Smruti D

As India came under attack by the Covid-19 virus, reports started surfacing of doctors not having adequate protective gears. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had instructed every country to stockpile medical equipment rather than export it. This scenario, familiar across the medical world presently, found resonance among the Indian Army and paramilitary forces. Lack of adequate safety gear is a common complaint among the forces.

From bullet-proof jackets to eye protection and helmets, there is a list of primary armour that the Indian forces need while tackling different operations. Recently, in February 2020, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India alerted the government regarding the “huge shortages and grossly inadequate reserves of specialised winter clothing, snow goggles, multi-purpose boots and other equipment for Army troops deployed in high-altitude areas like Siachen, Ladakh and Doklam.” This report also suggested how the forces were not even getting the requisite amount of calories from their meals. The CAG had also added in its report that delayed procurements led to a shortage of essential clothing. Also, other items like face masks, jackets and sleeping bags were of out-dated specifications because of delayed procurement process.

There have been multiple cases in India that have proven at some point in time the fact that forces and state police have had to face combat operations without body armours. In 2015, in Punjab’s Gurdaspur a group of terrorists forced their way into a police station and turned it into a shelter. For 11 hours, the police fought the opponents without having helmets and bullet-proof jackets. It was, for many, a stark reminder of the older lethal incidents.

A two-member High Level Enquiry Committee aka the Pradhan Inquiry Commission was set up by the Maharashtra government post 26/11 attacks in Mumbai to determine the loopholes on part of the security forces. While there were a slew of things that the committee pointed out, it also mentioned the inadequacy of the protective gear like bullet-proof jackets to withstand grenade attacks. It was also later reported that jackets worn by many of the deceased polic