The Safety, Honour and Welfare of your Country come First – Always and Every time. The Honour, Welfare and Comfort of the Men You Command come Next. Your Own Ease, Comfort and Safety come Last – Always and Every Time.

That’s the credo of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. You will find it embossed in the imposing Chetwode Hall at the Indian Military Academy. It is with that spirit that the military serves the nation. It is noble. It is patriotic. It is the stoic path chosen and expected by a man in uniform.

The military performs the duty assigned to it by the government at the centre, whatever it be. It must be that way. Without that chain of command we would become Pakistan.

Is it unpatriotic or disrespectful to the army to disagree with a mission or operation it is involved in? No way. As a citizen of the country one doesn’t have to prove his or her patriotic credentials to be that critic.

I don’t have to be the son of an army officer to be that critic (though I am). Nor do I have to have close friends or uncles who have taken the full blast of an MMG (Medium Machine Gun) through their bodies while fighting the Chinese and lived to tell the tale (though I do). Nor do I have to have friends as close as family whose father has been blown up inside his tank and died while fighting Pakistan to know how that family reacts (though I do). Even someone who has made no contribution to the nation to boast of, or family in the military or any connection with those risking their lives at borders has as much locus standi to be that critic – because that criticism itself is a contribution. And it is a patriotic act.

But first – what is patriotism? Patriotism is not something that can be easily universally defined even by the most eloquent and evolved minds. For some it could be a set of values. For some it could be love for the flag or love for a slogan like “Vande mataram”. For others it could be love for Indian people and the territory of the nation state, which is no doubt beautiful – sujalam, sufalam, malayaj shreetalam. Shasya shamlaam, mataram (beautiful streams, beautiful flora and fauna, wonderful cool breeze or dark waving fields). For others it could be the laughter of our people and their languages “suhasini, sumadhur bhashini”. For some it could be for the “idea of India” whatever that is. For some it could be a combination of these in equal or different measures.

After the entire JNU student protests fracas blew up, the only people who have behaved more despicably than politicians are some news anchors who have tried to connect the sacrifice of soldiers at Siachen with protests by students, and declared people patriotic or anti-national by drawing comparisons that are disturbingly ignorant and embarrassingly shameful.

If I disagree with a battle the army has been sent to fight by politicians and the current government, does it automatically mean I am ungrateful or don’t value the military’s contribution? Does this only apply when the armed forces are guarding Bharat Mata’s border or does it also apply when the armed forces are deployed in Sierra Leone (1999), Cambodia (1992) or Congo (1960) as part of the United Nations peacekeeping missions? Say, if Indian soldiers are casualties in battles overseas protecting people I have no nationalistic empathy for or causes that have nothing to do with India and I oppose that battle, am I disrespecting their sacrifice? The soldier is not guarding my national territorial integrity; the soldier is not fighting any threat to my people or my flag or my slogan of Vande Mataram. Is it kosher to be opposed to our military’s role or deployment overseas, but not within the country? Or is it about the values that soldier is fighting for and not the nation or flag or language or national anthem?

IMA at Dehradun

Before you are moved to tears when some news anchors start beating their chest and egging on hysterical retired Generals to do so as well, you must know how the army works. The military trains its men to follow orders – “Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to question why, theirs but to do and die” (from Tennyson’s poem The Charge of the Light Brigade). A man in uniform can never articulate a political point of view or comment on the politics of a war or combat – or disagree. A military man lower down the chain of command will not give his little inputs or critique on decisions taken, unless he is asked to. This is not because they don’t have an opinion. It is because the primary directive that has been hammered into them is to obey the command of a superior officer. Even if the command is to run into a hail of bullets. In fact, disciplined officers will not articulate their views on TV panels even post-retirement.

There is very good reason that the military is trained to follow orders without question. It is because the forces cannot be democratic set-ups where split-second life and death decisions begin to be taken by a committee. Deployment of military assets follows a chain of command unquestioningly because in battle speed and discipline is paramount. A too smart for his own good soldier who decides to give tippani and inputs during every battle will ruin discipline, operation and risk the lives of all involved. If every strategic or ground engagement decision was taken after a huddle, there will be chaos in the military and no one will listen to anyone. You have seen what a Parliament looks like. Now imagine that in olive green uniforms instead of white kurta pajamas. That is why a military man must obey unquestioningly, even if that means taking a bullet for a politician you or I despise. That is the way it must be. While the military’s duty is to obey every command unquestioningly and to engage in any battle or deployment unquestioningly on the orders of the civilian government, it is the duty of civilians like us to ask those questions so that some of the bravest and most disciplined men of our country are not engaged in battles unworthy of their sacrifice. Their patriotism is to obey orders without question. Our patriotism is to question those orders.

It is entirely consistent to respect the armed forces and their contribution while opposing the battle they are engaged in.

“God give me the strength to ask nothing of you – Indian Army. Code of the warrior.” This sign is up in one of the hostels of the Indian Military Academy. The warrior won’t ask – we must. We owe him that.