Army officer and SpiceJet staff row: Violence cannot be defended – but a broader conversation is needed

Indian Express

a day ago

On Sunday, an Indian Army officer was booked for allegedly assaulting four members of SpiceJet's staff at the Srinagar International Airport. The incident happened on July 26 when the airline's airport staff were allegedly thrashed after they asked the officer, Ritesh Kumar Singh, who was flying out of Srinagar, to pay a fee for extra luggage.
At the outset, the incident cannot be condoned as it was a grave violation of the service ethos; the pillar on which the Armed Forces groom its officers. However, certain facets of the unfortunate incident at Srinagar airport and similar incidents in general, merit a sound analysis.
On July 26, Singh reportedly arrived alone at the airport, carrying two cabin bags. It is possible that he was travelling for a short leave to attend to an urgent domestic commitment. This is common practice among soldiers — they struggle to get leaves sanctioned, and have to manage travel bookings on a short notice and at an affordable price.
His bag had reportedly been cleared at the check-in counter. The officer was confronted by the ground staff on the issue of extra weight. As per reports, the officer explained his situation and even attempted to lighten his bag by discarding a few items. However, instead of assisting him, the staff allegedly got confrontational. Perhaps, the issue at hand could have been resolved amicably.
Thereafter, the concerned airline lodged a police complaint that turned into FIR; this created a narrative that painted Singh in a bad light. It was lapped up by the media without hearing the other side or heeding the context. Sadly, true to the information age, the true story is always the first that comes out. Instances of dissatisfaction of passengers vis-a-vis the ground staff at airports have become common. Yet it seems like because of its potential to boost TRPs, the media ran with this one-sided version.
Of late, incidents of public altercations involving Armed Forces' personnel have become a new normal. Once the headlines fade, it becomes business as usual for viewers who could not care less about the outcome of blaming and shaming the offender. The news of an Indian Army colonel and his son being attacked by three Punjab police inspectors in Patiala in March this year, after stirring much furore, has receded from the headlines.
In these cases, the question is: What triggers such conduct towards Armed Forces personnel? A tiff over extra baggage or over a parking space (in Patiala)? Really? Such incidents are just not about hierarchy or protocol. These point to a deeper malaise, the basis of which is a diminishing sense of empathy towards armed forces in general. A few days ago, we watched our parliamentarians praise our Armed Forces during the proceedings of the debate on Operation Sindoor. Armed forces can not be a prop to demonstrate one's nationalism as lip service.
In the end, what Singh did cannot be condoned. But the attitude and circumstances surrounding the incident can hopefully sensitise society about the challenges Armed Forces personnel face. They merely ask for reasonable accommodation, nothing more. Author and philosopher G K Chesterton said, 'the soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' The love and prestige that a soldier gets from his countrymen, keep him ticking in the most trying conditions, away from his family. Let us never undermine that.
The writer is an Indian Army veteran and currently teaches at OP Jindal Global University