mid-day editorial: Are soldiers being fed empty promises?

A BSF jawan, deployed along the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir, has alleged that our troops are facing "cruelty" as they are served bad quality food and even have to go on an "empty stomach" at times. Videos of his allegations have gone viral. The soldier claimed that though the government procures essential items for them, top officials often tend to sell those for a good price. It results in troops being deprived of necessities.

While the authenticity of these claims has to be verified, the allegations may well be true. In fact, rarely do security personnel speak out about issues troubling them - serving soldiers and officers are gover­ned by a strict code to not communicate with the media. They communicate via their official spokespersons.

But social media has changed the communication paradigm comple­te­ly. Today, what cannot be uttered publicly is uploaded on social media platforms. These platforms are also used to broach and discuss so-called taboos. While reckless rumours and unwarranted comments also flood social media, it has no doubt become the place to air views and news.

If, like the government says, an investigation into the allegations has already begun, masses would like to know about the outcome. Let these investigations not take the familiar and futile course, which leads to no answers or accountability.

If there is any truth to these accusations, let's try to clean up the system of the lies. If those who protect us feel shortchanged by their superiors, morale will be low. Eventually, they will start questioning if their sacrifices are worth it. Though reports suggest that the jawan had been disciplined in the past for misbehavior, let's not dismiss his charges without a probe. The masses are ready for some answers, some results and the truth.