Army personnel asked not to post information on Facebook, Orkut

Indian army servicemen have been advised by the Army command not to post their service details on Facebook and other social networking sites.

Some social networking sites like Facebook that have gained popularity recently allow users to upload their details for online viewing by friends and relatives. 

The Indian Army is the largest wing of the armed forces and is responsible for land-based military operations with its primary objectives being the defense of the nation against external aggression, maintenance peace and security within the country, patrolling the borders and conducting counter-terrorist operations.

A recently issued army circular ordered armed forces personnel to immediately remove all such information related to their service from the sites on which these may have been posted like Orkut and Facebook.

The army fears that such information might lead to army personnel being befriended to gain access to information including place of posting, unit and rank by enemy agents and others.

The move has been initiated as a security measure to prevent inadvertent divulgence of sensitive information through the such sites, according to army sources.

The circular reportedly goes on to say that violation of the orders and continued use of such sites to share content would attract disciplinary action against personnel found in breach of the order. Under 'good order and discipline' rules under the Army Act, violation of the order could result in imprisonment for up to seven years.

According to the same circular nearly 35,000 of its 1.1 million personnel are active internet users.