More than half of Indian Army under 'severe stress': Report

The Indian Army has been losing more personnel each year in suicides, fratricides and "untoward incidents", than in enemy action or combat, as soldiers face heightened stress.

According to a study by the United Service Institution of India, "Prolonged exposure of Indian Army personnel to CI (counter- insurgency)/CT (counter-terrorism) environment has been one of the contributory factors for increased stress levels", as there has been a marked increase in stress levels amongst personnel during the last two decades, due to both operational and non-operational factors.

The study mentioned that "Furthermore, presently more than half of Indian Army personnel seem to be under severe stress", adding "The Indian Army has been losing more personnel every year due to suicides, fratricides and untoward incidents than in response to any enemy and/or terrorist activities".

Despite the fact that the Indian government introduced various stress management measures, the report highlights that these interventions over the last 15 years have not been able to achieve the desired results.

Furthermore, it is highlighted that the major organisational causes of stress amongst Army officers include inadequacies in the quality of leadership, overburdened commitments, insufficient resources, frequent dislocations, lack of fairness and transparency in postings and promotions, and non-grant of leave.

The Indian armed forces have been losing over 100 soldiers each year due to suicides and fratricides leading to the "grim reality" of one soldier dying every three days, the study noted.

The study concludes that "This loss is substantially greater than the operational casualties suffered by the Armed forces. In addition, a number of soldiers and leaders have been affected by hypertension, heart diseases, psychosis, neurosis and other related ailments".