CONSTITUTION OF ARMY NURSE CORPS IN INDIAN ARMY

CONSTITUTION OF ARMY NURSE CORPS
FROM THE
MILITARY NURSING SERVICE

Introduction.

1. The Military Nursing Service has celebrated its 81st Raising Day on 01st Oct 2006. The history of Military Nursing Service which comprises of only women officers, dates back to 28 March 1888 with the arrival of the first batch of 10 qualified British Nurses in Bombay, to organize nursing in Military Hospitals in India. In 1893, the strength increased to 52 and it was designated as Indian Army Nursing Service (IANS) following the British pattern. It was re-named as Queen Alexandra Military Nursing Service (QAMNS) India in 1902. Nurses were enrolled in India for the first time in 1914 and were attached to QAMNS. The Military Nursing Service stands out as the earliest portion of the Indian armed forces where women were permitted to serve. This is also true for all the armed forces of the world. The army nurses have made a permanent place in every Nation’s heart by nursing millions of sick and wounded soldiers back to health.

2. The Military Nursing Service is an integral part of the Indian Armed Forces and renders service to the hospitals in the Army, Navy and Air Force establishments. It has a history of glorious service with an enduring ability to deliver effective nursing care to the sick and wounded, despite all constraints. The mission of MNS is “Excellence in Patient Care" both in war and peace, which is pursued with utmost fervour, zeal and zest. The Officers of the Military Nursing Service Officers had distinguished them selves in the Second World War, through the care of the sick and wounded soldiers in India and also foreign theatres of war namely, Singapore, Burma, Italy, and Mesopotamia etc. They had also served aboard hospital ships. Apart from taking care of the wounded soldiers in the five major bloody conflicts with the neighboring countries, the militancy infested north and north eastern states, post independence; the Nursing Officers have made silent contribution to the Nations Armed Forces even through serving abroad in United Nations Peace Keeping missions. They have provided high standards of nursing care, as in UN missions to Lebanon, Cambodia, and Somalia etc. Recently, they had been a part of the Medical team, which was sent to Iran to give medical cover to the wounded in the devastating earthquake, which struck Bam (Iran) in December 2003. Their services have been highly recognized and appreciated by all. They have received a number of distinguished service awards and other professional awards. Apart from professional activities, Nursing officers have also participated in sports and adventure activities National and International levels. Very recently a Major of MNS won a gold medal in shooting at the Common Wealth Games 2006.

Aim

3. Aim of this paper is to study the cause of wide spread resentment among the Officers of Military Nursing Service and to suggest viable solutions.


Laws Governing Officers of Military Nursing Service

4. Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943. Officers of the Military Nursing Service are subject to Indian Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 (XXX of 1943) as amended from time to time and the rules and regulations made there under. The Section 5 of the ordinance stipulates that, all members of the Indian Military Nursing Service shall be of commissioned rank and shall be appointed as officers of the Indian Military Nursing Service by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette. The Section 9 (1) provides that provisions of the Indian Army Act, 1911 (now Army Act 1950), shall, to such extent and subject to such adaptations and modifications as may be prescribed, apply to Officers of the Indian Military Nursing Service as they apply to Indian commissioned officers, unless they are clearly inapplicable to women. The modifications and adaptations of the Indian Army Act 1911 as applicable to Officers of Indian Military Nursing Service were published in the War Department notification no. 923 dated 13 Jun 1944. By a special gazette of India notification, the Army Act 1950 was subsequently made applicable to the Officers of Military Nursing Service with suitable modification and adaptation. These are contained in Army Order (AO) 197/59. These modifications regarding the various sections dealing with offences were provided for the Officers of Military Nursing Service because they were the only women serving in the Indian armed forces during Second World War. The original Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943 was amended vide The Adaptation of Laws Order (ALO), 1950 and the Commander-in-Chief (Change in Designation) Act, 1955 (XIX of 1955, S.2 and Schedule (7.5.1955).

