Herein lies the ‘Regimental’ spirit that ensures a collective identity, which goes beyond an individual’s personal religion, region, caste, or ethnicity to be subsumed under the most powerful and singular ‘Regimental’ identity — an identity worth guarding with one’s own life. Last year, Col Santosh Babu (MVC), originally from Andhra Pradesh, went down fighting with his Veer Bihari troops at Galwan Valley. Only in a ‘Regimental’ environment would a Commanding Officer lead from the front.
Sadly, Afghan soldiers had no life-laying ‘purpose’ as ordained in a ‘Regimental’ environment, no motivation to go beyond the ‘call of duty’. So, they simply wilted, melted and surrendered to a motivated Taliban who were more ‘Regimented’ in construct, albeit regressively.
In Afghanistan, where tribal, regional and ethnic pride outweighs any national identity, the absence of plausible ‘Regimentation’ may have contributed to the humiliating surrender, amongst…