Soldiers carry a colleague’s coffin. File picture

Chandigarh, July 10: The Indian Army is working on a more humane way to announce the death of its soldiers to their families.

The news is currently conveyed through an impersonal telephone call or telegram, giving the name and designation. There is no mention how the death occurred or information on the state of the body.

“The news of the death in action of an army personnel is basically conveyed over the telephone initially. The unit to which the fallen soldier belongs gathers the details ? which takes time ? and then sends an officer to visit the family and offer condolences,” said Brigadier (retd) Joginder Singh Jaswal, director of the Punjab sainik welfare department.

“Later, personnel belonging to the unit accompany the body to the soldier’s home and stay there till the last rites are over. But if a better method is evolved, it will be most welcome,” he added.

The move follows criticism from retired and serving soldiers, who stressed on the need for a softer manner of breaking the news.

Before the telephone call system, the army would delay the news for a few hours before the body reached the martyr’s home. The logic was this would help lessen the family’s grief.

But the media glare on the Kargil conflict resulted in families getting to know the fate of soldiers immediately on television and the phone call became merely a customary gesture.

Serving and retired soldiers woke up to the terseness of the telephone message when they saw how the US treats its soldiers. When Sergeant Uday Singh, 21, died in Iraq in December 2003, two warrant officers from the American embassy in Delhi had visited his family in Chandigarh to break the news.

His funeral was attended by the US army’s Pacific Command Lt Gen Jim Campbell and Uday was posthumously awarded top gallantry awards ? the Bronze Star and the US army’s oldest accolade, the Purple Heart Medal.

One procedural change the army is looking at is sending a senior officer from the local headquarters accompanied by his wife if the martyr is married.

“Having a couple interact with a fallen soldier’s wife can convey the news in a far better and personal manner. It would also give the grief-stricken family someone in uniform to talk to and get some details, no matter how minute, on how they have lost their loved ones,” Jaswal said.

He added that the unit’s job does not end with the last rites.

“In case of a widow, some unit heads now ensure that she is settled. I get calls on a regular basis by unit heads on what is happening to the widows and whether they have been able to get jobs. Armymen may look strong from the outside but within, they have a very caring heart.”

Ex-servicemen and serving soldiers are also pressing for the immediate announcement of a medal for soldiers killed in action. “It would send a strong signal that the army cares for all its people,” a retired colonel said.

The idea of the news being conveyed by a liaison office connecting all commands is also being mooted.