5. Other Provisions. Apart from Army Act 1950, Army Rules 1954 the Defence Service Regulations, Army Instructions and Army Orders govern the MNS Officers. Their Pay and Perks are as per Government orders issued from time to time. They are entitled to salute and other compliments as per AO 353/73. Persons subject to Army Act who are placed under the professional care of officers of the Military Nursing Service will obey and comply with professional orders and direction of such Nursing Officers. They will be liable to be punished for non-compliance on a charge under Army Act Sec 63 for violation of good order and discipline (AO 70/73).
Ambiguities in Existing Laws

6. As a Supporting Element of Army. The Section 3(1) of Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 lays down that, the Military Nursing Service is to be raised and maintained as part of the armed forces of the Union for service with the Indian Military forces as an auxiliary force. However Section 4(1) of the Ordinance says that the members of the Indian Military Nursing Service shall be liable for service only with forces and persons subject to the Army Act, 1950. The word ‘auxiliary‘ means ‘support’; As per the Section 3 (xi) of Army Act, 1950, ‘the Forces’ means the regular Army, Navy and Air Force or any part of any one or more of them.

(a) The various Corps of the Army is clearly defined as per their roles in to two, the fighting arms e.g. Infantry, Artillery, Signals etc. and the supporting arms/elements e.g. Army Supply Corps, Army Medical Corps, Army Postal Service etc. When we consider the above mentioned sections of Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 and Army Act 1950, it is amply clear that the law makers have constituted the Military Nursing Service as part of the supporting elements of the Army. In the case of Navjeet Kaur, Ex Capt (Mrs) v. Punjab Public Service Commission; (CWP No. 13213 of 1994) the Punjab& Haryana High Court had up held the status of the petitioner Mrs Navjeet Kaur, Ex Capt of Military Nursing Service, as an ‘Ex Indian Commissioned Officer of the Army’, for applying for the post of District Sainik Welfare Officer.

7. Applicability of Army Act 1950. In the recent past, the Army authorities had pointed out that, all the Sections of Army Act 1950 do not apply to the Officers of Military Nursing Service. The Section 9(1) of the Ordinance says that, the provisions of the Indian Army Act, 1911, shall, to such extent and subject to such adaptations and modifications as may be prescribed, apply to members of the Indian Military Nursing Service as they apply to Indian commissioned officers, unless they are clearly inapplicable to women’. The Rule 4 of Military Nursing Service Rules 1944 modifies the Army Act, 1911 as provided in the Section 9(1) of the Ordinance for applying to Officers of Military Nursing Service. That is, of the provisions Sections 25 to 41 (dealing with offences) of the Army Act, 1911; only clause (d) of section 30 (an officer who absents herself without leave) and clause (i) of section 39 (an officer who is guilty of any act or omission prejudicial to good order and discipline) are applicable to Officers of Military Nursing Service. After enactment of Army Act 1950, it was made applicable to the Officers of Military Nursing Service with modifications as given in AO 197/59 (as regards to offences only Section 39 – absence without leave and Section 63 – violation of good order and discipline are applicable).

(a) Reason for Modification of Army Act. The Section 9(1) of the Ordinance prescribed that the provisions of the Indian Army Act, 1911, shall apply to members of the Indian Military Nursing Service as they apply to Indian commissioned officers, unless they are clearly inapplicable to women. The medical services were the only forces part of the armed forces of India, which had permitted women members at the time of constitution of the Ordinance. The lawmakers provided for a special status for women in the armed forces primarily for attracting educated women for the fast expansion of the forces for the wartime commitments. The stringent application of military law at that time would have had discouraged educated women from joining the armed forces which were in dire need of nurses to care for the sick/wounded soldiers.

(b) Application to Military Law for Women. Till early Nineties women were allowed only in the medical services of the armed forces, that is the Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps and Military Nursing Service. Of the trio, the first two were formed after the independence of our Country from the elements left behind by the colonial Army. Now women are allowed in almost all elements of the armed forces and the relevant acts (army act 1950, air force act 1950 and navy act 1957) applies to them as it applies to their male counter parts. However the law governing the officers of Military Nursing Service is in a time wrap, that is, the essentials of the Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 were never changed since its enactment in year 1943. The other two arms of the Armed Forces Medical Services namely, Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps were re-designated and integrated in the Army in the early years of independence of our nation. However the Military Nursing Service’s continues to be a living fossil from the Second World War. The statutes were just adopted through adaptations of laws act of 1956.

