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HomeOpinionArmy uniform is a marker of 'family' pride. Standardising it will snatch...

Army uniform is a marker of ‘family’ pride. Standardising it will snatch that identity away

A beret, badge, lanyard, and belt are all markers of family pride and prestige. Taking that away is eminently unnecessary.

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Army headquarters couldn’t have timed its decision on general cadre uniforms worse than it did. Barely had the shock of disbanding cantonments settled that it was announced that all officers from brigadiers upwards will cease to wear regimental or corps identifications on their uniforms starting 1 August.

The reaction among veterans toward both moves has, of course, been as voluble as expected. Although Army HQs’ intentions may be well-meaning, the equally inexplicable reasoning behind the decision to abolish cantonments has left it open to much negative commentary — and the same may be expected for the decision to standardise uniforms. Both paled before more pressing military issues.


Shedding colonial past

On the face of it, the decision to disband cantonment boards and divest them of civilian areas seems like another nail in the coffin of colonialism, for that has been the argument used against these institutions for decades. A number of retired Army officers have supported the decision, and many of them have also served as station commanders or land officers in larger formations. Their opinion in favour of disbanding cantonments is significant, and more so since it is tempered by their experience of working with Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officials, the actual administrators of military lands.

The opinions held by military officers, and the language they use for IDES officials, are unprintable everywhere. The deep connect between IDES officials and civilian functionaries and notables in cantonment areas is an issue that generates much passion and vivid opinions. The gradual nibbling away of cantonment lands has happened because of the oversight by IDES officials. In many instances, a working relationship between IDES members and local military authority has ceased to exist, and it is with a sense of good riddance that many experienced veterans have welcomed this divorce.

This decision, however, doesn’t address the moot question as to why the cantonments were created in the first place, how civilian areas were brought within their fold, and how these administrative institutions were managed. Military units live and train in surroundings that they believe are secured from prying eyes. Such peace-station postings are earned as a result of torrid field service that lasts many years. This rest is shared with family members, in military accommodation or hired civilian quarters. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) must answer the simple query as to where the jawan will find accommodation for his family now.

Military families are also given accommodation in cantonments when the officer concerned is away on a field posting. This is called separated family accommodation and is a safe option for all since access to the cantonment is limited. Now that civilian areas will no longer be governed by the cantonment boards, and be open to unlimited ‘development’, chances of security trespass are high, for these civilian areas are not at some sanitised distance from military accommodation in many cases but actually adjoining. The haphazard markets will also cease to be under regulations now. Builders salivate at a boom time looming large.


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Going back to colonial past

The same excitement is amiss when it comes to adopting common uniforms for all general cadre officers. On the face of it, the decision seems reasonable — it will enforce sameness among senior officers and promote equity and camaraderie. But deeper down, it is actually a reversion to a practice that was discontinued many decades ago. It has created more heartburn than expected. For starters, the new policy is going to follow a colonial legacy and, in fact, be similar to a number of commonwealth armies.

While disbanding cantonments was promoted as doing away with a colonial legacy, reverting to standard general cadre uniforms will, in fact, be returning to that past. Not that there is anything morally or professionally wrong in standardising uniforms. But the simple fact is that the Army and its affiliated regiments and corps tend to become identifications and markers of affiliation higher than the actual biological units of birth, more family than the registered family. So a beret, badge, lanyard, and belt are all markers of family pride and prestige. Taking that away is eminently unnecessary.

There is a practical part to this argument too. In the 1990s, the Parachute Regiment found itself in a serious Delhi dilemma. After decades, a captain had finally been selected to be ADC (aide-de-camp) to the president, a matter of great pride. Once the officer was congratulated, a very serious and practical discussion was started in regimental circles: What would he wear on duty? The Parachute Regiment has only one piece of headgear, a beret. There are no caps or ceremonial turbans. In that, it is unique, just like its role. Taking that family marker away is like erasing an identity.

Manvendra Singh is a Congress leader, Editor-in-Chief of Defence & Security Alert and Chairman, Soldier Welfare Advisory Committee, Rajasthan. He tweets @ManvendraJasol. Views are personal.

(Edited by Humra Laeeq)

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