It is Just as Well that India has Only a Volunteer Military

                                                It is Just as Well that India has Only a Volunteer Military

A national military could comprise volunteers or could be through conscription (the draft, in the US). The heading of this post claims that for India, a volunteer military service is better than the alternatives. The justification for the claim comes from Israel.

Among Israel Jewry, there is a group named ultra-Orthodox; the group supposedly devotes itself full-time to studying sacred Jewish texts and are given a “de facto pass from mandatory military service”, quoted from The Hindu of November 30, 2025 (scanned image given above). The unflattering label this group carries is “draft-dodgers”, carrying the connotation that their studying their religious texts has the ulterior, yet primary motive of getting exemption from military service.

Now, imagine the Indian military runs conscription to add to its personnel population. Immediately, termites will come out of the woodwork carrying religious placards, and seeking exemptions from serving in the military: Vaishnavite Hindus who study Vaishnavite scriptures; Saivites studying Saivite scriptures; Bengalis demanding exemption as their Goddess is already very violent, proxy for Bengali population; Vedic Brahmins studying the Vedas and other scriptures; Christians, the New Testament (King James version, or the New Revised version…); Parsis, Zend-avesta; Muslims, the Koran; Jews, the Torah and the Old Testament; Buddhists, the Pali Canon, the Theravada Tradition, or Chinese Buddhist Canon.

The above must tell you that India is full of religious termites that would eat away the idea of India inside-out. 

Hence, the volunteer military is the best match for India.

Raghuram Ekambaram