Morale is the mental makeup of the Army and is the very essential ingredient which ensures success in battle. It also binds the group by common purpose, while connecting each individual to his group. This builds confidence in the system which works as a well oiled machinery. It ensures success but morale is also very fragile and environment centric.
The Army takes great pride in its high morale and ensures that it builds up the same, especially in areas where lines are blurred, the situation in the valley being foremost. It is also affected by strategic thinking, combat motivation and unit cohesion in addition to the pay, allowances and a host of other issues but is very fragile. One of the key spinoffs of morale is motivation which for a combat soldier is the very essence of his task.
As per Kellett, motivation is the conscious or unconscious calculation by the combat soldier of the material and spiritual benefits and costs likely to be attached to various courses of action arising from his assigned combat tasks. Hence motivation comprises the influences that bear on a soldier’s choice of, degree of commitment to, and persistence in effecting, a certain course of action. Major Gogoi case is a litmus test to a high morale army being de-motivated by the political class for petty electoral gains.

Former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah has written that the citizen’s fundamental rights were violated. When the Army is called in the fundamental rights of the nation 'stand violated' and that situation does not not arise by the doings of forces.
On the contrary,Army who’s each every officer is sworn to the Constitution of India, works with one hand tied to the back using minimum force. Army often emerges as the last bastion of hope of the nation. Army believes in avoiding bloodshed and Gogoi's case is a classical out of the box solution. Abdullah should ask why it is that all the main stream political parties less the J&K political parties find the action to be out of the box and why is it that all the veterans including the CM of Punjab find it praise worthy?
The Chief of the Army Staff has awarded Major Gogoi a commendation card. Why are political pundits commenting on the internal matters of the Army?  Are we pushing the contours of free speech at the risk of national interests when one is the affected party?  It is a sad thing that internal matters of the working of the Army are being publicly commented upon, especially when the Army cannot defend itself from criticism. It is a known fact the forces work in a certain manner and political brownie points should not be scored on an organization which has become the rule rather than the exception.
The soldier leads a very stressful life in a charged environment. The system adding stress to a soldier by ordering an inquiry is uncanny. The state law and order machinery had itself collapsed, how can they order an inquiry into an action at a place where their own writ does not run?  The inquiry should be called off, as morale of the Army is at stake. What are the authorities trying to prove, and what will be the ramifications of their judgment on the stone pelters, and the junior officers of the Army, is what the policy planners need to think through? If the state   government has collapsed as is evident from a host of issues President Rule may be the only option left? 

                           (Author is retired Brigadier, Indian Army. Views expressed are author’s personal.)