National Values

After a fairly long break something has provoked me to write again. An interesting article by Retd Gen Sinha about the first Indian Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. I would ask you to read it first as it celebrates the leadership of a person who had a major impact on the armed forces and Indian politics in his own way. It has been published by the Deccan Chronicle that I remember as a "local" Hyderabadi newspaper. I hope papers with more national impact pick it up, it would be a shame if it is lost to the rest of the country. Its available through the following link

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/node/94825/print

The article brought back fond memories of how the Army works and how meticulously everything is planned, the thought that goes into getting everything right. The values of remaining true to history, tradition and not only doing the right thing but doing things rightly.

We could have our own views on whether in the 20th century we need to value our Army and therefore its Field Marshals as they did in the Prussian War 200 years ago, most of the Western democracies seem to do. I have no doubt that in a democracy elected representatives of the people should "rule" and have a say over defence and internal security. However, it a known fact that a leader who doesn't value its workforce will cause disengagement and demoralisation. The outcome will therefore be gradual decay and failure in the future.

I wonder if our leaders and bureaucrats do not understand this principle, or simply do not care. I am sure they are smart enough to know this. Does it mean then that it is the latter.