Muslim Headcount in Armed Forces

Restrain Government from dividing armed forces on basis of religion : Services veterans
From Our Correspondent

On February 15, 2006, anguished and dismayed at the direction of the UPA Government directing the Services Headquarters to undertake a survey of serving Muslim soldiers, sailors and airmen of all ranks, the three Services Veterans from Army, Air Force and Navy presented at New Delhi a memorandum to His Excellency Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam the President of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. Full text of the Memorandum is being published for the benefit of our readers.

Excellency,

We, the Ex-servicemen belonging to the Armed Forces, place before you our deep anguish and dismay with regard to the decision of Government of India directing the Services Headquarters to undertake a survey of serving Muslim soldiers, sailors and airmen of all ranks. Such instructions have been issued by Prime Minister’s Office at the behest of a committee appointed by Government under the Chairmanship of Shri Rajendra Sachar, a retired High Court Judge.

Sir, we the Ex-servicemen can take justifiable pride in our contribution through sweat and blood in shaping the Armed Forces of today into an apolitical, secular motivated and highly professional national institution. Any tinkering with the time-tested traditions of the forces, therefore, hurts us more and deeper. We may be permitted to highlight the undermentioned issues.

The service personnel take a solemn oath for loyalty to the Constitution of India to uphold the honour and to safeguard the integrity and freedom of their nation. This creates a bond far stronger than the bonds of blood, caste or faith. As individuals they are highly religious but as soldiers their faiths merge into patriotism.

Even a perceived attack on the homogenous structure of armed forces on consideration of religion will result in fragmentation of this precious national asset, the last resort of the nation in any emergency, and for orderly governance of our diverse society. All ranks live, eat, play and undertake their onerous duties together without any thought of their respective differences based on faith or otherwise. They come from all walks of life and from all over the country and get knitted into one happy family.

The political interference in the basic culture of the forces will destroy their cherished ethos nourished over the years with the sweat and blood of their forebears. The Government should take measures to strengthen their espirit de-corps instead of giving the impression of favouring a specific community and thereby creating dissentions in the ranks and files. Such a step will be highly prejudicial to their morale and efficiency and shake their faith in the fairness of the system. Whether at the entry level or for their development, the Services follow the philosophy of fair play and merit and not that of discrimination of any kind; not the least the one based on religion.

The Defence Services’ Veterans, though out of uniform now, owe loyalty to the Constitution of India and to the Defence Services of the nation for the oath they took on enrolment. Placing our trust in you, as the Supreme Commander of our Armed Forces, we request you to advise the government to refrain from dividing the armed forces on the basis of religion.