In a significant move to deal with the mental health issues of soldiers, the Central Reserve Police Force has decided to commence with “chaupal” discussions for its jawans. The Director-General of CRPF Kuldiep Singh had sent an official communication to the concerned last month for holding this get-together in the traditional village-style to enable proper emotional outlet for the soldiers.
According to a report in news18.com the paramilitary force has reported an alarming increase in the suicide cases. In 2018 it was 36, 42 in 2019 while in 2020 there were 60 cases and this year 41 have been reported so far.
In the “Chaupal” initiative, an informal get-together will be organised by senior officers in all units with junior staff. The size of these groups will be kept small to allow discussion and the venue for this meet will be in open instead of a hall to give it an informal touch and allow the participants to be at ease.
#NDTVExclusive | “Men would not open up about their families. If they open up, they feel that they are being vulnerable. We have started a program called ‘Chaupal’ on culture of sharing where men share their feelings”: Charu Sinha, IG Srinagar, CRPF, on CRPF’s ‘Love You Zindagi’ pic.twitter.com/lg1t2NurIq
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 1, 2021
The discussions in these groups will be held for a duration of an hour or two with about 18 to 20 jawans participating. Importantly, the get-together will be devoid of official talk and chatter and focus basically on the personal lives of the jawans. “Chaupals should be organised in a circular manner where people can talk to each other and confidentiality should be maintained," the CRPF letter said.
The letter also stressed on the need to give special attention to those soldiers who were introverted and distressed. “Battalion commanders should identify the personnel who are under depression due to various personal or professional issues. Once any unusual behaviour is noticed, assessed and confirmed in any individual, an administrative decision needs to be taken regarding re-deployment of such personnel for duty without arms/ammunition.”
Also read: Amit Shah launches Ayushmaan CAPF for serving personnel
