Indian Army rejects calls to raise new units based on caste or religion

[metro]

There has to be a separate regiment for SC/ST/OBC, and as the laws of reservation suggest, they'll be deployed first in combat zone.

Then we'll see how capable and qualified these SC/STs are.

What nonsense..
Are u suggesting the current regiments(jat, rajputana or whatever) dont have sc/st/obc candidates..??

Why people here seem to be making such a hue n cry about this demand of making caste based regiments.. as if we already dont have any...
If we can have Jat/ Rajputana regiments.. then we can very well have yadav/chamar regiments too..

 

[metro]

Wah...excellent.

And people still advocating in favor of castism and reservations based on it.

Yeah.. caste-ism was good.. till it suited the purpose of likes of urs..
Now when it seemed to be backfiring.. it automatically become bad..

 

[anant_s]

Here's a poem by great poet Pradip (& later immortalized by Lata Mangeshkar).

This is played almost religiously during every I Day/ R Day celebrations with Chief Guest (some Neta) blabbering some random nonsense.
But next time you hear the song, pay attention to the part (Koi Sikh koi Jat Maratha (all regiments)), those simple words convey a great meaning.

 

[jester]

The Indian Army's rejection to the proposal is based on the phrase " If it ain't broke, don't fix it ", which is a perfectly sound decision on their part. The proposal given by the politicians is downright divisive and goes to show what they are capable of to achieve their own personal milestones. The army is a secular entity it may have some elements of ethnicity based regiments but the refusal to entertain any further change based on Religion and Caste is a progressive decision.
As the present scenario presents itself the SC/STs are already part of the Indian army and the great nation of India, to judge their patriotism and valor and to ridicule them is a highly offensive action which should be deeply condemned.

 

[KS]

As such the Paras (the most elite units of the IA) should be held up as an example to all those fools saying that if people with similar ethnic backgrounds fought together they'd be more effective.

That is not something fictional mate. That is how humans function. We are social creatures and more comfortable in the company of people we think are similar to us. That may not be outwardly visible but subconsciously that is true. That is the espirit d corps and that is something the IA has persisted with not because its a colonial relic but because it brings out the best within the soldiers. This book would be a good read A Matter of Honour: An Account of the Indian Army, Its Officers and Men - Philip Mason - Google Books

There are many advantages of having ethnicity based regiments and there are also some disadvantages.The mutiny by some Sikh units being an example. But IMO the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

I still find the IA is rooted in the past whilst the IA and IAF (who have never had such discussions about ethnic unit)

I think you meant IN and IAF.

But the difference is IN and IAF dont have 1.3 million men doing the hard part. Slugging it on the ground. IN and IAF are mostly machines doing the fighting while in case of IA its the man who does the hard part.

 

[KS]

You can argue about the success of different regiments for hours and AFAIK the battalions in the Para regiment arent structured after race.

Dude PARAs as good as they are, are for specialized purposes and not for infantry and line charging purposes. They get double or triple the training an average infantry soldier gets. Wrong to compare them.

Why is it a disaster??? and when did I talk about political secularism, I just said that all recruitment should be done without considering race, religion or caste.

The IA already does that. There is no caste or race or religion that is off-limits or are not recruited to the IA. Just those who are recruited are put into units from the same ethnicity or caste. It works and there is no point tinkering with it.

And what tangible advantage would you get by forcefully 'integrating' all the units ? What is the disadvantage of the current system or how is it hampering the operation effciency of the IA ?

The calls to tinker with the current system is purely for political purposes and not for any real reason.

Its just a reminder of the raj nothing else. IA should look at the IAF and IN which both scrapped this BS race/ religion stuff

Our constitution is based on the British constitution. Our parliamentary system is based on them. Our public service and bureaucracy is based on them. Our penal code is based on them. Words like secularism, republic etc are based on western concepts. So lets throw all of them out and go back to our traditional monarchy. Our states are integrated based on language. So why not dissolve the current borders and go for a more inclusive one ? See how stupid that sounds.

And I'v already explained how situation in IN and IAF are not comparable to situation in IA. Look at my post to Abingdonboy for that.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Yeah.. caste-ism was good.. till it suited the purpose of likes of urs..
Now when it seemed to be backfiring.. it automatically become bad..

Dude, i'm not sure about my own caste. All i know that i'm not brahman. And my surname does qualify as OBC as paternal cousins have 'OBC' certificates, but i never bothered about getting one.

Don't put everyone on the same bracket.

 

[Qaz12345]

There are already 2 SC regiments in India.

Sikh Light Infantary is composed of Mazhabi and Ramdasia Sikhs... Mazabhi are Sikhs from the Chura caste and Ramdasia are Sikhs from the Chamar caste. The Sikh LI is a very decorated regiment.

Mahar regiment is composed mainly of Mahar Dalits. The Mahar Dalits were made into a martial race by the British when a group of 500 Mahar and British troops defeated 28000 Marathas in the Bartle of Koregaon.

Also, there are countless SC in other regiments. And not to mention the ST regiments such as the Naga regiment etc.

Also, do not forget that the bodyguard who killed Indira Ghandhi, Beant Singh, was a Dalit Sikh.

 

[Mike_Brando]

Dude, i'm not sure about my own caste. All i know that i'm not brahman. And my surname does qualify as OBC as paternal cousins have 'OBC' certificates, but i never bothered about getting one.

Don't put everyone on the same bracket.

bhai tomar surname ta ki bolo ami hoyto tomar caste bole dite parbo.

 

[Skull and Bones]

bhai tomar surname ta ki bolo ami hoyto tomar caste bole dite parbo.

Ghosh.........

 

[Mike_Brando]

Ghosh.........

ekhon Ghish du rokom er acherothomta holo kulin kayastha r second ta holo gowala caste er(please don't be offended)!jehetu tumi previous post te bolechile je tomar cousin ra OBC tai amar mone hoy(i am not cent percent sure) je tumor surname ta gowala somproday bhukto!btw ami Banerjee

 

[Skull and Bones]

ekhon Ghish du rokom er acherothomta holo kulin kayastha r second ta holo gowala caste er(please don't be offended)!jehetu tumi previous post te bolechile je tomar cousin ra OBC tai amar mone hoy(i am not cent percent sure) je tumor surname ta gowala somproday bhukto!btw ami Banerjee

Probably, not that i care about my caste.

 

[Mike_Brando]

Probably, not that i care about my caste.

and neither do i as i see all these castes as a medieval trick by some powerful men just to oppress the masses!

 

[Skull and Bones]

and neither do i as i see all these castes as a medieval trick by some powerful men just to oppress the masses!

And it disgust me to use my caste as a leverage to get a seat in university or reservation in jobs. So i never bothered to get an OBC certificate.

I thought newer generations are moving forward keeping their caste, religion aside, but things seems to be strikingly different on this thread.

 

[Babbar-Khalsa]

If accomplished this would be the dumbest move IA could make and will fracture the discipline of Indian defense forces.

Can you eloborate what you meant by "accomplished" ..did you ever read the article fully .......i advise first to read it fully and then blow your heart out...