By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Army has stationed psychiatrists close
to its troops in forward areas to combat stress that has driven many
soldiers to kill themselves or fellow soldiers, an official said Tuesday.
“Sixty psychiatrists have been trained and are working in close coordination
with the troops. If there are any signs of stress, this will immediately be
brought to the commanding officer’s notice,” Director General Medical
Sciences Lt. Gen. N.K. Parmar said.
He was talking to reporters ahead of the 245th anniversary of the Army
Medical Corps.
The army is also in the process of recruiting more psychiatrists and
counsellors.
“It (deputing of counsellors) is a proactive step taken so that the
situation (due to stress) does not deteriorate further,” Parmar added.
In October, a parliamentary panel had said the military establishment was
not taking reports of suicides and fratricides seriously enough. The
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, in its 31st report on “Stress
management in the armed forces”, said 635 suicides by soldiers were reported
between 2003 and 2007.
In addition, 67 fratricidal killings had occurred, the report said.
The “alarming trend of suicides and fratricidal killings in the armed
forces”, the committee said, “is attributable to increased stress
environment leading to psychological imbalance in the soldiers”.