8. Status of Officers of Military Nursing Service. The Defence Service Regulations (Regulations for the Army) Para 733 (b) says that women officers serving in the Army Medical Corps and officers in the Military Nursing Service will rank equally with male officers of the same titular rank, e.g., a captain (women officer) in the Army Medical Corps, will rank equally with a captain in the Artillery or Engineers. There are ample provisions in the laws to prove the status of officers of Military Nursing Service as commissioned officers ranking equally with other officers.

(a) Nursing Officer are not Superior Officers. The Military Nursing Service Officers are not a superior officer to the persons subject to Army Act as defined in Section 3 (xxiii) of the Act. There fore Nursing Officers not being superior officer cannot give lawful command to a person subject to army act. The only existing provision is the AO 70/73, which says that the persons subject to army act who are placed under the professional care of officers of the Military Nursing Service will obey and comply with professional orders and direction of such Nursing Officers. In case of non-compliance they will be liable to be punished on a charge under Army Act Sec 63 for violation of good order and discipline.

(b) Leading without Power of Command. Not being able to give lawful command to the men they are expected to lead, is a major handicap for the officers of Military Nursing Service, in the male dominated environment of armed forces. While performing the role of a nurse, an officer of Military Nursing Service is expected to lead a team of nursing assistants, ambulance assistants, stretcher carriers, lab technicians, helpers etc. where as she do not have any power of command over them. She is to enforce discipline in the hospital wards where she is in charge. She also has to perform the role of Nursing Educator for the male Nursing Assistants. In an organisation where rank and power of command only matters, the personnel of the armed forces do not pay respect to the officers of Military Nursing Service. Even day today survival with honour is difficult for her, unless she is married to a male officer.

Recent Interpretation of Laws by Army

9. Start of the Divide. The Military Nursing Service was considered as an integral part of the Army, till recent times. Accordingly in year 2000 the uniform of the Nursing Officers were changed from the Western style skirt-blouse to olive green (OG) shirts and trousers as worn by the rest of the Army Personnel. The Medical Officers of Army Medical Corps vehemently opposed this move. They felt that, it would be degrading their status to allow a Nurse to wear the same uniform as theirs. This was very much against the average caste conscious mindset, which considers some professions are superior. It appeared that, in the armed forces, as comes to the relation between a Nurse and Doctor, the later expects the former to be subservient to him. This far separated from the modern concepts, where each member of the team has his/her own place and has mutual respect generated out of each other’s professional competency. The Nursing Science as a profession has evolved truly distinctly from Medical Science and it is now accepted world over that both has mutually fulfilling roles.

(a) Change of Uniform. The Medical Officers of Army Medical Corps being occupying the positions of power in the Armed Forces Medical Services (comprises of Army Medical Corps, Army Dental Corps and Military Nursing Service) were able to convince the Army authorities that the nurses need to have a distinct uniform from the doctors, because the patients have difficulty in identifying them. The Section 11 of Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943 empowers the Chief of the Army Staff to make rules for all matters connected with the organisation, pay, allowances, duties, discipline, training, clothing, equipment and leave of members of the Indian Military Nursing Service. Accordingly a new uniform was introduced for officers of Military Nursing Service from year 2004 onwards. The argument put forward was that the patients are not able to differentiate between Nurses and Doctors. It is would have been a fairly convincing argument to state that that the Nurses directly involved in the care of patients in hospitals who need to work for twelve hours a day need to wear comfortable dresses. The olive green shirts and trousers were ill fitting for this kind of job. However, not allowing the Nursing Officers to continue to wear the OG uniform on other occasions has practically alienated them from rest of the Army (even in Pakistan army nurses and doctors wear the same uniform, interestingly the patients of their armed forces appears to have no problem in identifying a nurse, from her shoulder badges).

