More soldiers die in suicides than fighting militants
SHARIQ MAJEED
Jammu, Dec 25: This year more soldiers killed themselves or their colleagues in Jammu and Kashmir than were killed in gunfights with militants.
Seventy-two army personnel, including officers, died in anti-militancy operations but over 100 of them committed suicide or died in fratricidal shootings, prompting the army top brass to suggest measures including sending the spouses of soldiers to live with them in the state.
On Dec 1, Lt Colonel Pankaj Jha, posted with 15 Rashtriya Rifles in Mahore area of Udhampur district, according to officials, committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver. ââ¬ÅIt was yet another fallout of keeping army engaged in counterinsurgency operations against an unwilling population for longer periods,ââ¬Â said the army sources.
In the recent surge in suicides among army, a new feature was that many of those who committed suicides were officersââ¬âCapt Sunit Kohli, Major Sobha Rani and Lt Sushmita Chatterjee are the ones who ended lives this year. In some of these cases, the families of the dead officers accused the army of foul play, a charge denied by the army.
Psychiatrists attribute the increase in the number of suicide cases to low morale, bad service conditions, denial of vacations and leave, unattractive pay, and a communication gap with superiors.
Dr Chander Mohan, Head of Psychiatry Department, Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu told Greater Kashmir that post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with reactive depression is the main cause of the growing suicides cases in the Indian army in Jammu and Kashmir.
ââ¬ÅArmy personnel deployed in the state are not satisfied with the job because of workload and nature of the job. Inability to cope up with the ever increasing stress and task in the present scenario is taking its toll on the army personnel deployed in the state,ââ¬Â said Dr Mohan.
He said that generally the army recruits the people who are already vulnerable to stress disorders and who donââ¬â¢t have a very strong motivation to join army. ââ¬ÅAt the time of recruitment there is need of active psychological screening so that people with strong coping mechanism are recruited.ââ¬Â
Spokesperson of Indian Army (16 and 9 corps), Col SD Goswami claimed that only 0.3% of the suicidal cases are because of the operational stress, rest of the cases are because of the domestic problems faced by the army personnel.
ââ¬ÅOperational stress due to environment coupled with domestic problems are the main reason for growing suicide cases in Indian army in the state. Indian army is a big force; even if there are a few cases of suicides it should not be treated that entire Indian army is under stress,ââ¬Â Col Goswami added.
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