A buddy for a lonely jawan |
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New Delhi, Oct. 3: You have heard of comrades-in-arms. Now meet buddies-in-stress.
The government has
asked the chiefs of all the central paramilitary forces to adopt a
“buddy” system under which a jawan can share his problems with a fellow
jawan.
The directive has
come in the wake of rising cases of suicides and fragging — or
fratricidal killings — by paramilitary troopers, who guard the country’s
borders, help maintain internal security and keep vigil at key
installations.
The idea is a
jawan will give company to another jawan so that they can “unburden”
themselves when the need arises and also warn seniors about the other’s
mental condition “before it’s too late”.
“The
directors-general of all the paramilitary forces have been directed to
implement the buddy scheme to control the rising number of suicides.
This would help stressed-out troops cope with tension and also unburden
themselves by sharing their problems,” a home ministry official told The Telegraph.
Over 450
paramilitary jawans have committed suicide between 2007 and 2011,
according to figures available with the ministry, while there have been
64 cases of fragging (soldiers killing a superior).
The ministry
official blamed the rising number of suicides on stress and fatigue from
continuous tough postings. “Our jawans work under extremely harsh
conditions but their problems back home are harsher at times. They
become more depressed after denial of leave,” the official added.
Soldiers have been known to kill their superiors after being denied leave.
The directive to
adopt the buddy system came last week at a review meeting where all the
directors-general of the six paramilitary forces — the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sasashtra Seema Bal
(SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBO), Central Industrial Security
Force (CISF) and Assam Rifles — were present.
“The ministry has
also directed the DGPs to hire qualified psychologists and counsellors
to help stressed-out jawans,” a senior CRPF official said.
Under the buddy
system, a jawan will be paired off with a “like-minded” jawan of the
same unit. The two will not only share room space but will also be
deployed together so they can be in regular contact.
“We all need a
good friend in life and more so when one is stressed out. The buddy
system aims to provide a one-on-one relationship to help jaded jawans
boost their self-confidence and reduce stress. It would also help senior
officials to know the problems of the jawans and take necessary
measures before it is too late,” the ministry official said.
“Stress and
fatigue, domestic discord, financial problems and extramarital
relationships of wives are the main reasons for the large number of
suicides,” the official added.
He blamed “mental illness, grudge and alcohol addiction” for fratricides.
The army has already adopted a buddy system, especially for those in tough postings including Jammu and Kashmir.
The CISF and Assam Rifles started the buddy scheme last year but it was not implemented well.
Among the
paramilitary forces, the BSF recorded the highest number of suicides
between 2007 and 2011, followed by the CRPF and the SSB. The CISF had
the highest number of fratricidal killings, followed by the CRPF and the
BSF.
“Stress, denial of
leave, long separation from families and sometimes humiliation by
senior officials and colleagues leads to violent behaviour among
jawans,” a CISF official said.
In a report to the
home ministry last month, the Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, had highlighted the service conditions in the paramilitary
forces and cited five reasons — slow promotions, salary mismatches, too
much work, separation from family and continuous “hard” postings — for
rising attrition rates.
The ministry had
commissioned the study early this year after finding out that some
51,000 personnel had quit in the past five years.
The resignations rose 70 per cent between 2010 and 20
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