Love cooking, can't fight war

, calling it "an impossible hunt." Even the Parliament's Standingu00a0 Committee on Defence found the uniformed services' search for the perfect officer, "ludicrous."


The members of the committee stumbled upon these unusual criteria under which aspiring defence officers have been rejected, and called the Service Selection Board (SSB) process "negative in approach directed towards finding limitations/angularities in a candidate." The report also mentioned that the SSB, while highlighting the negative traits of a candidate, ignores his positive qualities.

The report, which was tabled before Parliament in the session that concluded on February 26, said, "The exercise is directed towards finding enough reasons to reject a candidate rather than carrying out an appraisal of his good traits for selection."

The report, which has come at a time when all the three defence forces are facing a huge shortage of officers, is raking up a storm. According to sources in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the recent pay hike too has failed to boost the prospects of a career in the defence forces among youngsters. "Even though the salary and other perks have increased, defence is still not the first career option for youngsters. Also, the number of officers who want to quit the organisation mid-way has not reduced," said an Army officer, wishing anonymity.

But the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which has developed the SSB format, defended its accuracy. "The process has to be a rigorous one as we are looking at men who will be leading soldiers in the future. Assessors try to find out the traits which can manifest in the future. There is no scope for doubt," said W Selvamurthy, chief controller, Life Sciences, DRDO.

So stringent is the selection process that it lets in only about 12 to 15 per cent of the total number of applicants. "But this can go up if more candidates appear for the tests," said Selvamurthy.

He also said that the selection system is constantly upgraded to meet the growing needs of the forces. "We have to keep in mind the operational requirement of the forces and the tests are designed to suit that. A candidate's psycho-social environment too has to be understood to develop the tests," he said.

But what the DRDO refused to acknowledge was amply highlighted by psychologists. "This is absolutely ridiculous. The entire system is designed to achieve an impossible task of finding perfect candidates. Psychological evaluation is never aimed at establishing only the negative traits of an individual," said Dr Sanjay Chugh, a reputed Delhi-based psychologist. Dr Chugh also said that the acceptable limit of any psychological test is only 60 to 70 per cent, keeping in mind the sensibility of each candidate.

The parliamentary committee ridiculed the SSB board for its overcautious and "play safe" attitude and questioned the selectors' aptitude. "Most assessors hesitate to give clear assessment and keep many candidates on the borderline. This is primarily due to their lack of confidence in their assessment," said the report. Interestingly, borderline candidates form a whopping 36 per cent of the selected list.

Psychologists too found a fault with the selectors' attitude. "The selectors are too cautious. No one is ready to take the blame while waiting till the last minute to go by a general view of the entire board. That is the reason behind the increasing cases of border line candidates at SSB," said Dr Chugh.

Not so perfect reasons

*u00a0When asked about his Sunday schedule, a candidate replied that he liked to sleep till late and have a hearty breakfast of paranthas. The SSB assessors felt that he was lazy and lacked an urge to utilise his spare time for outdoor activities. *u00a0Cooking as a hobby is considered "un-officer like" by the SSB. A candidate learnt it the hard way. Similarly, another candidate was rejected when he stated that his hobby was to taste cuisine from different regions of India. *u00a0In a reply to a question, a candidate (an Army officer's son) replied that he would request help from a neighbour to pack household goods to move when transferred in the absence of his father. He was found to be overly dependent on external help and hence declared unfit for the services. *u00a0The school captain of a famous public school was rejected when he stated that he abhorred killing helpless animals for human consumption. The assessors thought he was soft and lacked the necessary killing instinct. *u00a0When asked to name his best friend, a candidate gave out the names of three girls. The assessors considered him to be overly obsessed with the opposite sex and unfit for the service life. *u00a0Another candidate was asked to spell out three qualities in his mother which impressed him the most. "Sir, she is an excellent cook and cooks the best biryani I have ever tasted," was his innocent and honest response. But the interviewer thought otherwise and felt that the candidate lacked focus in his life with misplaced priorities. *u00a0A college-going candidate was considered to be undesirable when he admitted that he smoked with his parent's knowledge. Yet another candidate was rejected when he admitted that he skipped classes to see movies during college hours.

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!