Indian Army officials ordered the destruction of mobile phones belonging to 50 soldiers recently. <br /><br />As the men were ordered to stand and watch, two of their colleagues smashed the phones with stones. <br /><br />The officers of the unit had banned mobile phones to curb the use of social media. When they spotted a few soldiers with phones they ordered a search that led to the confiscation of the phones.<br /><br />The video of the incident which took place at the Mahar regiment in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, highlights the underlying tension between the ranks of the world’s second largest military force. <br /><br />Many soldiers, unhappy at the facilities and treatment they receive, have made videos of their shoddy living conditions and shared them on social media triggering huge controversies. <br /><br />Much of the grievance is targeted at the orderly system, a colonial hangover, under which soldiers are assigned to manual work at the homes of senior officers. <br /><br />Alarmed by the growing incidents of soldiers sharing videos on social media, Army chief General Bipin Rawat had shared a What’s App number early this year and urged his men to air their grievances through that. <br /><br />Junior Warrant Officer (rtd) Nalin Talwar, who fights for the rights of soldiers, said many who complained on the official What’s App number had been victimised. <br /><br />Sharing the Mahar regiment video, he said, there was no need to destroy the phones of soldiers. “They could have been just confiscated and returned later to send a message,” he said.
