Indian soldiers lured by
dollars By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - The first reports about the
happening appeared in January. Now it is a phenomenon
that has spread across the country, involving possibly
thousands of people. In a very discreet operation, US
and British security sub-contractors are seeking out
Indian ex-servicemen known for their professionalism and
discipline for deployment in Iraq.
Moves by the
coalition forces to outsource security are a result of
the alarming increase in casualties, with indications of
the war dragging on for some time. Further, there is a
less likelihood of an attack on an Indian, who mingles
easily with the general population, and who is also
generally considered friendly by Iraqis. For the retired
lowly paid Indian soldier, the money being doled out is
attractive and difficult to refuse.
Needless to
say, the Indian personnel work under the direct command
of United States and British forces. Most are deployed
to perform security duties, such as guarding key
installations like oil wells, refineries, food convoys
and ports, as well as normal day-to-day duties around
military camps. Though there is no involvement in direct
combat, the situation in Iraq is fraught with risk, with
some reports indicating that a few Indians might already
have been injured.
In June last year, the Indian
government turned down a US request to send an Indian
peacekeeping force to Iraq. In a statement the Ministry
of External Affairs said: "The government of India has
given careful thought to the question of sending troops
to Iraq. Were there to be an explicit UN mandate, the
government would consider the deployment of troops to
Iraq." The stand of the Indian government has remained
the same since, having resisted all pressure from the
US.
The first indication of the transfer of
Indian personnel to Iraq was from the south Indian state
of Kerala, which is the hub of Indians heading for the
Middle East in general as engineers, construction
workers and other skilled jobs. The reports said that
around 500 ex-servicemen, who had served in various
fighting units of the Indian Army (artillery, infantry
armored core), had been recruited from the central
districts of Kerala for deployment in Iraq. The
contingent was termed as the first-ever "Indian
regiment" to work as a mercenary force for the US, with
the recruitment done by a Kuwaiti company working for
the US Army. The entire process was done without the
knowledge of the central government in Delhi, or bodies
responsible for the welfare of ex-servicemen.
What followed was a series of similar details
emerging from the north Indian states of Rajasthan,
Punjab and Haryana, where the maximum numbers of retired
soldiers reside. These ex-servicemen are approached by
Indian private security agencies which front for the
sub-contractors appointed by the US and British forces
in Iraq.
The money, by Indian standards, is very
good, due to which many ex-soldiers, who have to make do
with low pensions, are willing to take the risk. A
sepoy (private) is being offered as much as $750
a month, a captain $1,250, major/lieutenant-colonel
$1,750, a colonel $2,500 and brigadier $3,500. A serving
brigadier in the Indian Army earns much less than $1,000
a month - a private almost nothing. Most of the
ex-servicemen chosen are below the age of 55 and
medically fit. Preference is given to those who have
been involved in counter-insurgency operations, fighting
guerrilla attacks in northeast India or experience of
war.
Action in Iraq However, as
everyone knows, life is not all that easy in Iraq. In an
interview that has appeared in the weekly Outlook
magazine, Colonel T Kapoor, among the first to serve in
Iraq, spoke about his experience. Kapoor returned to
India recently after being injured in a guerilla attack.
"It's good money, but it's not all hunky-dory. You never
know what you may encounter because it's a very volatile
situation. Besides, the guerrillas have superior
weapons, like rifle-fired grenades, while security
personnel like us are given inadequate weapons like
AK-47 rifles. Ordinary Iraqis are generally nice to
Indians, but when you are working with the occupying
forces, you get targeted by the resistance fighters,"
says Kapoor.
However, unlike illegal trafficking
of humans, the transfer of ex-army personnel is an
organized process with care taken to ensure that the
interests of the individual are well protected.
Executives (mostly former army men) of some of the of
the security agencies, such as Trig Guardforce, based in
Mumbai, and Gemini Veteran Global Placements, based in
New Delhi, have spoken to the media detailing the
organization. The sub-contractors pass on the Indian
bio-datas to the US general office for screening and
selection. Insurance cover ranges from $10,000 to
$50,000, while valid visas-holders are usually routed
through Kuwait into US bases in Iraq.
The Indian
government has obviously got wind of these developments,
but there has been no overt clampdown as of yet. There
have been murmurs of protest within the Indian army
establishment, with some serving officers feeling that
it is wrong to indulge in mercenary activities when the
Indian government has taken a strong stand against
sending troops to Iraq. Others have voiced concern about
ex-serviceman being privy to sensitive information
related to national security.
But there are
others, within the army as well, who are not averse to
the idea and see it as an opportunity for ex-servicemen
to find employment. More importantly, the sainik
(soldier) welfare boards that are quite active in the
north Indian states have come out in support of the
deployment, given the abysmal state of the retired
Indian soldier, who has to struggle to make ends meet.
Retired officers, too, are not averse. The
Indian armed forces follow a steep hierarchical
structure due to which several officers take premature
retirement. Though young, the best years are behind
them, the experience and training of these officers are
often underutilized and they find employment in
relatively lower-skilled jobs involving man-management.
Heading to Iraq is harking back to the earlier days when
life was a risk in any case, as well as another chance
to utilize their skills for a decent salary.
As
the war in Iraq turns bloodier by the day, there are
going to be winners and losers, wherein economic
compulsions may override other risks. But, a life lost,
whether American, Iraqi or Indian, will always be a
tragedy.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New
Delhi-based journalist.
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