The Dark Secret
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 18, 2013 -

Whether it is a simple case of 'torpedoes' of the Naval men hitting the wrong targets or some disgruntled wives going all out in full seam to drag down the entire ship of Naval establishment into the Davy Jones' locker; Indian Navy, one of the three branches of Armed Forces of the country, definitely seems to have quite a handful of scandals of sexual misconduct to be dealt with in the recent past.

Close behind the 'explosive' allegation in early April this year by a wife of a Naval officer posted at Kochi that wife-swapping was prevalent in the Indian Navy and she had been molested by her husband's superiors and the last month's dismissal of a Naval commander and an officer, the first for sending multiple lewd texts to many women and the other for entering into an illicit relationship with the wife of a superior, the latest complaint filed by the wife of a senior Naval officer alleging that her lieutenant commander-husband forced her to consume alcohol and get sexually involved with his colleagues, has once again drawn attention of the people to the 'dark secret' of wife-swapping in Indian Naval establishment that reared up its head every now and then.

Though the Naval officers in the Headquarters may have dismissed the latest allegation as a case of marital discord like always, Union Defence Minister AK Anthony, who has taken serious note over the string of sex scandals in Indian Navy of late, has promptly ordered a probe into the matter and promised to take strong action if anybody was found guilty.

Wife Swapping or swinging, as it was known earlier, is basically exchanging of wives between two or more couples, for engaging in the 'forbidden' sensual pleasures.

Although the precise history of this practice is not known, some have regarded that the phenomenon of wife-swapping has arisen from the upsurge in sexual activity during the sexual revolution of the 1960s in the west along with invention of contraceptive pills and development of treatment for many of the sexually transmitted diseases that were known at that time. India may have been known as the land of Kamasutra, but the concept of wife swapping purely for sexual gratification was something unknown till few decades back.

But today, swinging clubs and wife swapping parties are a reality, especially among the affluence sections of the society.

In such a situation, the allegation of wife swapping in Indian Navy for various reasons ranging from just for fun to spice up the relationship or even for promotion prospects may not have come as a surprise to many.

However, to conclude that everyone in the Naval establishment is sleeping with each other's wife or husband would be far from the truth.

Of course, there may be some black sheep in the family of Indian Navy indulging in such sexual misconducts, thus, causing deep humiliation to the whole establishment including serving as well as retired Naval officers and their family members.

So, the Union Defence Minister has done the right thing in promptly ordering a probe into the sexual escapades of these black sheep.

Closing the eyes and ears to the 'dark-secret' of Indian Navy, would surely have an impact on the minds of young people who wish to make their career in Indian Navy.