Ragging In NDA:" A Mockery of Training ! " Say Veterans

Editor's Note

A recent article authored by Nixon Fernando published by MVI triggered several spontaneous responses that have strongly recommended discontinuation of ragging in NDA and other military academies, based on their personal experiences as cadets, especially in NDA where they were ragged under the garb of toughning up and grooming, including promoting the concept of 'beg borrow or steal', which goes against the very spirit and ethos of the NDA Prayer. The responses published below provide sufficient evidence of the immense damage caused to countless cadets, physically and psychologically. MVI hopes that now the concerned authorities will take serious note of the same and make all out efforts to eradicate this malpractice.

Editor MVI

https://www.missionvictoryindia.in/post/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-ragging-should-the-nda-alumni-condone-it

RESPONSES

LT GEN RS SUJLANA EX COMDT IMA:

I have never been a proponent of ragging, it helps in no way to develop any skill in a cadet, it is a misnomer and needs to be totally stopped. The training per se is good enough to develop a wholesome personality.

COL RAJIV SHARMA, 38 NDA :

Any type of ragging is bad ! An effort to break a person's spirit. Take him beyond his level of physical endurance. Humiliate him. Make him feel small. Belittle him. ALL IN THE NAME OF TOUGHENING HIM.

AND WHO IS DOING IT ? MENTALLY IMMATURE PEOPLE!

Many famous institutions have produced top-class people ( students ) , who later on achieved extraordinary results in varied fields, displaying tremendous courage, patience, grit, persistance, physical and mental resilience. They were never put through this type of Ragging . It is utter NONSENSE to say that Ragging is essential for toughening up.

Does any Coach or Mentor use such methods to build up his ward in any field ? They do so by facilitating, helping, encouraging, and building up. Self-confidence of their charge/s. Even building higher levels of Stamina /

Physical Prowess is done in a very scientific, gradual and structured method. A multi-pronged approach is adopted, including food intake, psychological handling ,etc.

For strengthening a person physically and mentally, a STRUCTURED TRG AND APPROACH produces the best results.

Take CDO TRG, NSG TRG, PARA TRG, FIGHTER PILOT's COMBAT TRG, TRG AT HARVARD, IITs, IIMs, IISc.

Everywhere STRUCTURED TRG METHOD is employed producing Excellent Results, year after year.

Adventure Trg, Gp Tasks, Mentoring, Team Events, even Sports could be used for Informal and Non- Structured Trg.

NOT WHAT PASSES OF AS RAGGING IN NDA !

LET NO ONE USE IT AS A PRETEXT TO COVER UP THEIR LOW LEVEL SENTIMENT TO LORD OVER SUBORDINATES.

This is not a method to establish hierarchy.

Every institution has hierarchy. Even Acting Schools like NSD, FTII , professional and other famous colleges, etc.

Juniors automatically give respect to their seniors. They don't use Ragging to establish ' Hierarchy '.

Every profession gives due recognition to seniority and capability. It is said that

' Respect is Commanded, Not Demanded '. So, learn to Command it by demonstrated performance rather than bullying. I don't remember the name, but even from 38 NDA Course, a cadet was medically boarded out. He had damaged his spine, while rolling down the stairs with full Small Pack Rig, incl water bottle ( called FSMO in NDA ).

Punishment after movie. For no reason at all, other than establishing the fearsome aura of an ACA etc.

Mass punishments, which are not permitted.

I could put down an endless list of humiliating punishments/ orders .

And it is utter Shamelessness to defend such Practices !

BRIG BL POONIA :

Col Rajiv Sharma is spot on. Anyone trying to justify ragging under the garb of some dictionary definition, or to instill military culture, or to break the ego of a cadet to replace it with a soldier's ego etc, is simply trying to situate an appreciation. There is nothing like civil ego or a military ego; the only thing that needs to be promoted is soldier's pride in a cadet, he being a potential officer, and that pride should not be destroyed through ragging.

The aim of basic military training in various academies, apart from teaching professional subjects, making him physically fit, mentally strong and morally straight, is to instill a high degree of military culture by developing leadership qualities, including courage, and promoting military ethos, which can be achieved only through a well designed military training programme. The aim should be to instill and promote military ethos of the highest order. Unfortunately, ragging is just an antithesis of the same. It achieves nothing more than making a cadet psychologically subservient. Moreover, who has discovered the psychological necessity to break a cadet's ego, by handing over this responsibility to his senior cadets? That is a direct attack on his pride and dignity, and let's not forget that a soldier's biggest assets are his own pride and dignity, which should remain sacrosanct.

