Compulsory Military Training – Lecturette for SSB

COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING

As we know that for a country to survive defense forces play an important role and an integral part . Wars have prevailed through centuries and till the mankind is there there will be no stopping to it . Every nation is interested in strengthening its military power . When importance is given to military power by some nations ,it is quite natural that other nations, especially in contiguous parts, also think of improving their defense . For any country a standing armed force is essential . Every nation has its own army,  airforce and navy. Much money is spent on recruitment of people who are going to be part of it . These forces are expected to defend the country. But it is felt that a second line of defense would be necessary & for that some feel that compulsory military training should he provided to our youth .This is based on the experience in other countries.
Compulsory military training is one of the means through which youth could make themselves useful to their countries. When youngmen reach a certain age. They have to compulsorily join the forces and leaving behind their  choices . They can either go back or choose to stay in it as the vacancies exist . This training helps them to defend their country in times of emergency ,when there is pressure on the regular armed forces. This training is compulsory for all able bodied persons. Apart from this aspect, military training is useful in other ways too such as

– The sense of discipline that is inculcated in the youth

-The habit of service, dedication and selfless work among them .

– When there are natural calamities like floods ,quakes and drought ,those who serve in the armed forces can be of use

-They can be expected to be quick and efficient in doing their duty and in the execution of any work that may be given to them.

The length of training or refresher is another matter to be considered. There are different formats in military conscription that one sees . We have the different models such as in Singapore/Turkey young boys are made to do two years of military service after school, with some kind of refresher every year . In Israel model, where both boys and girls are exposed to compulsory military service.

Meanwhile in India we have National Cadet Corps [NCC] and that has had a positive contributions to the psyche of the overall national discipline in our citizenry. But the NCC is not compulsory ,especially in private schools, though the existing format does give a limited avenue for youngsters to pursue a military career later in life .

India’s View

A number of proposals have been received during the last five years in this regard. Three private member bills ( 2011-2013) were also introduced in the Parliament but they were not accepted .

As per the Press Information Bureau by MoD , Government of India is not in favour of making military training compulsory to all the youth of the country due to the following reasons:-

• India is a democratic country and being that , everyone has right to choose any profession under Art 19 , and if we compel them then this will infringe their rights.
• Giving youth training will lead to militarisation of the whole country . This might lead to some of them joining the unsocial elements
• India is a large country and there are enough people to volunteer for the service .
• Training all the youth in the country would require establishment of a very large number of training centers, and would involve huge expenditure in their maintenance and upkeep. This would translate into an unmanageable figure and will also be a big drain on limited resources of a developing country.

In last one can say that we need to consider the bigger aim of inculcating the national spirit and a citizen specific spirit. After the horrors of two world wars and the advent of nuclear weapons , it was believed that all out wars had become passe but Ukraine has shown otherwise. It is not without reason that developed modern nations spend wisely on their defense capabilities .Indeed military training is useful in many ways but what should be considered before imparting it is the need for that country , the countries where there is less human force they should consider it but with the larger country this is not the problem and should not be given.

*Hilal A