Why and how has the issue been coming up in public debate for the past several years?

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What is the latest statement of the Ministry of Defence on the term ‘martyr’?

On March 28, during the ongoing session of Parliament, the Minister of State for Defence answered a question put up by Dr Santanu Sen of the Trinamool Congress in Rajya Sabha on the term ‘martyr’. Dr Sen had asked whether the government has stopped using the term ‘martyr’ for those who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

The Minister of State for Defence informed the House that “the term ‘martyr’ is not used in the Indian Armed Forces”.

What has been the stance of the government in this regard in the past?

For almost a decade now, the government has maintained that the word ‘martyr’ does not have any official recognition.

Back in 2013 and 2014, the Ministry of Home Affairs clarified in answers to RTI applications that the words ‘martyr’ and ‘shaheed’ are not defined anywhere by the Government of India.

In December 2015, then Minister of State for Home Affairs Kirren Rijiju stated in Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Defence has informed that the word ‘martyr’ is not used in reference to any of the casualties in the Indian Armed Forces. He added that such terms are not used for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles personnel also.

In December 2021, the Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai again informed Rajya Sabha that there was no official nomenclature such as ‘martyr’.

What is the objection to the word ‘martyr’?

The word ‘martyr’ has religious connotations and has been used in history to refer to the sacrifices made by people for their religious beliefs, particularly in Christianity. The word ‘shaheed’, which is used as a Hindustani alternative to the word ‘martyr’, also has religious connotations and is linked to the concept of Shahadat in Islam.

The word ‘martyr’ is said to have its roots in the Greek word ‘martur’. Various dictionaries define ‘martyr’ as a person who voluntarily suffers death as penalty of refusing to renounce religion.

Since the armed forces of India are not associated with any one religion and do not lay down their lives for religious principles, the use of such words for their sacrifice has been found wrong in several quarters, including the top brass of the Army. Many retired senior officers and legal experts have pointed out that using the term ‘martyr’ or ‘shaheed’ for a soldier who dies for his country is incorrect in the Indian perspective.

What steps have been taken to prevent the use of the word ‘martyr’?

Despite the repeated assertions of the government about the word ‘martyr’ having no official recognition, it was used liberally in government statements issued by various Public Relations Officers for the defence services and the CAPFs. Many senior serving and retired officers also used it frequently to describe the death of soldiers in action. Thus, the word remained in common use.

In February 2022, the Army issued a letter to all its commands asking them to desist from using the word ‘martyr’ as it may not be appropriate for soldiers who die in the line of duty. They have been, instead, asked to use phrases such as ‘laid down their lives’, ‘killed in action’, ‘supreme sacrifice for the nation’, ‘fallen heroes’, ‘Indian Army braves and fallen soldiers’, ‘battle casualty’, ‘bravehearts’, ‘braves whom we lost’, and veergati/veergati prapt/veer.

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