The remarks came a day after an Army jawan posted a video on social media criticising the use of soldiers as sahayaks. The Army , on its part, has already asked the government to examine whether “non-combatants” should replace soldiers as sahayaks in peace stations, while pressing for the system to continue in field and forward areas, said Gen Rawat.
The Army says officers get sahayaks basically for upkeep of their uniforms and weapons as well as to act as their radio operators and “buddies” during combat operations. But parliamentary committees and other critics have slammed the sahayak system as a vestige of the colonial era, holding that many officers blatantly misuse their orderlies.
