From the archives, 29 March 2001

LETTER TO EDITOR

NAM NAMAK NISHAN

 

Apropos article by 8 SIKH titled ‘Fighting for Nam, Namak, and Nishan’ in the INFANTRY PLUS.

 

That the 8 SIKH has earned a legendary place in the annals of Indian military prowess is a fact. Of interest therefore was the article that spelled out their motivation as they went about carving their name into military history.

 

The article informs us that the motivating factors were essentially two – religious and racial, which have been interpreted as ‘nam, namak, nishan’. The article dwells on the historical animosity between the Sikhs and the muslims rulers in the medieval period for its inspirational relevance.

 

There are two troubling features in this manner of motivating soldiers. One is that is not a modern method and second is that it misrepresents history. The point is that republican India’s army requires a different manner of motivating its soldiers. If it has failed to evolve it, then there is a need to revisit this aspect that we take for granted.

 

If the ‘proof of the pudding is in the eating’, then there is no argument against the manner adopted by 8 SIKH. But the point is that there is more than just the matter of effectiveness involved here. The point of view presented here requires to attract the attention of thinking forward looking infantrymen. The moot question is – What should be the method of motivating soldiers in a modern, professional army of a progressive secular republic? Is the method adopted by 8 SIKH relevant as a model? If not then what ought to replace it?