Getting involved in such gimmicks by continuing with age-old traditions is a dangerous trend. Just because we went through it, is no justification for its continuance, by putting forward the logic : "I went through ragging in NDA, when it was on its peak, but have I become an inferior officer in any manner ?" But that is a poor logic. Incidentally, there is another equally wrong doctrine, unofficially practised and promoted in NDA; ie "beg, borrow or steal". Based on this teaching, I, like all others, became a victim of the same many a times, but I will quote an incident that shook me and left me scarred for life. Just a night before passing out of NDA, two of my own Squadron course-mates stole my pocket money.

It shook up my confidence in the trustworthiness of my colleagues, at the end of our three-year training. Now the question is : "Have I ended up being financially poorer than those who stole my pocket money?" No I have not. May be, I am a shade better off than them. But should that be used as a justication for the continuance of that wrong practice ? A wrong remains a wrong, and the moral courage in us should actuate us to condemn all such wrong practices.

As long as armies are made of people, the human element will remain an irreplaceable consideration in command and leadership. One of the best ways to exercise leadership is to deserve the respect, trust and loyalty of your command, and to give loyalty, consideration and respect in return. And this is what needs to be taught in NDA, not to break a cadet's ego, because that leads to an irreparable damage to his personality. Respect needs to be commanded, not demanded by making your subordinates psychologically subservient through ragging.

Military incompetence results from those defects of personality, associated with authoritarian and distorted achievement-motivation targets. When all that is natural, creative, flexibile, warm and outgoing in the human spirit becomes crushed and constricted (through ragging), such qualities of leadership - as compassion, bold decisions and military flair, give way to conformity, sycophantism, indecision and fear of failure. The primary purpose of ragging is to satisfy a senior cadet's ego, which is not a healthy thing. A military plan tainted by an attempt to satisfy a commander's ego is unlikely to be the best plan, since an irrelevant factor gets introduced in the calculation. The aim should invariably be to instill soldier's pride in a cadet, and the entire focus of training should be based on the same. It should not be eroded by ragging.

LT GEN ASHOK JOSHI , ex DGMT ,9 NDA

That's a valid conclusion !

NIXON FERNANDO:

The most sophisticated claim I have heard about training in NDA is this: "We bring in a cadet, break his ego, and funny ideas and put a soldier's ego into him"

And this sophisticated psychological operation is done by all seniors in the academy. Even if it's a second term cadet who is senior to a first term cadet.

For all I know, there is this fresher who comes in, inspired to be a soldier. His inspiration matches the inspiration behind 'sewa parmo dharma' and somewhere in the course of the three years they are pulled down to mother earth.(Fortunately not all of them)

And are taught mediocre tricks of survival.

The inspiration of Salaria and Batra.That in turn matches "Sewa Parmo Dharma" is despite this.

MAJ GEN ANUKUL:

There are some sadists in every course and Sqn. They should be marked and watched. Rest are all toughening exercises which are needed and they also instill course/sqn spirit.

It is failure of SSB to identify sadistic tendencies.

COL ASHOK JAMWAL :

Absolutely Anukul. This goes on during your service also. We have to learn to negotiate them

A picture of criminilastion is being painted.

No doubt wrong doings must not go unchecked, but a few random cases cannot tarnish the Academy's image as if rogues are being encouraged.Not a single case was observed during my entire stay.

Infact weak cadets are segregated and put under extra trg, but those physically and mentally weak start blaming the system, more often than not. We should not compare with other institutions without sufficient knowledge

AN AFFECTED PARENT:

Ref . Col Ashok Jamwal Comments . Sorry, I beg to differ here, Sir .Nobody is painting any wrong picture. With the present day era of social media and awareness, painting a prestigious institute in a wrong hue is not possible. Irony is that painting the right way has become equally difficult.

It’s not that a weak cadet only gets troubled or injured.

I know of a case of a physically fit boy, with good physical attributes who was made to practice a 'dive roll' without any proper supervision. The senior instructing the exercise lacked the necessary expertise himself and was unable to demonstrate the technique himself. The session was an unscheduled one with no Ustaad or Instructor present in situ. When the cadet suffered a serious neck fracture during the session, panic ensued. In their confusion, some attempted to massage his neck, unaware that such actions could exacerbate the injury, potentially causing further harm.

