The news carried in this paper yesterday, about four army officers to be held accountable for deliberate killings in J&K, is a stunning revelation. It is a matter of pride that the Indian media has led the movement to investigate and expose wrongdoing by the government machinery in different walks of life. The military cannot be exempt from public scrutiny into its flawed working. Given the political and security environment, the military and the paramilitary forces will continue to operate in what are termed Low Intensity Conflicts. There will be more and even worse cases of excessive and indiscriminate use of the power to kill vested in the military. It is time to introspect on the deeper set of factors that have led to such instances.

Military excesses and indiscriminate use of force is not new in the history of warfare. It was to put an end to such excesses that the concept of Just Wars had been introduced. In modern times, human rights law, humanitarian law, the Geneva Convention were all brought into force to limit the excesses of military force. In our own generation, warfare itself has changed from large scale wars between states to small scale military operations over long periods.

Military force, which had been applied in wars that were conducted separate from civil society, is now required be used in conflicts within it. This mutation of military conflict has had a serious impact on the professional parameters that should guide military forces.

That the Indian military, despite its decades long active role in such operations has had a fine record in civil society is a matter of no small pride. The Indian military ethos is uniquely humanistic and value based. The evidence, unfortunately on the increase in indiscriminate and excessive use of its powers, is therefore a serious warning signal. What leads to the erosion of human and professional values in a disciplined force like the military is to be pondered over. The action of some officers and men, horrendous as they are, point to a deeper set of causes that destroy the honour based military culture.

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