Give Indian military the faith that what they stand for is worth all their sweat and toil

The parade included a highly motivated and vivacious Naval marching contingent led by the best military band in the country. At the end, Lt Cdr Aanchal Sharma, the Contingent Commander, shared with pride that their “hard work and tough schedule” of two months had paid off.

Getting selected for the Republic Day Parade contingent is itself an honour. Captain N Shyam Sundar (retired) recalls the time he led the Naval contingent in 2003 after practising “for 45 days in the biting cold months of Delhi”. “The hand holding the sword gets numb within 15 minutes. But we march 11 km every day for that final moment of marching past the dais.”

The contingents are required to be at the practice area before 4 am. Drill instructors then shake into shape those freezing limbs and reluctant muscles, bearing heavy rifles and unwieldy musical instruments, into harmony, matched to a marching pace of precisely 115 steps per minute. The key to that mathematically precise and artistically perfect movement is the martial marching beat and melody of the accompanying band.

The Mumbai-based Naval Central Band plays a repertoire of music forms, from marching tunes to Carnatic and Jazz, to popular folk and movie numbers. Often, they are the soothing interlude for the men and women from one intense practice march to the next.

Sadly, an out-of-context 21-second video clip of a transition schedule during practice, recorded by an enthusiastic and perhaps ignorant onlooker, became the news this time. To some, the crime was that the contingent was jiving to a Bollywood number, even if old and evergreen. To others, it was more fodder for politics over what songs to be played at the Republic Day event. The content and pace of the transmission confused even some veterans, till a longer 145-second clip was released. In the “breaking news” media environment, the damage was done, with no attempt to get the context.

Remorse or regret will not come from those who spread this. Instead, the drill coordinators will now add some more checklists, and tell troops that there can be no private or relaxed moments when out on the ground. Certainly, such moments are not what the highly motivated sailors, soldiers and air warriors of armed forces deserve, as per the critics. I wonder if these self-proclaimed guardians of Indian military ethos examine their own adherence to motivation, order and discipline. In the past, not so innocuous questions have been asked about the relevance of music and march in a modern military. In the current cyber and space age security complex, some wonder at the archaic traditions and military pageantry. Those are questions irrelevant to any military person. Music is rhythm, with beats, and that facilitates the precision that is at the core of military ethos.

As a recently transitioned veteran, may I appeal to the zealous guardians of our culture, order and now even military, to consider channelising their high-octane spirits into other crying sectors of national growth. May we allow the highly professional military of India to retain and build their faith in the nation they have sworn to defend. Please give them the faith that what they stand for is worth all their sweat and toil.

This column first appeared in the print edition on January 30, 2022 under the title ‘Hey, people, leave the band alone’. The writer retired as Commodore from the Indian Navy.