One of the
principal organs of a secular state, Indian Army is yet another hallmark of
stated religious stance of our country. Religion, for the most sensible
believers, is simply a way of life. And when viewed from the perspective of a
soldier for whom, not surprisingly, wreath laying ceremony in the regimental
Quarter Guard may be more sacred than a visit to temple back home, religion
tends to have a different import. In any case, a soldier who spends a minimum
of nine months in a year in some professional environment wherein a Sarva dharam sthal (a place for all religions) signifies the point
of spiritual indulgence for one and all, orthodox practices appear to be
foreign and alien. For a soldier, there can be no distinctions based on
religion because when the moment of glory comes and his blood mixes with that
of his buddies, religious beliefs do not appear to make any difference to the
colour and texture of the fluid of life. Being a modest soul, a warrior prefers
to look beyond religion when it comes to soldierly way of life.
Sainik Dharam– literally meaning ‘soldier’s religion’-
is what Indian Army calls its faith. And for all of us donning Olive Greens,
this term is more about a soldier’s faith rather than his/her religion per se.
In our professional lives, we follow certain code of conduct that defines our
way of life. Therefore, way of life as defined by different religions, would
many a time, get overshadowed by soldier’s code of conduct. For a soldier, it
is more of a belief system that cannot really be kept bound by the defined
boundaries of any particular religion. Every unit has a certain belief system
that is nurtured with care and all members of the team, irrespective of
individual religious alignments, dutifully follow such a belief system. This
belief system, in turn, gives birth to soldiers’ faith. And this faith is such
that it does not think even once before imbibing healthy rituals and deeds of
any community (even if not strictly military) that it comes in contact with. It
is a well-meaning, all-embracing state of mind that sets soldiers apart from
conformist believers. This very faith guides us through critical situations
when everything else appears to be deserting us.
This work is all
about such a Faith. Based on
folklore, existing practices and some related anecdotes, it attempts to place
on record some of the practices that have been shaping our faith for decades
and have been instrumental in lending such a great character to our profession.
It is, in no way, an all-inclusive product since a combination of sheer size of
our fraternity and great geographical dimensions of our nation can simply
thwart any such attempt. Most of the tales and incidents mentioned here are
based on experiences of the author as also some of the closest buddies. The
work has been laid out in two parts – first one is about symbols of faith and
the second one deals with experiences of a somewhat different kind.
Soldiers, for
better part of their professional lives, live amongst intangibles and most of
operational situations too come wrapped in dense foggy layers. We are expected
to operate and take decisions in situations that come loaded with ambiguity. As
we grow in our profession, we learn to accept and handle such settings with
grace and élan. Unknown to many of us and beyond the reach of our conscious
minds, our faith also builds up over a period of time. It is this near
simultaneous evolution of such cognisant and subliminal facets that helps us
accept varying practices, beliefs and received wisdom with a degree of natural
ease. As a result, nothing remains alien for long and before we realise, our
faith is well on its way to imbibe such beliefs even if the origin of such
beliefs may lie well outside the perimeters of our operational bases and
peacetime locations.
More than anything
else, it is recommended that this work may be looked at as a way of
appreciating such a unique quality of soldierly life. Soldiers cutting across
their natal religious beliefs, adopt soldierly faith as they grow in the
organisation. Without anyone forcing anything on anyone, all of us slowly get
settled in a system where our collective faith becomes what a religion would
become for others who have not been so privileged to be a soldier in their
worldly lives.
