The erosion in moral values in the armed forces over the past few decades has left India’s political and military leadership bewildered and befuddled. No amount of preventive or curative measures appear to be succeeding in arresting this fall, as day after day dawns with news of fresh instances of impropriety and indecorum. This article attempts to examine the issues of morals and ethics as relevant to the profession of soldiering across the time continuum. It dwells further on the probable causes of the erosion of moral values and ethics in the Army.

Value systems form the spine of modern society, religion and every individual’s conscience with moral codes defining ‘appropriate’ and ‘expected’ activity. Ethics refer to an individual’s actions that are consistent with such value systems. While the former constitutes a basic human marker of right behaviour and conduct, the latter are a set of guidelines that define acceptable behaviour and practices for a certain group of individuals or society.

There has been a palpable decline in the standards of morals, ethics and values as observed by officers in the armed forces and the bond between officers and men has weakened. This could be because officers with the requisite qualities are not adequately groomed to rise to the level of battalion commanders. The present appraisal system is largely to blame, it being based on a single Annual Confidential Report. A further drawback is that only superior officers report on a ratee. Inputs for appraisal need to be drawn from multiple sources geared towards a ‘360 degree evaluation’.

‘Ethics’ derived from the Greek word ‘Ethicos’, means character or manners and guide actions thereby becoming a ‘normative discipline’. Military Ethics applies to a specialized realm and has developed principles appropriate to it over time to help guide future operations. The armed forces must be always ethically led to uphold the defence of the nation and its national interests. Ethical leadership embodying the ideals of the profession of arms entails creating ethical command climates that set the conditions for positive outcomes and ethical behaviour.

This article looks at the current situation in the armed forces, which has been in the news for all wrong reasons recently. The author undertakes an analysis of the causes of this state of affairs and suggests that the armed forces, which were well known for their ethics and code of conduct, need to review the situation and take radical steps to ensure a return to their ethics, values and traditions.

Developing culture and traditions is one of the pragmatic ways of breeding ethics and moral standards in the military. These moral issues are profoundly linked to the military’s way of life and ethos, which includes discipline and esprit de corps. Although issues like developing a sense of belonging may be the theme while creating cultures, the ultimate aim is to influence a soldier into becoming an ethical team player as an instrument for winning wars. The creation and pursuit of culture establishes common values and a sense of ownership amongst the troops.

The Indian Army remains rooted in an outdated, British-inherited system that is struggling to cope with the combination of challenges posed by demands of modern warfare and a society that is undergoing a great churn. The greatest challenge has been to the famous officer–men relationship in the Indian armed forces. In the past decade, the armed forces have faced a new problem: increasing incidents of indiscipline, suicides and fratricide. Are these incidents happening because the traditional bond between officers and men, the bedrock on which the military functions, is fraying at the edges?

The phenomenon of the apparent lowering of both personal and institutional moral and ethical standards in the armed forces is not limited to India. What is missing is an open debate on the complexities that drive the modern day profession of arms and the need for a mutually supporting relationship between the armed forces and the institutions of a democracy, especially at a time when newer forms of security threats are emerging.

This article addresses the declining standards of morality in the armed forces and suggests measures to address it by undertaking appropriate interventions at the grassroots, unit or battalion. It traces the importance of ethics in the military, particularly in the context of the post-modern state, which grants exclusive authority to the armed forces for the use of violence. Further, it examines the state of ethics today and the challenges in codification to arrive at the basic ethical norms that need to be fostered in the military.