India Defence: Faith, Rationality, Media and Military Leadership

Representative Image from Wix Media as Symbol of Secularism

Today the camera, algorithm and influencers are everywhere snapping the unusual in public while this may be useful for building up political profiles, there is need for caution by Indian military commanders picturised in religious settings that question the secular credentials of the armed forces and faith can be seen transcending professionalism and rationality.

The core of any warfighting, despite the hype over Artificial Intelligence, is the man behind the machine – the fighter. For a man under fire, using a phrase borrowed from SLA Marshal’s famous treatise “Men Under Fire”, faith and rationality play important roles. In the hierarchy of military leadership, while faith is constant, rationality matters greatly because of the complex decision-making required of a modern military commander on the battlefield – multi domain a more contemporary phrase.

For the soldier in the trenches, rationality is no less important. Still, he must rely more on faith to face the uncertainties of fighting shoulder to shoulder with his comrades. At times, he may have to sacrifice rationality to save himself and his post. The last man, last round phenomenon is driven by a complex belief in faith, with Izzat, or pride in oneself, the sub-unit, and the Regiment. Regimental pride may often forsake rationality to attain the supreme sacrifice.

This is the ethos on which the Indian Army has fought over the centuries, from the battlefields in East Africa, Italy, and Burma in the First and Second World Wars to Siachen at heights over 5000 metres today. Rationality defies conduct of military operations at such extreme altitudes. Yet the Indian Army offers many examples, including Naib Subedar [Now Honorary Captain] Bana Singh, who scaled the post now named after him at over 6700 metres.

Higher up the chain of command, rationality assumes greater significance for commanders because they carry the lives of hundreds and national honour and prestige on their broad shoulders. Faith matters, but it alone cannot drive a higher commander. He must rely on an objective assessment of the overall military situation for rational decision making.

Faith in the Indian Army is connected to regimental religion rather than an individual's personal faith. This belief in pluralism enables leaders to lead and followers to follow, regardless of religion. It is cultivated in the Unit Religious place, a Mandir, Masjid, Gurudwara, or Church as the case may be – the sanctum sanatorium where collective prayers are offered. Beyond this expression of religion is something purely private, restricted to the individual locker or box in the dormitory and never displayed publicly. There may be a picture of the God an individual believes in, where prayers are offered in silence. Then the locker door closes as the individual subsumes himself in the unit's common faith.

Higher up in the hierarchy, Sarv Dharma Sthal has come to represent the secular values of the Indian armed forces, incorporating all major religions of the troops at the station.

Beyond this sphere, officers and soldiers visit local religious deities as private individuals in civilian clothes. The soldier is indistinguishable from the other devotees except perhaps for his military demeanour.

Enter the contemporary media environment where scrutiny of every sphere of public life is the norm. Digital channels are the medium where religious meaning, rational argument, and mediated authority now interact. Sermons, rituals, and guidance are optimised for visibility and attention rather than traditional values. Influencers, together with algorithms, take over the moment an event is clicked.

In this environment, senior military commanders are celebrities, and their every public action draws attention, including visits to religious places. Invariably, these are seen as reflecting what is practised by the leader and some even wear a distinguishing attire identified with the faith he follows.

If this is an excess, the media, keen on picturing the unusual, lap it up. Influencers with their own agendas create sensationalism that leads to questioning the constitutionally secular commitment of the Indian armed forces.

Conspiracy theories float about a deliberate ploy by a senior commander to appease political masters, which may or may not have been the intent.

In comes rationality. How much public displays of faith that tilt towards a religion affect a commander's objective reasoning is difficult to assess. Yet any doubts raised are not worth the open show of his religiosity. Publicity-seeking behaviour by a military commander can be justified only after a victory on the battlefield, not while visiting a religious place.

In today’s hyper-religious environment, this may put pressure on commanders to eschew emotional displays but must have the moral courage to resist and stay on the professional path.