When at ease, soldier, why at attention?

Imagine this: You have been working hard for months in trying conditions. Trying as in Siachen level, not second consecutive day at work coffee machine’s conked out-type trying. Finally, your leave application is cleared, and you plan to take your boots off, put your legs up and your hair down. Then, there’s a call – from the panchayat or local school asking you to lecture the community on – take your pick – National Pension Scheme, Atal Pension Yojana, livestock insurance, Rashtriya Swasth Bima Yojana, Deendayal Gramin Kaushalya Yojana, Gram Jyoti Yojana, or national integration. Unfair?

Well, this is what the Indian Army brass has asked jawans to do. Starting this month, soldiers have been instructed to ‘enhance nation-building efforts,’ not just by defending the borders and keeping a vigil, but by lecturing and engaging with the local community on any of these topics. Or soldiers can do ‘shramdaan‘ in old-age homes and participate in or organise blood donation camps during their chhutti. To help them complete their ‘duties’, the soldiers will be ’empowered’ and ‘equipped’ with, er, structured literature and enabling content.

Like any other professional, soldiers have KRAs. These terms of engagement also include paid leave. Asking these men and women now to do extra hours when they should be at the gymkhana may not be super for morale.