End result: He is boarded out with MH authority recommending him UNFIT FOR ANY FURTHER MILITARY TRG.

The cadet was a diehard aspirant of NDA and wanted to touch the skies. He can now never fly.

People consol, him saying that something better is in store for him,

GOD has better plans,

you will do better outside, etc, etc..

Can anyone imagine the psychological trauma that the cadet had to endure ? Can anyone empathize? Even empathising won't make any difference.

It is an IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGE. Though the Cadet will definitely move on since that’s the better thing to do but will anyone be held responsible for the pain and agony suffered by the Cadet and his Parents ?? It remains a deeply personal tragedy for only those affected.

It is unacceptable that, due to the reckless actions of an irresponsible or ill-informed senior cadet lacking the maturity and awareness of the potential consequences a bright and promising junior cadet ends up losing everything he had worked for in life. The loss of a cadet’s life or dreams is often reduced to mere statistics by some academy staff, casually absorbed under the so-called "acceptable percentage of casualties during training."

Who takes responsibility for such irreversible damage? Or are such tragedies to be dismissed as inevitable risks of joining a military academy? To think so is not only morally wrong, it is criminal.

BRIG SANJAY SANGWAN:

A parent of a hurt cadet is invariably traumatized for life and will find it difficult to reconcile, however, the profession of war and destruction has become all the more murkier with no humanity left. I'm sure all parents are aware of the risks involved in the business of war and axiomatically the risks involved during training. A injury can happen during formal training or on the sports field also so do we curtail that too for safety? There are quite a few cases of this kind and there are nearly 50000 cadets who survived the informal training and only gained from it as proven by the war and Counter Terror performance. To set a lesser wrong right are we recommending a bigger error or weakness?

In recent times, the world has defied all norms of human life weaponising and disrupting almost everything, pushing everything to extreme and often over the edge.

While formal training on drill square, PT ground and sports fields is impactful but does it steel a teenager enough to withstand the rigours of life he has opted for and if his motivation was the glamour of celluloid world or romance of valour, then he may have made a wrong choice. While it is sad to lose a life or see a young man drop out due to serious injury but that is a risk he has knowingly and willingly opted for. Having said that, inhuman or immoral torture can not be allowed and has to be curbed ruthlessly and those injured need to be compensated.

BRIG BL POONIA

Yes it is true, that an injury may take place even during the formal training, but that is no justification for the same taking place during ragging or unauthorized punishments. These are two diametrically opposite things. Here the subject matter is : 'Ragging and its justification'. Before justifying the punishment-part of ragging, since a few members feel that it has some strengthening effect, it calls for identification of the weaknesses in the officially structured training schedule. And if there are any shortcomings in the same, it is those shortcomings that need to be improved upon, which do not call for being supplemented by ragging, to make up for the deficiencies. Let the training be as tough as it is deemed fit to train a cadet for war, but let it be a part of the officially approved syllabus, to be conducted under qualified instructors, under proper supervision, and without encroaching upon the supremacy of the pride and dignity of a cadet. The senior cadets are not a part of the training team.

THE VOICE OF AFFECTED PARENTS

The issue at hand is not the risks of war or formal military training, which every cadet and his parents knowingly accept. It is about *unstructured, unsupervised sessions* conducted by immature seniors under the false pretense of "toughening up" juniors. These acts often devoid of oversight or accountability are not sanctioned training but reckless behaviour with potentially serious, even fatal, consequences.

To suggest that cadets injured or killed during such sessions “accepted the risk” is misleading and unjust. Drawing parallels between war casualties and deaths from unauthorized academy practices is deeply flawed. One is a sacrifice for the nation and the other an avoidable and preventable tragedy.

Chiding a cadet's motivation be it inspired by patriotism, cinematic heroism or the romance of valour is an insult to his effort and commitment. Every individual joins with hope and dreams and those do not negate his right to safe and professional training.

Injuries in sanctioned, supervised training are acceptable risks. But injuries from unauthorized activities carried out in the name of tradition should not. Military academies should be epitomes of professionalism and discipline and not that of fear, humiliation or inherited skewed legacies. unregulated power which the seniors of academies get carried away with, must be checked and offenders at all levels held accountable.