General
Hasnain and I discuss the requirement of strict adherence to human rights by the
military even while operating under stressful conditions. The co-authored piece
has appeared in The Tribune today.
Indian Army- Resisting
provocation and retaining moral edge
Circulation of pictures of a terrorist’s
corpse is unmilitary
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain
Maj Navdeep Singh
Both
authors of this piece were targets of messages laced with scorn on twitter
recently when we steadfastly opposed the circulation of an image of a civilian
clicking a picture with the corpse of a terrorist in the backdrop, and also of
what seemed like the dragging of dead bodies of the same terrorist just after
an operation.
To
put the record straight, the first picture was utterly detestable and the
second was perhaps articulated out of context after culmination of a military
operation subsequent to which the dead body of the terrorist had been tied by a
rope and flipped to ensure the disposal of explosive which could put troops to
risk. On opposition to the circulation of the pictures, we were, inter alia, informed by self-declared
experts that the dragging of the body as seen in the picture was a Standard
Operating Procedure (SOP) in counter-insurgency operations and also that terrorists
deserved no mercy. Of course the commentators forgot in the bargain, that
firstly, the picture was not that of the actual SOP being carried out since the
same is carried out by a rope at least 30 feet long, and secondly, a dead body
ceases to be that of an enemy or a terrorist and is never mistreated, unless we
are competing in barbarism with a neighbour of ours. Needless to state, in this
case too, the body may not have been mistreated but the presence of civilians
with cameras in such a zone is worrisome.
So
why do we feel such pictures should not be circulated? If we dig deep into the
issue, such actions can have deleterious repercussions. To begin with, such
pictures are bound to be used by inimical elements to spread misinformation
about our forces thereby depicting them in less than favourable light. Let us
not forget that these are times of psychological-operations where messing with
the minds of people and injecting hatred is a more potent tool than the gun. We
just cannot afford to be an enabling device for the enemy in this dastardly
environment. Such pictures, especially the one with a civilian with a corpse,
can also lead to a vicious tit-for-tat cycle of violence with brutal
photographs and videos being circulated which has been seen elsewhere in the
world and is best avoided.
On
the dignity of bodies of terrorists, many have responded with the oft repeated
refrain that “terrorists have no Human Rights”. This is a dangerous
proposition. “Human Rights” is not a dirty word. It regulates our existence and
acts as a shield towards misuse of power by any person in authority. What we
have always clamoured for, however, is a balance and equal respect for the
rights of the men and women in uniform. Had there been an absence of rule of
law, the logic professed for terrorists could well be extended to any criminal
or perceived criminal thereby justifying mob mentality. In fact, the Indian
Army was one of the first armies to have incorporated Human Rights training and
monitoring and it would also be in the fitness of things if the military,
institutionally rising above any popular sentiment, corrects the perception on
social media when it threatens our basic ethos.
The
Indian Army has always guarded against desecration of bodies. An apt example is
of Kargil wherein, in the middle of the battle, the bodies of the enemy were
not only handed over to Pakistan but also saluted by our troops. True, those
were bodies of enemy combatants and a direct parallel with terrorists may not
be apposite, however let us not forget that this happened despite the most unsoldierly
conduct on the body of Late Captain Saurabh Kalia. Some provided examples to us
as to how other nations dealt with such situations. But it may come as a
surprise to many that most democracies are very sensitive to this subject.
Osama Bin Laden’s body was buried-at-sea by the Americans and mistreatment of
bodies is akin to a war crime for them. Contrary to popular perception, Israel absolutely
forbids disrespect to dead bodies and professes very strict rules of
engagement, including prohibition of usage of human shields and maltreatment of
bodies which were banned by its Apex Court and dutifully followed by the Israel
Defence Forces. In Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa, maltreatment of
bodies is a war crime. Even many other African States which have faced gruesome
ethnic violence now provide for protection of dead bodies.
The
battle zone is not mathematical. There would be a variety of situations which
would require split-second decisions. Therefore imposing a zero-error
environment might result in inhibiting the initiative of troops. However, there
are aspects where there is no compromise. The true mettle of a soldier only
comes to fore under stressful situations where he or she must not stray from
military values. While the Indian Army would be ruthless in its operations
thwarting terrorism, it would also be the most correct in following the rule of
law, the laid down procedures, including respect to the dead. The scrupulous adherence
to these ingrained principles is why the Indian Army has retained its
reputation. The unnecessary chest-thumping on social media by seemingly
bloodthirsty warriors who have not gone beyond video games in real life militates
against the ethos of our military and would continue to be treated with the
contempt it deserves.
Despite
extreme provocations, we cannot be like the other
side and that is the reason why the Indian Army retains its moral edge, and
continues to prevail.
Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain is the former
General Officer Commanding of the 15 Corps at Srinagar and former Military
Secretary.
Maj Navdeep Singh is an Advocate at the
Punjab & Haryana High Court and founding President of the Armed Forces
Tribunal Bar Association.
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