradition may not last long as the army
is currently faced with a shortage of 14,000 officers at the level of captains
and majors. This shortfall, rising steadily over the last decade for several
reasons, could be felt more acutely in the near future if corrective steps
are not taken now. Over the years, the bedrock of the infantry has been
the young lieutenant, the courageous captain and the experienced major.
But with few young men opting for an army career these days, defence planners
are faced with a piquant situation. Shortage of officers leads to additional
burden on the existing officers and in view of the increasing tendency
to use the army in internal security duties, the pressure has increased
manifold. Several officers in the junior command are feeling the heat of
sustained deployment in various assignments. "There is no peace station
any more, so there is no rest," says a company commander. Junior commanders
hope that the Kargil episode will force a rethink in the higher echelons.
Till that time, however, these young, highly-motivated officers will continue
to lead from the front and score decisive victories in face of great odds.
