एकंसद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति

(There is one truth, wise men describe it in different ways.)

ऋग्वेद, Rigveda1

Rose-Tinted Glasses!

In several course/ squadron get-togethers or even at times in a wardroom conversation, a peated peg of whisky often takes us down ‘those were the days’ at our respective academies. A common refrain is about the unwelcome changes in the training environment and how lenient and bureaucratic they have become. Some assume that ‘youngsters these days’ are ‘different.’ As it happens, one gets a sense of a left-handed compliment to one’s own generation.

However, having been directly involved in training of the cadets at Indian Naval Academy (INA), it seems to me that this generation as a whole is more aware of the world, the armed forces, the Navy and of the career that lies ahead of them. It is more likely that they may be beginning a few notches above my own threshold merely a decade ago. Their understanding of the surroundings, handling of technology, coupled with a more complex BTech curriculum may equip them to be better than previous generations.

Laying an Ethical Foundation

I am writing with reference to an article published in Naval Despatch - Winter Edition 21 titled ‘An Appetising Wrong or an Insipid Right.’2 The article recalls an incident of a cadet appointment seeking his Divisional Officer’s approval to take his squadron for a cross-country run in the middle of the night. Everyone in uniform has been through these situations, when as a cadet your commitment is completely directed towards your squadron and squadron mates. Despite having so many friends, colleagues and relatives, your eyes still light up when someone walks up to you saying that he is from your squadron, though he might have joined even twenty years later. If we take a balanced view of the situation, we will find we have seen both sides of the coin in our days in an academy. A senior cadet conducting PT for weak trainees at night, a sixth termer taking navigation classes for his juniors during study period and a cadet appointment taking out time and effort to go for camp practice with the junior course, knowing very well that he could have stayed in his cosy cabin are all examples of selfless dedication towards the squadron and squadron mates.

The bedrock of ethical discipline is laid at ab-initio military academies. There is some possibility that the smallest of so called ‘smart acts’ or violations may magnify into acts of moral turpitude as one grows in stature, rank, purchasing power and sphere of influence. While in the guise of ‘doing good for the squadron’, an unethical act, if not corrected in time, may reappear in one’s career probably at a time when the stakes are relatively higher. This is for me, the central message in Lt Cdr Lochan’s article. It is thus, essential to mould these impressionable minds into figures of exemplary ethical conduct in their normative years.

Ethical and Moral Maturity

Having discussed practices and academy environments that existed in decades past with seniors and a few veterans, and compared to my own days as a cadet, do I see some change? It seems that there is now a greater focus on ethical training and education than existed in academies earlier. We have all heard of ‘beg, borrow, steal’ or the glorified ‘smart acts’ handed down through years or at times under the banner of ‘traditions.’ It is encouraging to register that most ill-practices have been on the decline, both through building as moral muscles in the cadets today as well as enforcement through a stronger organisational culture. Moral maturity driven into the cadets enables them to know where to draw the line when a situation arises.

As men and women in uniform, we often deal with moral dilemmas and occasions when tensions arise between acting in accordance with personal values and acting as a professional. Such dilemmas can arise in a military organisation owing to several factors like hierarchy, peer pressure, lack of recognition or group bonding. The ability to recognise that there are ethical aspects worthy of consideration (referred to as ‘ethical sensitivity’) is often assumed to be existent by default. However, this common ability, more importantly in a military environment where there is so much reliance on Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and such a strong pressure toward conformity, is an aspect of moral development we should perhaps reflect on more deeply.3

Ethical Education at Indian Naval Academy (INA)

Absolute devotion to duty can only be instilled in a man who believes implicitly in the righteousness of his cause, and who has unquestioning faith in the values he has imbibed. The Naval Value System has been crystallised both by spontaneous evolution and the conscious adoption of high ethical standards.

Time, Tide and Tradition4

And to add to it, the ill-defined borders of ethics (and consequently, ethical training) make it absolutely difficult to be encapsulated and understood by an individual once and for all during ab-initio training at the academy. “Pouring abstract ethical wine into practical military bottles requires no mean effort. The need to progressively stress these aspects, as an individual progresses in Service life, would imply that we need to ensure that ethics and ethical training are as important as technical, tactical and physical proficiency. Ethics must be ingrained and integrated into all Service and joint training.”5

The INA endeavours to educate cadets in both, a tough academic programme with naval subjects, and in character-development. There is an impetus on ethical decision-making within strict rules-based cultures. It is essential to provide the cadets with a set of skills that mentally and physically enables them to react properly to achieve the correct possible outcome in any situation. An education that dives deeply into ethics, and is maintained throughout a career, is the best way to create and continuously sharpen those skills. Formal ethics education enhances the ethical mindset of our trainees and officers of tomorrow, minimising the probability of misconduct. Ethics education is thus, not only taught in classrooms, but is also created in an environment of ethical behaviour and encouragement for cadets through guest lectures, regular interactions with Divisional Officers and Squadron Commanders. Officers in an academy must remain on their ethical toes as well because they are likely to be watched closely by cadets, hopefully as models to be emulated.

