Apart from the  routine sound of gun shots in the picturesque valleys of Jammu and Kashmir, another chilling sound has become a cause of concern for the Indian Army – that of  ringing cell phones.
A jawan’s cell phone buzz worries officers in-charge in J&K, as calls received or made by them to their family members and the subsequent information passed while conversing, has often resulted in the soldiers becoming depressed.
This in turn has led to serious consequences including suicides. “Now that all jawans possess cellphones, they are informed about tragedies in their families, if any, very quickly.  There have been instances of depressed jawans committing suicide or opening fire at colleagues in a fit of rage,” said a senior officer.
An Army Medical Corps (AMC) officer added that unlike earlier times when technology was not advanced and it took several  weeks for information to reach jawans, now, they are updated on all issues in their families.
And jawans, who work in extreme conditions, are prone to take hasty decisions. In July 2007 alone, there have been two cases of jawans committing suicides in J&K. Investigations revealed that one of the jawans shot himself with his service weapon after getting to know that the girl he wanted to marry  was engaged to someone else.
A recent study has indicated that about 99.7 per cent of suicides in the Army  was due to trouble at the domestic front and 0.3 per cent suicides due to operation related stress.
AMC Officers said that in the Northern Command, about 37 counsellors are posted. Besides, yoga and motivation classes are also conducted.