Can't keep soldiers away from social media: Army chief Bipin Rawat

“We have received advice that we should advise our soldiers to stay away from social media. Can you deny a soldier from the possession of a smartphone? If you can't prevent usage of smartphone, it is best to allow it (access to social media),” said the army chief, according to news agency ANI.

Image: Army Chief Bipin Rawat (PTI/File)

New Delhi: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday said that soldiers cannot be barred from using smartphones and social media; however, one should follow discipline while making use of it. Rawat’s statement comes amid reports that government wants the soldiers to keep away from social networking sites. “We have received advice that we should advise our soldiers to stay away from social media. Can you deny a soldier from the possession of a smartphone? If you can't prevent usage of smartphone, it is best to allow it (access to social media),” said the army chief, according to news agency ANI. Acknowledging the importance of Artificial Intelligence, Rawat said the technology must be utilized for the defence force’s advantage. “Social media is here to stay, soldiers will use social media. Our adversary will use social media for psychological warfare and deception; we must leverage it to our advantage. If we have to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to our advantage we must engage through social media as a lot of what we wish to gain as part of AI will come via social media.” The policy for social media usage came under focus after several defence personnel criticized their seniors and the army openly on facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In April last year the Border Security Force, which reports to the Union home ministry, had sacked a constable, Tej Bahadur Yadav, for indiscipline after he uploaded video clips complaining that substandard food was served to jawans posted along the Pakistan border and the Line of Control.  The BSF had denied the constable's allegations, saying he was not in good mental shape. Another CRPF jawan too had uploaded a video complaining about poor work and living conditions. The social media has been allegedly used by Pakistan and Chinese agencies to honeytrap Indian soliders to gather information on military plans and deployments.