Following the violence face-off between
"Till five years ago, everything was open to our personnel. Anyone could access anything," an official said. Though the Army had been issuing several directives on the use of Facebook for personal life and WhatsApp for official work, but only in June last year, it made stringent rules for the violations.
The ban has been enforced by seeking undertakings from each soldier and officer across the country, that they have deleted their accounts and they have not installed any of the applications on their phones.
Official sources told IANS that around 730 authorised officers are to review if the Army personnel are abiding by the rule every now and then and issue certificates of compliance. Only eight cases were found to be in violation of the rules, sources said adding that the punishment for violations includes conventional penalties in the Army for indiscipline.
In some cases, the personnel have been asked to carry sand sacks on their backs and run on the ground for a whole week, sources said. In serious cases, sources said, the punishment can be severe, including suspension or termination of services. "But Indian Army is a highly disciplined institution and the ban has been quite effective so far," an officer said.
Within the military institutions, academies and offices, the Army, is however allowed to access platforms like Facebook on their internet browsers on their desktops to monitor content. But no personnel is allowed to have an account or the application, sources said.
Army sources said everyone in the military now connects with their families and friends in the old way: "We all speak on phone instead of private messengers and social media." The families of the Army personnel and officers are, however, not bound by the directive. "They are common citizens who are entitled to the same rights as others," an official said.
There are some in-house applications like Sandesh and Vishesh which Army personnel have been using for messaging purposes as an alternative to WhatsApp, sources said.
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