10. Systematic Degradation. The Army authorities continue in the path of systematic degradation of the status of the Officers of Military Nursing Service. The previous Defence Minister during a question answer session various in Parliament, stated that there is no discrimination against Military Nursing Service Officers. He added that a 10 member committee was constituted by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to examine the grievances of the Military Nursing Service Officers. The Committee included two senior most officers of Military Nursing Service. The Committee in its report submitted to the COAS in July 2005, has made recommendations for improving the organizational structure and cadre management of MNS including redesignation of the MNS rank structure. No amendments pertaining to the status and privileges of the MNS officers have been made. He said no decision has been taken to redesignate the Military Nursing Service cadre. The issue is under examination by the Army headquarters, which is studying the report. It is quite apparent that the Honorable Defence Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee was kept unaware of the fact that the MNS Officers of the said committee did not agree with the views of the other committee members; the majority of them being Medical Officers of Army medical Corps. There fore they did not endorse their signature on the committee’s final report. This was written so in the said report against their names. That report cannot be accepted, as its implementation will only increase the grievances of Military Nursing Service cadre.

(a) A Unilateral Report. The aim of the 10 member committee constituted by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) was to examine the grievances of the Military Nursing Service Officers. The Committee also included two senior most officers of Military Nursing Service. However the other members, the majority of them being Medical Officers of Army medical Corps had their own agenda to be taken care off, that is to unilaterally endorse their view of how the future Military Nursing Service to be. The two members from the MNS were never consulted and their opinions were not taken. This high handedness truly reflects the mindsets of majority members, who refuse to accept that; the Nurses have a mind of their own.

Some Points Raised by the Committee

11 (a) Not Under Going SSB Interview. The Committee in its report has said that the Nursing Officers do not under go the interview by the Services Selection Board (SSB), as the other Officers in their selection process do. It is true that Nursing Officers do not have to under go the SSB interview, as also any of the Medical Officers of Army Medical Corps and Army Dental Corps. That means the majority of the Committee members (AMC Medical officers) who had pointed out this anomaly; them selves did not under go the SSB interview prior to their own selection in to the Army.

(b) Only Professional Training. Another anomaly, which was high lighted by the Committee, was that the Nursing Officers do not under go any training other than professional training (Nursing). This is true, as the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS), in his order in Aug 2005 has stopped the Initial Nursing Officers Course (INOC) and other similar courses for the Nursing Officers, which were being conducted at Officer Training School, AMC Centre Lucknow. The reason cited was the unspareability due to shortage of nurses. Where as the much highlighted shortage in the AFMS is of doctors. Interestingly all courses for medical officers’ still continues at AMC Centre. This is a well planned move to deny the Officer’s training to MNS Officers. Indecently, Major Saroja Kumari of MNS made the nation proud by winning the first gold medal in a women’s shooting event at the Common Wealth Games 2006. She did her INOC in 1991 at AMC Centre Lucknow, where she was adjudged the best shooter. The present DGAFMS effectively ensured that there will be no more Saroja Kumaries to represent the India in future. The discontinuation of arms training to Nursing Officers are in contravention to the Article 22 (1) of GENEVA CONVENTION (GENEVA CONVENTION FOR THE AMELIORATION OF THE CONDITION OF THE WOUNDED AND SICK IN ARMED FORCES IN THE FIELD of August 12, 1949), which, ‘grants the right to medical (includes nursing) personnel to carry and use arms in their own defence, or in that of the wounded and sick in their charge’.

(c) Educational Qualifications. Another interesting anomaly pointed out by the Committee was that the minimum qualification to get a commission as a Nursing Officer is only a diploma in nursing and midwifery (after 10+2). However the Committee members forgot that, the Non Technical Officers (other than doctors) of Army Medical Corps are selected from the Nursing Assistant tradesmen, who are just matriculates. All the three services has a large number of officers selected from the ranks (men), were the basic educational qualification is only matriculation. Interestingly, the advertisement in Jun 2006 for M Sc Nursing candidates for commission in the MNS as Lieutenants did not get even a single applicant. This shows the general publics negative perception about MNS due the recent developments. Where as, the AFMS always gets hundreds of Doctors in every advertisement it makes. May be our nurses do not want to join the Army anymore or all self respecting women considers it as demeaning?

