Final Curtain Comes down on the Army 'Sahayaks'?

Bangalore: The ‘sahayak’ system- Is it a system Indian Army is proud of or ashamed of? Going by the recent proposal by the Army to abolish it, it certainly seems to be the latter. This system has been in place for a long time and is one where trained soldiers are deputed to do personal work of officers.

The Army officers’ families, particularly the children often fondly call these soldiers as ‘Bhaiyya’ and consider them as part of their extended family. But what about the soldiers? Do they feel a sense of pride in serving their officers or do they find it below their dignity and an affront to their self-esteem?

According to sources, Defense Minister A K Antony has given a ‘’positive’’ response to the proposal submitted by the defense ministry.

Over 30,000 combatants are deployed to assist serving officers and their families as part of the ‘’sahayak’’ system. It has been suggested that, instead of soldiers, civilian personnel be hired to do this job. General V K Singh, during the early part of his tenure as Army Chief ordered a study into the system.  Army Training Command, based in Shimla carried out an extensive study of the concept. The findings and ‘solutions’ has been submitted.