One gets to observe - as surely has happened across decades in academies, several examples of selflessness in cadets. In the examples that follow, we find illustrations of teamwork, leadership, camaraderie and the development of ethical judgement. For instance, during an outbound camp, an injured cadet from another squadron is sometimes be carried by another participant from a competing squadron; a cadet appointment or a senior cadet steps up to take the blame on himself for the wrongdoings of his junior; or when one risks injury for his squadron on the football field without thinking of a scheduled PT test the next morning, where his individual performance and grading might be at stake. There have always been examples of cadets owning up for a mistake even knowing that silence could have worked. Often in a cross-country competition, one has seen a senior cadet carrying an injured junior even at the cost of dropping his own “enclosure.” It is difficult to say how belonging to a ‘cadets’ tribe, and yet trying to do right by a neighbouring tribe (as for a cadet from another squadron) manifests itself later in life for one’s ship, air squadron or fleet. There is reason to believe it always has, and will always remain so, exceptions notwithstanding for every generation.

The essence of ethical education and training is to reiterate that wrong means cannot really justify the attainment of good ends. That brings us to the central case study in the article that triggered this contribution. In the INA, a squadron appointment today is unlikely to make a similar request as he believes in the ethical requirement of sticking to rules promulgated about practice parameters for co-curricular activities (like a cross-country). Practising for an event at unearthly hours ought to be and is discouraged for deeper ethical reasons and for very practical considerations that include requirement of cadets to be available in classrooms and coping with the tough academic curriculum as well. There is a sure stress on academics and the BTech programme is central to a technologically-advancing Indian Navy with a rational balance of other aspects of training, physical fitness as well as moral uprightness. Not coincidentally, these feature in their daily prayer!

INA Honour Code

An academy is like a nursery where virtues of honesty, loyalty and patriotism are sown in a cadet. So, it is essential for these young and impressionable minds to have a guideline which helps them steer a steady course in unsettling times. Their Honour Code summarises what is expected of them. It is used in practice, not merely something to be etched in stone and then ignored. It is a decision-making filter for these leaders of tomorrow. It is undoubtedly the minimum ethical standard expected from a cadet. Any deviation/ aberration in personal ethical behaviour is examined by an Honour Code Committee (a body comprising of cadets) and due correctives are initiated. Depending on the nature of the violation of the Honour Code, the Committee raises the level to officers who then may take further measures/ correctives or punitive steps in a fair and just manner.

Conclusion

People in every organisation and ‘tribe’ face situations where rules and policies may come into conflict with peer pressure and the need to succeed. This may be a relatively small matter such as winning a squadron competition as a cadet, to jeopardising one’s own selection to Flag rank. Principles and values may seem in conflict with temptation and personal advancement. It often seems convenient to apply the veneer of a need for organisational success to personal ambition. These are palpable pressures, sometimes in ways we may not even be aware of. This is where our personal moral courage and deep professionalism ought to keep our moral compass pointed correctly to the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Ethical training is a lifelong and continuous process. It may begin almost at birth for each one of us, but certainly its military/ naval foundations at the INA are vitally important. As I conclude, I must reiterate that unethical means of achieving a target (though with a benign intention) are being dissuaded at the INA with the hope that budding Naval leaders of tomorrow march off the quarterdeck with a strong ethical spine.

Endnotes

  1. “Ekam Sad Vipra Bahudha Vadant: The Real Meaning- Rig Veda 1.164.46.,” Jaya Nitai Gauranga. https://nitaigaurangablog.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/ekam-sad-vipra-bahudha-vadanti-the-real-meaning/, accessed 11 January 2022.

  2. Rajiv Lochan, “An Appetising Wrong or an Insipid Right,” Indian Naval Despatch vol. 2 no. 2 (Winter 2021), 5-11.

  3. Eva Van Baarle et. al., “The Relevance of Foucauldian Art-of-Living for Ethics Education in a Military Context: Theory and Practice,” 09 November 2017, 126-143.

  4. VK Malhotra, Time Tide and Tradition (New Delhi, Naval Headquarters, 1992), 22.

  5. SRR Aiyengar, “Ethics and Military Leadership,” Journal of Defence Studies vol. 7 no. 2 (2013), 121-142. https://www.idsa.in/jds/7_2_2013_EthicsandMilitary Leadership _srraiyengar, accessed 10 January 2022.