Some Recommendations of the Committee

12 (a) Re-designation of Ranks Structure. The Committee unilaterally recommended that the rank structure of the Military Nursing Service to be redesignated, as officers of Military Nursing Service are not true Army Officers. Presently the Officers of Military Nursing Service are ranked Lieutenant, Captain, and Major and so on up to Major General (highest ranking MNS Officer). This is to be redesignated as Ward Sister, Senior Sister, and Matron etc. like in the civil and the Nursing Officers will wear stripes instead of Army rank insignia. However this recommendation is in contravention to the Section 5 of the Military Nursing Service ordinance 1943, which prescribes that the members of the Military Nursing Service shall be of commissioned rank and shall be appointed as officers by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette. Accordingly, the President of India is appoints the Officers of Military Nursing Service in Commissioned rank by notification in the Official Gazette (Part I Section 4).

(b) Flying Flags and Displaying Star Plates. The Brigadier and above ranking officers of the Military Nursing Service are not permitted to fly flags (of rank) and display star plates in their official vehicles, as done by other Service Officers. Reason, they are Officers of Military Nursing Service and are not equal in status to Army Officers. This is in contravention to Para 733 (b) of Defence Service Regulations (Regulations for the Army), which says that women officers serving in the Army Medical Corps and officers in the Military Nursing Service will rank equally with male officers of the same titular rank

(c) Withdrawing Permission to Wear Formation Sign. The Committee recommended that the Officers in the Military Nursing Service are not to be permitted to wear formation signs on uniform (as worn by the all other Corps), as they have an inter service character. However the eminent members of the Committee has forgotten that the Military Engineering Service (MES) and Army Postal Service (APS) which are truly inter service in character wears their own formation signs on uniform. Apart from this as per the Section 4 of Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943, the members of the Military Nursing Service shall be liable for service only with forces and persons subject to the Army Act, 1950. This taken together with Rule 2 (b) of Military Nursing Service Rules, 1944 construes the status of Corps to the Military Nursing Service. This recommendation is there fore in contravention of the law.

Constitution Army Nurse Corps World Over

13. World Changed after the War. After the Second World War, in the ensuing years the large majority of the Nations had constituted Army Medical Corps and Army Nurse Corps from the remnants of the wartime elements of the medical services of their countries. The Imperial Army, from which our Military Nursing Service had its origins (QAMNS), had formed Queen Alexandra’s Royal army Nurse Corps (QARANC), Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in the late forties. The large majority of other nations also did the same. India formed our Army medical Corps in the year 1948, and ignored the plea for Military Nursing Service’s proper integration in to the Army by formation of a Nurse Corps. However the officer rank titles of Army were conferred on the members of Military Nursing Service in year 1959 due to the development in other countries.

14. Alienation. The attempts by the successive Chiefs of the Nursing Service, to bring the Military Nursing Service under the full purview of the army act were curtailed by the vested interests of AFMS. However, till the year 2000, the officers of the Military Nursing Service were recognized and accepted by the Army as part of its officer Cadre (Govt still does). The grant of OG uniform was also a part of it. However some mischievous elements in the Army Medical Corps were successful in influencing the thought process of the majority of the Army top brasses. They became successful in alienating the proud force, which has rendered 81 glorious years of service to the nation.

15. Present Status. The world over, except a few countries like Bangladesh and Srilanka every country has its own Nurse Corps as part of their armed forces. In countries like UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany etc. each service (army, navy and air force) has its own branch (corps) of nursing services, all headed by commissioned nursing officers. In a the recently concluded military medicine conference at New Delhi, the USA was represented by its Asia-Pacific Medical Command commander, Major General Gale S Pollock, who is an Army Nurse (also heads Army Nurse Corps). It is quite possible that some body in our Army medical Corps was preempting a similar situation in India, where a Nurse commands the Doctors. But in today’s corporate world the hospitals are not headed by the doctors, but by professional managers. But to avoid such a situation in India, we need not to degrade the status of the officers of Military Nursing service to even below that of a Sepoy in Army (as suggested by the committee report). We already have ample safe guards for that in the Defence Service Regulations, that only a medical officer shall command a hospital (can have some more).

