Public sentiment is divided, showcasing a blend of pride in the Indian Army's capabilities alongside skepticism and concern over government narratives about military operations, particularly regarding accountability, effectiveness, and transparency. Many commenters express both support for the military and anxiety about the potential for conflict, reflecting a complex view of national security.

Indian Army

Government of India

Pakistan

That's eye opening. I couldn't make the NDA cut. But looking back, I'm glad I gave that path up. Such a difficult life is not for me.

winged_roach

No judgment here brother, do what makes you happy.
Some people are born to be soldiers and some are mold into it but they both have one thing in common that is sacrifice.

I hope you have a good life ahead.

snip23

U should do whatever makes u happy. Period.

AstronomerSalty7962

Give my thanks to your dad (and your ancestors) for their service to our country. I know we barely thank our servicemen here in India. If I could, I would do it personally and listen to his stories. 
I'd thank your family too for the sacrifices you had to make. 

As for your career decisions, as long as you are able to sleep well knowing you made the right choice, then it's enough.

heyseizer

Bro, do what makes you happy.

But huge and massive respect for your family for serving the country and keeping the country safe 🙏🏽.

[deleted]

Not a lot of people highlight this part so well. People glorify life in the forces but often forget to address the struggles that come with, both for the soldiers and their families. Your post is so relatable. You growing up without your father and him having to rediscover you later is also something that happens. When they finally get the time you’re all grown up but their reference point for you is still the child version of you. It’s a struggle for both sides to adjust.

It was a wise decision by your 17 yo self! Better to not be a soldier than a bad one! So true.

Awkward-Zucchini72

Agreed, I also thought about these points when my parents wants me to join army, also I am the only child to my parents, I want to be present for my parents in their old age, consider me a coward for saying this but I prefer to live with them instead of being a martyr in a war, there are many people who loves to sacrifice themselves for nation but I am not the one.

Lightfanac

First of all thank you to your father for his service. And thank you to you and your rest of the family for all the hardships you encountered

Your life is your choice and joining army is dream of many, but your reasons are valid and hence you do what's best for yourself.

As a guy who has never met anyone from army and have never interacted with people from forces, I only regret the chance to know the army and its people better...

Maybe next lifetime for me ...but I hope I gave a preview of how aspirational the army is for people like us

niceguy645

Totally can relate with the point that it's not easy to kill someone

Top-Detective4399

The most courageous thing is you trying to choose yourself especially with a background in the Army. And you're right in recognising your strengths &amp; weaknesses and the impact it has not only on your family but also on other human life. Good Luck!!

CelesteAvant

Man, I am so proud of you for realising and choosing something that's better for you over what society would normally decide what's good. I have had a similar decision in life to make (not related to armed forces), so I resonated a lot at a personal level, to your post. Many people might not agree with your post here, because armed forces is something a lot of aspirants are so passionate about. Congrats and good luck OP.

divyanshu_01

Past-Restaurant48

Brother, Your reason number 2 touched deep in the heart.  
One has to know violence and be okay with it, use it when required for the sake of motherland.  
Without the knowledge of violence, military loses the very essence of its own existence.  

Happy to see you accept not being okay with it, happily embrace the truth, that too without demeaning it.
Not everyone is built capable of causing violence and very few can use it judiciously.  
End of the day, everyone helps build the nation, be it a soldier, architect, doctor or janitor.  
Hope you too are making the nation and family proud. Cheers!!

U_Kush

I am happy for you .. tons of good wishes 
But I have a silly question😅?

You’ve explained this so well OP. Kudos to you 👏🏼

WonderWoman6147

Your choice is entirely yours to make and deepest gratitude to your family for their service. 
All the reasons you list for not pursuing an army career were valid even before you joined NDA. You don’t mention any sudden change in circumstances or new realization after joining NDA that made you quit . Or am i missing something? 
Your post comes across more like you had to quit and then made up reasons to justify afterwards. Had you not joined in the first place, someone else could have.

Sea-Explorer-2177



While I agree with much of what you have said, I think your experience may have been on the extreme side rather than the norm.

Not every kid in the defence community has such a difficult childhood. Am a Naval kid, and while the Navy is generally seen as less demanding than the Army, I grew up around Army families too especially since I spent most of my life in Delhi while my dad was posted to non-family stations. When we were in coastal regions (mumbai, kochi etc) I often went long stretches without seeing him as he had months-long sails.

That said, not everyone in the Army faces battle-related situations, and not every defence family has the same level of hardship. 

Just want to clarify for everyone who might be thinking that army  or defence are always this hard :)

RegularFun4462

Bro don't get me wrong there are some army lads.. joining civil workforce.. come to office in heavy rain and advice their staff to do so..

Do they even care about work-life balance once returned to civil life ke india mein sochna hee Chutiyagiri hai

1FastRide

No job is worth staying away from your family. Your kids will remember that years that you weren't with them, the company, army, anything staying away from family isn't worth it. 

I'm 38 now, i lived away from my parents for most of my life since was 18. I recently went back to my parents house for a few weeks, for all the shit that has happened to me I would like to live around them my remaining few years. Not everyone can get back to their family but if you're family is half decent you should always try to be around them. 

I'm planning to move back in a few years time or as soon as I get a proper WFH job that doesn't require me to stay in Bangalore.

Ok-Savings3121

So obviously a Google search is beyond you when your whole post has clearly been written by AI. Lol.

But let me do it for you since you couldn’t leverage the educational opportunities the Army provides. Even Wikipedia will make it clear that the tenure for RR is meant to be 30 months ie less than 3 years - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Rifles

Your lies are disrespectful to those of us who serve without embellishing our struggles for the sake of fake internet points.

I’m saying it again - the army does not *need* anybody to serve 12 continuous years in the field. Any policy doc including those linked on the wiki page will confirm that.

First you said you had to pay rent then agreed the army pays? You’re continuing to contradict yourself and while I can appreciate the need to rant or vent online, please avoid the embellishments because to many of us you are basically talking of crimes that the Army is very clearly against.

commando_baba

Theghostofsabotage

Source: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Equivalent-ranks-of-the-Indian-Armed-Forces.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Equivalent-ranks-of-the-Indian-Armed-Forces.jpg)

gerstralia2

FewPresentation5603

CDS possibly because the previous CDS passed away in a crash (RIP), Sadhbhavana was in the news. First wala random tha idk why they asked that.

UPSC pulls a surprise every year, nothing new. First question only those who're interested in defence forces will be able to answer. Second question was fairly common in mocks. Third question, the word Sadbhavana seemed to relate best with the objective of the operation.

MathematicianReal710

Nothing to worry, every year some bouncers are introduced to check candidate's resolve.

2021- sports question came

Nowhere to be found now.

Some questions need to be avoided, just look for repeating patterns/themes each year which decide who'll clear or not.

Wise_Data10

This is the type of question you skip unless you have also prepared for exams like CDS and know the answer.

All such schemes and govt related questions are from IYB.

D10S_Punisher

Sadbhavana was in news last year. Rest, Bhagwaan bharose.

Legitimate_Lettuce14

Cds: President of India is supreme commander of all armed forces. Hence cds cannot be that.  
Sadbhavna = seems most positive, heart warming term in context to what was asked.  
Ranks: marked wrong.

That is how I did them.

Pure_Concentrate8770

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi reaffirmed the Indian Army's commitment to ongoing military operations and emphasized the importance of readiness amidst security challenges.

Indian Army Operations and Preparedness

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want