MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE

Across the world there are countries that have made military service mandatory. In most of these countries, when the boys and girls graduate from their high school, they have to join the military and serve for a specific term ranging from a minimum of 18 months to 10 years. After that they are transferred to reserve force.  The countries where it is mandatory to serve in the country's military are Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Brazil, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Iran, Israel, North Korea, South Korea, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, Republic of China, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and UAE.

The service in the armed forces of the country helps build a nation full of ex-armed forces men and women and a great reserve battalion.  It also helps in building character and unity among the people.  It helps to bridge the gap in terms of language, status, socio-economic status etc.  It provides a platform for building not just character but a patriotic society who are able to view the nation as one and fight for the same.  

Israel is the fore runner where the military service was made mandatory for all the graduates of the high school. Earlier the girls and women were not permitted in combat positions but after a law suit against the military and government by a woman in 1994, made the Israeli Defense Army to permit the women in all combat positions.

In North Korea all high school graduates to join military and today the country is having the highest number of active and reservist forces in the world at 6,445,000 personnel in the army.  The boys have to serve for a minimum of 10 years and the girls till they attain the age of 23.  In both the cases on graduating from the high school they have to join the military compulsorily.

In many countries, military service is voluntary and not compulsory.  This has been seen in many western democracies and in India also.  The voluntary nature of the military service and the demographic, socio-economic-religious differences in the country has spawned a set of people who ridicule the armed forces and belittle their service to the nation.  There was an elected legislator in a north Indian state who said that the people join army for getting killed and what was the big deal in some one dying in the terrorist attack in the Kashmir valley.  Another legislator said that they get paid for getting killed in the border.  Such insensitive remarks and attitude towards the military personnel not just demoralize them but puts a question on the level of sanity of the speakers.

In some of the countries, the veterans, after the mandatory service gets scholarship for pursuing further studies and enhanced opportunities for getting employment where the military service is not compulsory.  Till some time back, the option available for people who opted out of military service after the mandatory period of service was working as security guards or officers.  Only lately the corporate have opened their gates for veterans who return to civilian lives after the mandatory service period.

Be that as it may, a few sportsmen were conferred honorary ranks of military and one of them evinced an interest to join the active soldiering duty.  The fans of the sportsman evince lot of concern for his welfare and safety in the border area where he is going to be deployed for patrolling duty for a limited period.  While it is understandable that the fans are concerned for the welfare of the individual, it should be remembered that there are lot more young officers and men who stand guard along the border and line of control to defend the country from enemy aggression for months and years.  Whenever there are skirmishes with the enemy or with the terrorists supported by the enemy in the border areas, some of these young officers and men lose their lives in the battle. But the common citizen does not seem to be too much perturbed about the loss of lives of these young officers and men.

In the state of Tamilnadu, there had been talks, since the pre-independence days, for cessation from the union as a separate country.  One of the leaders of the political party even wrote to the British governor of Madras Presidency for the British to continue to administer Madras Presidency alone, even if other parts of India were granted freedom.  The main Dravidian party DMK and its leaders had sought to carve out the state from the union to make it into a separate country.  The leaders of this party through their rabble rousing and flowery speeches had rendered a whole generation of people of the state to oppose anything be it teaching languages, developmental work, road building, power plants, common entrance examinations etc.  Even today, there are fringe elements supported by one or the other party in the state who openly oppose the oneness of the nation and talk of cessation from the union and oppose all the moves of the government of the country. 

To inculcate a sense of duty and increased patriotism, love for the country and the countrymen,it is time that the government thinks about making military service mandatory and a minimum period of 24 to 36 months service as a mandatory qualification apart from graduating from the high school for entry into the college for any degree, be it professional or otherwise.  There can be an option for the persons to continue in the military service if one chooses to.  This will instill a sense of belonging and love of the nation and it will eliminate the indiscriminate opposition to any work in the national interest. This will also build a big reserve force available in future in case of need and emergency, should such a scenario arise.