Hindus in the Army
A survey carried out several months ago found that Hindus are more likely than any other ethnic or religious group to “want to fight for Britain”, even more so than white Britons. 56% of Hindus who participated in the survey were willing to fight for the country.Many expressed surprise at these results, myself included, because there is (a) not a large number of Hindus in the army, and (b) most of us have never spoken to many Hindus who are seriously considering pursuing a career in the army.
March 26th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
I know ppl who participated in the army and didn’t find any racism, they said its tough to be in the army and is made for rough men even if their is racism to be a soilder if you can’t fight this then how can you fight a war. Personally like i said to many ppl are over protected by their parants. The army is going to be tough racism or no racism
March 28th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Many thanks for this - I found this a very interesting article and would be fascinated to know people’s views and opinions on this topic.
March 30th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
“to be a soilder if you can’t fight this then how can you fight a war.”
This attitude of acceptance MUST CHANGE.
It is not accpetable at any level.
A soldier is trained to fight his enemies. If you are fighitng the enmies within then then what chance have we fightng the enemies outside.
Can you trust a racist soldier to cover your back in a street to street combat like in Iraq?
A fist is made of five fingers and together it packs good punch.
Divided, the fingers on their own cannot pack a punch.
Why should Asians have to fight two battles?
Its not acceptable.
As soon as we stop accepting it, then racism will cease to exist in the army.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:06 am
Racism according to my soldier friend is rife in the army…and he is WHITE…he told me how when asian recruits leave the building (or black recruits for that matter) the jokes spill out. Even senior army personnel ridicule asians (calling us Pakis) and the older generals still….wait for it..call us DARKIES!
For a WHITE guy to admit this and say that he was SHOCKED at how racist the army was…and how much crap asians have to endure in the army…well that says something.
I personally wouldnt trust my fellow comrades in the heat of the battle knowing that many of them might resent me (or atleast feel profound indifference) due to my ethnicity.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:16 am
I knew this guy who we called “Sargeant Nago” (don’t know if he was a sargeant or not, but he had achieved some promotion or the other). He said it was quite tough in his early days in the army, but after he was promoted nobody said anything to him. I asked him if he ever felt like leaving the army when faced with racism. He replied that it was a tough thing to put up with, but ultimately he was proud of the way that Britain is, and that his family had mad their fortune here, so he would defend it.
April 3rd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
What about if the british army attacked India or Nepal……or Bali..(I know its VERY unlikely…but just posing a possible dilemna for a Hindu soldeir in the Brit army)
April 7th, 2007 at 2:31 am
I am not British, I am Australian, once I wished to join the Army, but compared to other ethnic groups, it will be the Hindus that cop most of the flack. I know that for certain. Besides the army being tough, why would you want to fight for a country when the same people do not accept you as one of them. Bullying is the nature of the army but bullying in the name of race is something that should not be tolerated as it can deter the potential of some fine ethnic recruits.
-Muski
April 7th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
The above posts are certainly very interesting; many thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am finding it highly informative to hear the perceptions of the British Armed Forces amongst British Hindus; I’d be very interested also to hear more views from any British Hindus who have considered, or are considering, joining the British Armed Forces. Many thanks in advance.
April 9th, 2007 at 12:55 am
^^^^ How about your perceptions on this subject?
April 9th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I wonder, was the survey that is mentioned in this article published anywhere, and if so, where? I ask because its quoted results seem to fly in the face of conventional wisdom on the topic, which has been discussed in various academic articles in the past. Of course, as we all know, academia has its uses, but can often be misleading, which is why I am interested to read here people’s actual experiences and/or perceptions.
April 12th, 2007 at 3:31 am
^ A link to a previous Hindu Voice article on “that survey”
http://www.hinduvoice.co.uk/Issues/9/Army.htm
April 15th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
According to MoD statistics, religious affiliation of British Armed Forces personnel breaks down as:
Christian - 183,000
Muslim - 305
Hindu - 230
Buddhist - 220
Sikh - 90
Jew - 65
It is worth noting, however, that this makes no mention of those who claim no religious persuasion; according to the British Humanist Association, some 18,000 personnel have no religion.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:14 am
db8, an interesting question you posed above reference the potential dilemma for a Hindu in the British Armed Forces. I’d be interested to know what your views would be on that situation. Also, I wonder if I could turn that qestion around and ask for your opinion on the state of play if India attacked Britain (or British interests). As you said, all this is highly unlikely, but since you raise the topic, it’d be interesting to see where people stand on the question.
