1/ #RegimentationAndColPande Regimentation is NOT about ‘Regiment’ it is about ‘brotherhood’. You live and die for ‘brother in arms’. Those who served along with you are your brothers. One leaves, another comes, you leave, another replaces. Common factor is ‘we all were bound’.
2/ Bound by what? That precisely is where the misuse comes in. Regimentation in last 40 years has shifted from loyalty to brothers to loyalty to the person who writes your Annual Confidential Report. While in service every officer knows who to butter. Whether the senior is in
3/ unit or not. Meticulous tracking is done and constant connect maintained. Risk is in following just one senior, hence multiple seniors are buttered. It’s like a horse race with a difference. You can constantly withdraw your money from loosing horse and invest on faster horse.
4/ Next best investment is in retired veterans. Here the clarity is much more. Serving officers, regardless of rank are in constant touch with veterans who retired with senior ranks. This investment helps in service. Senior Retd Veterans are mortally scared of loosing relevance
5/ hence constantly interfere in Command. A coterie is formed and keeps in touch 24X7. The number of such coteries are regimental, caste based, religion based, language based, geographical region based, lanyard based and relatives based. Each has clear agenda. Serving and retired
6/ will decide everything. Interference is to the extent that the Veteran Senior Officers dictate which Major should be given leave to prepare for Staff Course exam. So since junior service one is told to bend from waist. Raising Days are a reason for these coteries to come
7/ together to iron and sort out matters/officers. Termite called veterans-in-contact with serving officers is the root cause of murder of merit. To protect these coteries the screams of ‘fauz khatre me hai’ are heard. Regimentation this is the biggest nursery of nepotism.
8/ To start with, @PMOIndia must 1. Disband without warning the system of ‘Colonel Commandants’ who are officially paid by taxpayer but work to only promote nepotism. This is one of the most rabidly colonial practices carried on with shameless impunity which guzzles Govt Funds.
9/ 2. @PMOIndia must disband and ban spending of any Government or Regimental Funds on any activity conducted under Army Wives Welfare Organisation. This is a NON-COLONIAL practice introduced by Senior Officers to give relevance to their spouses/wives. We conveniently promote..
10/ traditions and conveniently ignore them. In 1982, when I was commissioned, Officers Ladies were seen in unit on only two occasions, unit inter company sports competition finals (not for sports where violence/body exposure was there like boxing and wrestling), and
11/ Unit raising day functions. Mandir functions did have the ladies once in a month. That was all. Ladies confined to welfare centres where officers had no presence. I left Army in 2006. I saw official acceptance of President AWWA’s office, army staff and recognition.
12/ Interference to the level of ACRs of officers being spoiled by, interfering and intimidating junior ladies, bullying publicly and more. This, I hear now, happens at unit level. IS THIS TAUGHT BY BRITISH ARMY? As of now, other than @PMOIndia No one can stop the rot. More later
13/ LAST #RegimentationAndColPande Now understand with an example, if DOGRA REGIMENT has 3000 retired offr veterans, 2900 don’t matter. Of 100 left, Commanding Officers matter for their respective battalions, Brigadiers matter if they know serving, else only Retd LT GENS matter.
Regimentation hence is very dear to just two three people, rest are trash. Raising day hence is so important for serving to meet, liaise, network with veterans who matter and for others booze, dance, enjoy, free load. That’s regimentation.
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