Over the past decade we have become increasingly familiar with the term Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR, which is essentially corporations’ way of connecting with the community living in the vicinities in which they set up businesses. The primary focus of CSR is to form a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship in which big businesses initiate support systems for the local population which range from creating income generation activities to ushering in improvements in the lives of the people in different areas including education, healthcare, gender sensitisation and other fields. The endeavour is to go beyond charity and philanthropy, which are often considered activities that perpetuate dependence, and encourage self sufficiency. In the process big businesses can create environments of close camaraderie so to speak with the people of the area and operate in an ambience of peace.

The book “Valour and Values: Aligning Military Experience to CSR” by Brigadier Rajiv Williams YSM (Retired) is an intriguing exploration of how, like corporations, the Indian army too engages in a range of activities which are really military versions of CSR. The author, who took early retirement from the Indian Army and immersed himself in CSR work, leading successful innovative projects for the company he was engaged with, is perfectly placed for such delineation having expert, insider’s knowledge, of both the military and corporations. Brigadier Williams writes, “The Indian Army continues to carry out tasks beyond what just meets the eye which is of protecting the sovereignty of the country.”

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Lucidly narrated, the writer does not employ esoteric jargon either from military or corporate lingo, delineating a compassion for the common reader, which is clearly reflective of the compassion that would be expected from if not an absolute prerequisite of carrying out either military or corporate social responsibility.

The need for military social responsibility, much like CSR, are quite fascinatingly detailed by the writer. He writes, “As a young Army officer, I often wondered why military men in uniform were engaged in carrying out activities that were responsibilities of civilian government officials co-located in the same areas. Why should army troops, besides carrying out their prime responsibilities of patrolling, manning posts and other military duties, also be given additional responsibilities to provide facilities to civilians located close to military stations and posts? While some activities like leveling areas for making playgrounds for local communities and schools were understandable, yet when there were requirements like deputing educational personnel from military units to help local schools, organize health camps in remote areas, when civilian governments health staff were available, etc., were difficult for me to comprehend – the ‘why’ of such add-on tasks. Stark fault lines between the military and civilian government officials posted in the same area or closely by were visible and the hostile reactions of civilians who were being supported by the military were quite challenging for me to understand, especially when I was posted in the remote parts of Kashmir and the Northeast.”

However, it did not take long for him to fathom the depths of the animosity that often emanated from people of disturbed areas where the army was posted, if it were not connected to the communities in any sort of symbiotic way. This realisation, accompanied by empirical knowledge of how essential the army’s involvement is in coming to the aid of distressed people, resulted in an awakening within which informed his decision to jump headlong into social service both when he was in the military as well as when he joined the corporate world.

He writes, “Immediately after the 1971 Indo-Pak war, after we captured large tracts of area near Shakargarh in Western Theatre. I then a Second Lieutenant, was given responsibility of escorting Pakistani civilians, most of them old, infirm and children, across the ceasefire line to Pakistan. They had been abandoned by the Pakistani military guarding the area and by their own families just minutes before we captured their villages. It was hard for me to question the action of pushing these civilians across the line and realized that they had been totally neglected by Pakistani soldiers, who merely took advantage of them in various ways as informed by the very people I escorted. There was a distinct break in relationship between these people and their military mentors deployed in the area.”

This is the kind of break or gap or chasm (though in the above anecdote it applies to a foreign country’s military) which the author of the book urges that armies attempt to bridge in order to build friendly bridges between itself and the people of the territories where it is stationed.

In his words, “Army Social Responsibility (ASR) is a tool for improving community relations for it is community in the vicinity of deployment that needs to be adapted in a manner that gives inherent security to the military deployed in their close proximity. This is not a rule and neither is it an exception. If intelligently applied, it can be a game changer and hence needs to be intelligently activated.”

As case studies of ASR, he lists a number of already initiated projects or operations, like “Op Samaritan” in the Northeast, “Op Sadbhavana” in the “erstwhile” state of Jammu and Kashmir, pointing out the humanitarian nature of these.

The pages of the book are replete with delineations of the different approaches that are employed in order to create symbiotic relationships between the army and the local people in difficult terrains.

An attractive aspect of this book is the photos delineating ASR activity with captions. “Army carrying out rescue mission after an avalanche struck a village,” for instance, captures an army personnel, perhaps skiing or sliding down a snow-capped slope as stranded animals await them expectantly. Another shows photos of mushroom cultivation as an income generation project initiated.

The book is an amazing exploration of just how valuable our valourous are.

Spotlight

Valour and Values : Aligning Military Experiences to CSR

By Brig Rajiv Willams YSM (Retd)

Pentagon Press, 2024

128 pages, Rs 795/-