His motivation for appearing on TV, Arya said, was to “get the soldier’s story” out there. However, does the soldier’s version always have to be this aggressive, lashing out at any criticism of the Army? One has to wonder why there is a dearth of tempered voices from within the defence community on debate shows. Why do we rarely see people like Lt Gen (retired) HS Panag, Colonel (retired) Alok Asthana, Colonel (retired) Ajai Shukla, Sushant Singh and others on TV? Panag, who has served as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, explains, “Most channels work according to a plan. They have made up their mind about what they want to promote,” he said. “When they ask the question they don’t give you the time to answer the question. The question too is framed in a manner [where] they want only certain kinds of answers. Then he [anchor] interrupts you and I find that is very insulting.” He adds that, “I find that most defence experts are actually being used by the channels and for whatever reasons they fall prey to this. That’s the reason I don’t come [on TV shows].” Panag’s reasoning illustrates that the manner in which debate shows are structured today ensures that the most aggressive, loud voices emerge on top while saner ones are drowned or not even heard.