The last few years have seen a spurt of cases where soldiers serving across the country, specifically those serving in conflict situations, turning their weapons on themselves or on their fellow soldiers or officers. Even though there has been a decline in such cases lately, they refuse to die down. The phenomenon has been a serious cause of concern for the army which has been seriously contemplating measures to curb this disconcerting trend.
All such cases of fratricidal killings have been termed “fragging” and is not specific to this country. The phenomenon of fragging is traced to the Vietnam War when US soldiers stationed there would often roll fragmentation grenades into the tents of unpopular officers and “run amok”. Such behaviour was traced to psychological disorders resulting from war fatigue, nostalgia and lack of emotional sustenance.
Indian situation
In a country like India, where insurgency and proxy war conditions warrant regular and prolonged military deployment, repeated “fragging” cases can have a demoralising impact on the soldiers. But, is there something more than meets the eye?
Though most of the incidents are taking place in operational areas, the root cause, it is believed, is definitely not prolonged exposure to dangerous and demanding working conditions.
In fact, incidents of terror-related violence and attacks on soldiers in insurgency-affected areas have sharply declined last year. There is also an increase in the number of personnel volunteering to serve a tenure in the Rashtriya Rifles and a good number of them are even requesting for an extended or second tenure.
This is due to the good quality of life, better pay and allowances, improved facilities and timely leave in operational areas.
A detailed study conducted by the Army has revealed that in a majority of cases, fratricidal killings were triggered more by the stress stemming from unresolved personal problems including property disputes and marital discords.
It showed only a measly 0.3 per cent cases linked to operational stress, while the remainder 99.7 per cent was due to family factors. This is strengthened by the finding that most cases of fragging have occurred soon after troops have returned to duty from leave.
Perturbed and frustrated owing to a family problem, when a soldier returns from leave, his helplessness in getting his rightful due affects him psychologically. An estranged and alienated individual, in such situations, can then turn the loaded weapon on himself or, on an immediate provocation, over his comrades or officers.
Solutions
Various measures have been taken by the army to tackle the problem including allowing families to stay in operational areas, provisioning of better infrastructure and facilities and improved personnel management. Special training has been organised for officers and soldiers, enabling them to master the techniques of counselling and for detecting early signs of stress and depression.
Emphasis has also been laid on strengthening the “Buddy System”, whereby soldiers can share emotions and feelings with someone they can trust. Standing operating procedures are being revised for carriage of weapons in operational areas. With the fractionalisation of land holdings, a large number of soldiers get bogged down by property disputes with close relatives.
Often the problem of lawlessness in rural areas adds to their worries. The concerned civil administration departments have to be suitably sensitised to understand that the soldiers cannot get leave beyond a prescribed limit and must, therefore, resolve to provide a helping hand, as far as possible.
(The writer, an IAS officer is presently working as an Additional District Magistrate, in Hooghly, West Bengal.)