A suicidal incident yesterday from a Sepoy P. John Thomas of the 1 Bihar Regiment has led to the decision of the army to subject its jawans to meditation, yoga and psychological counseling over the next few months, according to www.tribuneindia.com.
Thomas shot himself with his Insas rifle while he was on duty. The incident has brought into focus the stress levels faced by soldiers and the efforts being made to manage their psychological pressures.
Army officials admitted that the stress levels among soldiers were on the rise, not only because of job pressures, but also as a result of disturbance due to long duration of separation from family.
They said that the growing stress levels, resulting in suicides and killing of fellow soldiers, had forced the Army to think of long-term measures to fight the menace.
It had decided to introduce yoga and meditation at the unit level and planned to appoint 50 psychological counselors.