Constitution of Army Nurse Corps in India

16. We are behind the other countries by at least half a century; however it is not too late. We must do it now, before our Nursing Services disintegrate fully, and the qualified Nurses leave in search of greener pastures. The majority of them belong to a particular southern state, where no such stigma is attached to nursing profession. They will happily follow their kith and kin abroad, where they would earn in lakhs of rupees per month (in USA Nurses earn as much as 60 $ per hour, that is a cool 5 lacs Indian rupees per month) Owing to the high salaries every year thousands of doctors from developing nations pass NCLEX - National Council Licensure Examination and migrate to US to work as Nurses. The whole world says that the Indian Nurses are the best and among them the army nurses are the cream. Even the current DGAFMS will agree on this point. Only when the nurses start leaving the army en-masse, the policy makers are going to sit back and think, however that will be a sad day for the armed forces. With the inclusion of para military personnel and their families under the care of armed forces medical services, the total numbers to be cared, will come close to crore and a quarter. We must realise that it is very easy to break this organisation, but there is not going to be a substitute for it, except may be in metro cities where we can employ civil nurses.

17. Why change in Name. The present Military Nursing Service is to be renamed to Army Nurse Corps, after its re-constitution. This we have already done with scores of other organizations including Army Medical Corps in it’s in the present form. The Military Nursing Service is some thing which reminiscence the British Raj. MNS (slang for an Officer of the Military Nursing Service) is a name which armed forces personnel are used to look down upon. Nobody ever proudly acclaimed that his own mother, sister or wife is a MNS because it is considered derogatory in the armed forces. There fore with the re-constitution of Military Nursing Service, its name is to be changed to Army Nurse Corps.

18. How to Go About. An act is to be passed in the parliament to repeal the present Military Nursing Service Ordinance 1943, at the same time constituting the Army Nurse Corps. The Chief of Army Staff can issue an Army Order regarding the dresses to be worn in the hospitals by the medical/nursing personnel attending patients. This is very much acceptable as the technicians; aircrew etc. are already wearing a different dress for their professional duties. The same AO can also lay down the chain of command of a Medical Officer Vs Nursing Officer while providing medical care. The order can clearly state that any Nursing Officer in care of patients, irrespective of her rank has to obey the professional order of a Medical Officer. Such a clause will remove the apprehensions of all Medical Officers.

19. Amalgamation of Nursing Staffs. While taking the Armed Forces Medical Services as a whole, we can see one anomaly, which the Nursing Officers belong to the Military Nursing Service. Where as all the other Nursing staffs who are for all practical purposes placed under them, are members of the Army Medical Corps. This kind of anomalies existed even in the Armed Forces abroad. In UK, the Nursing staffs from the Royal Army Medical Corps, where merged with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nurse Corps only in year 1999. Though USA, Canada had many other countries done this merger much earlier. It makes lot of sense, as a single entity will be involved in the selection, training, career progression and resettlement of the entire Nursing Personnel of Army. Presently it is divided between ADG Military Nursing Service, DGMS Army and DGAFMS. The Army medical Corps Officers, who are used to utilizing the Nursing Staff as their personal servant, will not readily accept this proposal. However in the long run this help to rationalize the strength of the Nursing Staff, as more of them will be available for hospital duty after the new arrangement.

20. Allowing Men in Officer Ranks. The Military Nursing Service in its present form is an all women all officer force; it can employ only women in its cadre, that too in officer ranks. However with the change in times, in all other nations where Army Nurse Corps exists, this restriction was removed. They have graduate Nurses both male and female in Officer Ranks, and registered nurses (Diploma) in Non Commissioned Officer ranks and certificate holders in nursing starting at the lowest rung. We may consider entry of women registered nurses in to the non commissioned rank of Havildars or equivalent. The other ranks may be given opportunity to become a commissioned officer in Army Nurse Corps, subject to achieving certain qualifications and passing examinations. The present system of Commissioning Nursing Assistants to AMC Non Tech branch may be discontinued as supporting the medical profession in all aspects including logistics are even now partly a nurse’s job. This is going to be morale booster for all ORs, as this kind of system already exists in all other Corps of the Indian Army. Now the Military Nursing Service has strength of around 3100 officers and the strength of the Nursing Staff of Army Medical Corps are around 21000. After the merger, we will have an Officer vs. PBOR ratio of approximately, 1: 7, which is ideal.

