The incident which I am about to relate happened in the last year of my service. I had been to Chandimandir, the Headquarters of the Army Western Command. I came to know that a Court of Inquiry was being conducted about some acts of moral turpitude by soldiers of the Indian army in Congo. I knew nothing would come out of this inquiry as no army can accept the fact that its soldiers have committed acts of moral decadence.
The Indian army has a long history of peacekeeping operations with the United nations. In particular, the Indian army has a fond association with Congo, a country in South West Africa. Right from 1960 the Indian army has been used for peacekeeping duties in the Congo. That was the time when the Indian prime minister was JL Nehru.
The Congo was centuries a colony of Belgium. The Belgium rule over Congo was unlike English rule over its colonies in Africa. Belgian rule brought no tangible benefits to the people and overall there was very little development. The Belgians concentrated in mining the rich country of its minerals and other raw materials, which they transported to the mother country.
In the late fifties, the hold of Belgium over Congo slackened as a local insurgency took shape. In a changing world scenario, with the demise of colonialism Belgium decided to pack up and free Congo. Unfortunately, the Belgian rulers never set up any administrative infrastructure in Congo and also made no attempts to teach the local people anything about self-governance. They just left in a few days, leaving the Congolese to their fate. Congo was deeply riven by factionalism and this abrupt departure by Belgium resulted in a frenzy of violence and anarchy.
With large-scale violence, the Security Council authorized the UNO to requisition troops from member nations to restore order. On a request from the United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, Indian troops were dispatched to the Congo. This was a trying time for Congo, but the Indian troops did a good job and restored order. The leader of the Indian mission to Congo was Rajeshwar Dayal. This was the time when there was a bitter feud between Patrick Lumumba and Moise Tshombe, who had seceded from Congo and formed his independent state of Katanga. Ultimately Lumumba was captured and murdered. The Indian army at that time did an excellent job and the breakaway Katanga province was overrun and peace restored in Congo.
In 2007, a similar situation erupted again and once again the UNO requested Indian troops to help bring peace in the nation. The Indian army moved into the Congo to battle Congolese rebels who had started a reign of anarchy, murder and resultant chaos. The leader of the Indian army contingent was Major-General Bikram Singh, who later became the Chief of Army Staff.
The troops which were inducted into Congo in 2007 had a different ethos and mental makeup compared to the troops who had gone there in the sixties. They had new values and some of them were negative. In addition, they were prey to the all round atmosphere of promiscuity. This had a bearing on their conduct.
It appears that Indian troops and few of the officers began to indulge in indiscriminate sex with the local girls. The culture of Congo, which is a tribal culture treats sex as something simple and it is rife in the country. Even women rebels are not averse to bed down with the enemy at a moment's notice. Perhaps Indian soldiers took advantage of the prevalent social environment and began to have sex in an indiscriminate manner with local girls, some of whom were below 16 years of age.
The United Nations investigated the goings on of the Indian troops and prepared a secret report. The UNO report leveled serious charges of moral turpitude against Indian soldiers. The reports brought out a fact that led to a lot of soul searching. It stated that a large number of children with Indian features had been born in areas which were under the control of the Indian army. The report was forwarded to the Indian government.
The report brought out that Indian troops had indiscriminate sex with Congolese women and girls and worse, also slept with Congolese rebel fighters who were women. The UN report claimed that this fraternization even with rebel women fighters led to impregnation and compromised UN battle plans. The Indian government outright rejected the report and stood by the Indian army. However, the army Western Command was told to inquire into the incident.
Matters came to a head when the Chief of the Army was to be chosen. Some rights activists petitioned the Supreme Court that General Bikram Singh, because of the conduct of his troops in Congo did not deserve to be the army chief. The Supreme Court in its first hearing threw out the petition and cleared the decks for Bikram Singh to be promoted as the army chief.
The army inquiry whitewashed the issue and two JCO's and OR's were awarded administrative punishment, which is like a mild warning. The matter was closed and the ManMohan Singh government trumpeted the 'good work' done by the army.
A brigadier who I met had the last word. He was of the view that the soldiers could not be blamed. After all the Congolese girls and even the women rebel fighters, came to the bed of their own free will, hence no blame can be attached to the soldiers. I wonder what happened is correct, for such action could at some stage be repeated in India also where the army is deployed for a long period.