April 23rd, 2007 at 2:11 pm
It occurred to me the other day, the statistics for Hindus in the British Armed Forces take no account of the Gurkha regiment, which numbers some 3,500 and is almost entirely Hindu. I also recall the Prince of Wales saying something in 2001 about supporting the formation of an exclusively Sikh regiment - I have to say I’m less than convinced by the argument but at least it does demonstrate a recognition of the value of Hindus/Sikhs to the British Armed Forces.
Just the other day, I attended a party with some Hindu friends. The issue of Hindus joining the British Armed Forces came up there and the general feeling amongst those there (age range approx 25-35) was that conflict of loyalties was not really a major issue for most but quite clearly, perceptions of racism played quite heavily on people’s minds.
In other discussions I have had on this subject in the past, conflict of loyalties has featured to some extent - indeed, one Hindu friend of mine who I discussed the issue with a couple of years back was quite disgusted and spoke derisively about Hindus in the British Armed Forces “serving the descendants of Maharani Victoria”.
It is interesting, in this context, to note that the British Armed Forces are open to Commonwealth citizens as well as just British, and indeed, there are a number of people from the islands of the South Pacific and the Carribbean serving in the British Armed Forces. Similarly, many of you may have heard of Neha Hotchandani, an Indian Hindu girl from Ahmedabad who migrated to the US and joined the US Army; as I understand it, she hopes to commission as an officer later this year.
Another interesting angle to this whole thing is that Britain (and indeed the US and many others) send their Armed Forces to India regularly to receive training from the Indian Army in mountain warfare - obviously held up in Kashmir. This is unsurprising, given that the Indian Army are the world’s experts in mountain warfare, but it does demonstrate the closeness of these nations’ defence forces. Similarly, the Indian Navy frequently conducts training exercises with the Royal Navy, and as we are all aware, there are numerous operations around the world in which Indian and British troops work together as partners (Afghanistan, for example).
I’m not sure any of this really says anything, but I thought they were interesting points on the topic. Again, I’d be interested in hearing from anyone else about their experiences or perceptions of being a Hindu in the British Armed Forces.
April 23rd, 2007 at 8:13 pm
A hindu in any military force follows the footsteps of Arjuna. It is not the side of the war that matters for a soldier but the devotion to Krishna when hell is all around you.
To play us v them games is a fallacy.
It is always us v us and the colors only mean so much. But one must also look and decide when to follow orders and when not to; thus keeping personal responsibility alive even in war. Respect one’s enemies as human and thus divine but remember that you are divine and thus must act so.
I must admit I once thought of joining the ariforce but realized that bombing civilians would be a likely outcome of such a decision. As such I chose not to follow through (I had taken the entrance exam). Now with a greater understanding of the world and how it works, I understand that by simply paying taxes I am bombing civilians. Thus I must look to my nature and find what is the best coarse of action.
hariaum
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
In case anyone is interested, the following from the BBC website, “Army targets recruits with contact sport”, a report on the British Army’s kabaddi team’s tour of India:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7110012.stm
The British Army and Navy have sponsored British Hindu sporting events for some years. The Navy were heavily involved in the Hindu Half-Marathon until it stopped a few years ago (a real shame) and both the Army and the Navy have been involved in the NHSF Annual Sports Tournament.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Hindus are useless who only want to become DUKTUR or YINJNUR, even when they may not have an aptitude for such professions.
Thats why Hindus get shafted in every foreign country we live in. Because a profession in the military or even law enforcement is considered “lowly” by useless Hindu parents.
Fiji, Uganda, next it will be Kenya and South Africa. I’m glad I’m going to join the military, at least I wont be some useless IT coolie.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Anyway, average gora on the street might be just as racist as anyone in the military, all these are useless excuses to cover for epicene and emasculated Hindu population.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:00 pm
“Anyway, average gora on the street might be just as racist as anyone in the military”
Ya thats what I was thinking too, it’s not lyk the goras suddenly turn into monsters when they join military but are all saints in civilian life, there is racism even in normal life, does that mean these Hindus citing racism as an excuse will lock themselves up in their house because they don’t wanna face any racists on the street?
If our community does not have a good representation in Military and Intelligence agencies in the west then there will be nothing we can do if tomorrow some party like the BNP takes power and decides to do their version of Fiji or Uganda on us.
Hindus with the aptitude and interest should be encouraged to join the military not discouraged and told to become doc or engineer.
If Satya’s stats are right then its really shameful for us as a community.