Army may induct civilian Sahayaks

New Delhi, June 25

The Army is actively considering recruiting civilian staff at peace stations to do away with the colonial-era Sahayak system, in the wake of rising cases of jawans coming out openly against it.

A top Army official, however, said the Sahayaks or buddy system—whereby a solider is attached to officers—would continue to be deployed at key bases and in field areas as they had defined military duties.

“We are looking at getting civilian staff to replace Sahayaks at peace stations,” the official said.

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In recent months, a number of videos with Army jawans voicing anger over the system and some alleging they were ill-treated by officers, have appeared.

The official said the option of deploying civilian staff at peace stations instead of Sahayaks would help the Army in economising on its manpower as well. In March, the government had strongly defended the Sahayak system in the Army, saying it provided an “essential support” to officers. — PTI