THE SAHAYAKS DEBATE

The sahayak system in the Indian Army has a long and intricate history. It’s a story just waiting to be told, but essentially it’s all about a unique system that only members of the Armed Forces would comprehend. Individual interpretations and misinterpretations of the so called ‘demeaning’ and ‘unbecoming’ work by Sahayaks and their treatment has been distorted, with prejudiced or little understanding. The media, twitterrati, Government, armchair activists, hidden whistle blowers and many more have targeted this aspect as a convenient scapegoat.

The #batman, #attendant, #orderly, #bearer, “#flunky”, #helper, #sewadar, #sahayak and #buddy have been an integral part of any military system since times immemorial just like there have always been helpers or attendants for other Government functionaries. #Orderlies were used as far back in time as the Greeks, in the Roman Senate and even during the times of #Chanakya and Emperor Ashoka.

The concept of the sahayak has been perceived by many as akin to that of a domestic servant. This is not the case and as per my knowledge the army has very clearly laid guidelines which are adhered to while dealing with buddies. Buddies being combatants by nature are not employed for demeaning or tasks which is not in conformity with the dignity and self respect of a soldier. Let me also reiterate that in today’s modern military the sahayak has no role to play in the family life of the officer.

The Army has a unique system and is organized with view to be effective in war. A #combatbuddy is inherent to the operational requirements of the organization and is a time tested system which helped foster camaraderie and esprit -de -corps which is vital during conflict as well as peace. A sahayak, is an intrinsic fallout of the Buddy System. He serves as an assistant to the officer, primarily to enable him to function more effectively as a leader (by taking care of mundane day to day requirements, thus allowing him to focus on important issues). An officer in nearly most deployments, by virtue of his appointment, does not really have any support! He needs his buddy to relieve him of basic duties. The unique bond of camaraderie that an officer shares with his buddy, forms a very important part of officer men relationship and gives him a clearer understanding of the soldiers he commands.

But what about the soldiers? Do they feel a sense of pride in serving their officers or do they find it below their dignity and an affront to their self-esteem? The modern Indian soldier is educated and is an aware person. He has his own aspirations and concepts about soldiering. Instances of misuse and fear of wounding the soldier’s self-esteem have made the parliamentary standing committee on defense to call for its abolition. The story goes to say that 30,000 combatants, more than an Army Corps strength are believed to be deployed to assist serving officers as part of the “Sahayak’’ system. There are aberrations in every organization. What is prudent is to catch the individual officers who default and take corrective departmental action against them. The current logic making the rounds in the self proclaimed human right activists is like saying that if one walks, he can fall - so let’s cut off both his legs!

As a post script, I would like to relate to a true incident from the early 90’s, when my fauji uncle, who had been retired for 11 years then, fixed his daughter’s wedding with most of the wedding function planned at home. Four days before the final wedding date, my uncles old sahayak ( now a portly 55-60 year old mustachioed Jaat) unexpectedly landed up. On being questioned how and where, he said “I came to know that ‘Shipra baby’ is getting married. Thought you would need my help!’

 The old man thereafter supervised all the wedding arrangements putting even youngsters to shame with his unrelenting energy. The most touching image was during the "pheras". The old man stood respectfully behind my uncle and aunt throughout the ceremony, blessing the couple like a family elder.