21. Implementation. The constitution Army Nurse Corps can be immediately. The officer cadre of Army Nurse Corps shall have minimum entry-level qualification of graduation in nursing. Both men and women may be allowed in the Army Nurse Corps in the officer cadre, to meet the various circumstances under which our Army is expected to serve (registered nurses as women Havildars may be enrolled at a later stage, after the Army Nurse Corps stabilizes it self). The strength of registered nurses enrolled as Havildars, is to be determined as per the expansion of the AFMS suggested by the report of Parliament Standing Committee on Defence headed by Shri Balasaheb Vikhe Patil in 2006. The said committee also mentioned about the starting of M Sc course in College of Nursing AFMC Pune and the Indian Nursing Councils recommendation of converting the nursing schools to college by year 2010. Out of the existing seven nursing schools, at least four may be immediately converted in to colleges for the proposed up-gradation of the entry level qualification of the nursing officers.

Financial Effect

22. There will be no additional expenditure in changing over to the proposed system by just constituting the Army Nurse Corps while maintaining the present pay structure of the MNS Officers. Every member of the MNS is happy about the pay; however what they want is status and recognition. When the expansion of the AFMS comes it will take care of the increased number of registered nurses. However by bringing all the nursing staff under a common umbrella, that is the Army Nursing Corps, the resultant professionally managed force will be much more efficient and capable than the present day Army Medical Corps Nursing Staff, placed under the Military Nursing Service Officers, with out giving the later any power of command over the former. But the new system, even without the proposed expansion will be able to take care of the added responsibility, of looking after the entire spectrum of serving and retired personnel and their families, including that of paramilitary, now placed under the care of Armed Forces Medical Services.

Recommendation

23. The important thing is to restore the honour of the ordinary Indian women, by the proper integration of the Military Nursing Service in to the Army. We still continue to follow the British pattern in our armed forces, including the Armed Forces Medical Services. Therefore in the line of Nurse Corps of UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Singapore, and scores of other nations, I recommend to re-designate the Military Nursing Service to ‘Army Nurse Corps’ and make it a ‘Corps of the Army’ through an act of the Parliament. Only this can settle the present controversy forever, and ensure the survival of nursing services in the armed forces of this regional power with growing global objectives.

Conclusion

24. We have to accept the fact that there are vested interests operating in the Army who are determined to break down the Military Nursing Service for the obvious reasons. However nobody can keep the country and the government perpetually ignored on the developments occurred in the area of military nursing world over. Though we are behind other nations by more than half a century, it is still not too late to act. There will be arguments from within the armed forces saying that, the present system has worked for all these years, so change is unnecessary. But if we learn the history of any Corps of the Army, there is one point in history, where it was re-constituted in to its present form. The case of Army Medical Corps is also not different, as it was formed from the Indian Hospital Corps, another left over from the British Raj. The time has come for the last remnant of the Raj the living fossil called Military Nursing Service to integrate in to the Indian Army as a Corps, with a change in name. The re-designation to Army Nurse Corps will be the most appropriate thing to do as it will generate sense of belonging, proud in service and camaraderie among its members. This is the only way to prevent the disintegration of the Military Nursing Service.

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References: 1. Military Nursing Service Ordinance, 1943
2. Military Nursing Service Rules, 1944
3. Army Act, 1950
4. Army Rules, 1954
5. Defence Service Regulations (Regulations for the Army)
6. Law Governing the Armed Forces (Rekha Choudhary & Nilendra Kumar)
7. Gazette of India Part IV notifications
8. Report of Parliament Standing Committee on Defence, 2006
9. Geneva Convention, 1949
10. Ten member committee report on grievances of MNS Officers
11 PIB on parliament questions
12. Sainik Samachar, September 16 – 30, 2006
13. Number of web sites on Army Nurse Corps/ Medical Corps of the other countries on Internet.
14. Joint Services Staff Duties Manual (JSSD) Vol-II
Note. The author is an armed forces officer thoroughly conversant with every aspect of the Armed Forces medical Services including the Military Nursing Service.