Having served in the Indian Army for more than three decades , I was very much perturbed by the turn of events in and about our Army particularly in the past two / three years. Firstly there were adverse publicity generalizing the conduct of Army personnel and the organization in general and the Army officers in particular in various newspapers and TV fora . Secondly by reading the comments of the unwary public in the internet related to our Army and listening to the panelists in the TV debates, I was amazed not only by the lack of knowledge but also the wrong perceptions harboured by many about our Army.
Initially I thought of writing a book of the same title as of this blog " Flag Cars Only" . If the blog grows and if I am able to get valuable inputs from the reading public by way of comments, may be one day I will be able to do that at least as an E-book. I intend to post a variety of topics concerning the Army and few on the other two Services namely the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.
About my self and my fascination with uniform : I was doing my elementary schooling in Trichy in early fifties and very close to our house was the Town Hall Police station. The policemen would do their drill with arms in the "maidan" of Town Hall every Friday briskly walking up and down. We all children would be fascinated to see them in their crisp cotton khaki half trousers and shirts and the typical domed Madras Police headgear. I wonder any foot drill is conducted by police regularly now a days!
May be that was the psychological motivation for me to join the 'Cubs' in my elementary school, the' Boys' Scouts' in the Secondary School, the junior Division NCC ( Naval Wing) during my High School, the NCC Rifles during my PUC and Senior Division NCC during my College. I joined the Indian Military Academy having been selected through the University Entry Scheme in my penultimate year in College. I served in the Army till I was superannuated.
While in service, I was in the thick of the battle during 1971 war in the Eastern sector ( Rangpur in Bangladesh) and taken part in many other operations, aid to civil authorities during floods etc. I had the good fortune to serve from the lowest identifiable entity , that is an Independent Company to the topmost that is Army Headquarters ( now re designated as Integrated Headquarters of the MoD, Army) and in all the intermediate formations and establishments. I have seen the functioning of all in close quarters having been a part of them myself.
The primary aim of this endeavor is to enlighten the common man about the genesis of the Indian Army , its traditions and values which to many appear irrelevant if not outright comical. The media also floats a lot of spicy stories about incidents involving Army personnel and organisations to capture viewership and improve circulations. In many instances, it is later on found to be either grossly exaggerated or outright false. Unfortunately neither the Army Headquarters nor the personnel can issue any communique/ press release to rebut the issues immediately as it involves a labyrinthine procedures. In the absence of a quick response , the public perceives the material as published or deliberately promoted as truth and this lingers on in their minds.
The country is engulfed by corruption. The personnel drawn to Army belong to the same society as any other countrymen. To assume that every army man is an embodiment of virtue and will be immune to the lures any other human being will fall for is a fallacy. If that was so the Army Act and army rules would be redundant. But one has to grant that the Army is still the only organisation in our country where the guilty is brought to book speedily and meted out punishment some times even much more harsher than what a civil court would award. The inquiry and disposal of the ' Sukna Case' is an example to prove the above point. Compare it with the case of "Vanpic 24000 Acre Scandal" of Andhra Pradesh, where the ministers and bureaucrats accused by CBI are given paid legal assistance by the State to defend themselves!
Initially I thought of writing a book of the same title as of this blog " Flag Cars Only" . If the blog grows and if I am able to get valuable inputs from the reading public by way of comments, may be one day I will be able to do that at least as an E-book. I intend to post a variety of topics concerning the Army and few on the other two Services namely the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.
About my self and my fascination with uniform : I was doing my elementary schooling in Trichy in early fifties and very close to our house was the Town Hall Police station. The policemen would do their drill with arms in the "maidan" of Town Hall every Friday briskly walking up and down. We all children would be fascinated to see them in their crisp cotton khaki half trousers and shirts and the typical domed Madras Police headgear. I wonder any foot drill is conducted by police regularly now a days!
May be that was the psychological motivation for me to join the 'Cubs' in my elementary school, the' Boys' Scouts' in the Secondary School, the junior Division NCC ( Naval Wing) during my High School, the NCC Rifles during my PUC and Senior Division NCC during my College. I joined the Indian Military Academy having been selected through the University Entry Scheme in my penultimate year in College. I served in the Army till I was superannuated.
While in service, I was in the thick of the battle during 1971 war in the Eastern sector ( Rangpur in Bangladesh) and taken part in many other operations, aid to civil authorities during floods etc. I had the good fortune to serve from the lowest identifiable entity , that is an Independent Company to the topmost that is Army Headquarters ( now re designated as Integrated Headquarters of the MoD, Army) and in all the intermediate formations and establishments. I have seen the functioning of all in close quarters having been a part of them myself.
The primary aim of this endeavor is to enlighten the common man about the genesis of the Indian Army , its traditions and values which to many appear irrelevant if not outright comical. The media also floats a lot of spicy stories about incidents involving Army personnel and organisations to capture viewership and improve circulations. In many instances, it is later on found to be either grossly exaggerated or outright false. Unfortunately neither the Army Headquarters nor the personnel can issue any communique/ press release to rebut the issues immediately as it involves a labyrinthine procedures. In the absence of a quick response , the public perceives the material as published or deliberately promoted as truth and this lingers on in their minds.
The country is engulfed by corruption. The personnel drawn to Army belong to the same society as any other countrymen. To assume that every army man is an embodiment of virtue and will be immune to the lures any other human being will fall for is a fallacy. If that was so the Army Act and army rules would be redundant. But one has to grant that the Army is still the only organisation in our country where the guilty is brought to book speedily and meted out punishment some times even much more harsher than what a civil court would award. The inquiry and disposal of the ' Sukna Case' is an example to prove the above point. Compare it with the case of "Vanpic 24000 Acre Scandal" of Andhra Pradesh, where the ministers and bureaucrats accused by CBI are given paid legal assistance by the State to defend themselves!
