Dear Editor
I am enclosing an article for your esteemed news paper. I appreciate the spirit with which you have been taking up the cause of ex-servicemen. I will be honoured if you consider this article worthy of your news paper.
In case you need to edit this article and need my assistance, please revert.
Figures quoted in this article are based on the recommendation of 6 CPC. Your reserach team can check them and confirm or else you may take help Maj Gen surjit singh who was member of 4 and 5 CPC and is an authority on this issue. His Email id is surjiteme@gmail.com
Regards
Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM
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ARE EXSERVICEMEN PROTESTING BY GROUP CAPTAIN VK GANDHI
It was a moral agreement between the Government of India and the soldiers of Indian defense forces that a soldier would fight with all his might without caring for his life and the Government on its part will ensure dignified living for him during active service and post retirement. Government will also take care of his family if he is martyred in protecting the sovereignty of the country.
While the soldier has always lived up to his oath and fought wars in 1947, 1962, 1965, 1971 and Kargil war in 1999, has the Government fulfilled its part of promise? A soldier never asked a question about the sanctity of the war. He willfully and happily sacrificed his life whenever ordered without caring for his family. The question is has the Government lived up to its promise of giving a soldier a life of dignity during and after active service and most importantly after his martyrdom? The answer is NO. On the contrary the Government willfully and in a planned manner has been lowering the status of a soldier since independence. A soldier in uniform has no right to protest as any form of protest is considered disobedience and is punishable by court martial. Hence he has no alternative than to accept this down gradation of his status vis a vis other central Government services. It is important to mention here that a soldier is forced to retire from active service when he has completed 20 years (around 36 to 38 yrs of age) service while all his counterparts in central Government services work up to 60 years of age. This is the requirement of armed forces to keep them young. Does this mean that to keep armed forces young Government should be so cruel to throw out the brave soldier? Why should he not be absorbed in other central Government organizations on being retired from combatant duty of defense services? This will ensure a trained and disciplined man to that organization and assured career to the fouji till 60 years of age. Another point of import here is that a civil Government employee gets enhancement in his pay and allowances through four pay commissions (one in every ten years) in 40 years of service whereas a soldier gets benefit of only two pay commissions in his span of 20 years of service. Hence a soldier, who is always facing bullets and risk to his life, is at major disadvantage viz a viz a civilian counterpart who has desk job with other unwritten perks.
Let us take an example of military vs. police service. Two young men of same age and same education background decide to join government service. One joins military and the other the police service. Both retire in their lowest rank of Sepoy/Constable. If they both are living today at the age of 75 years, then their total earning differential, to the disadvantage of the Sepoy would be rupees 47 lacs. The difference for a Naik/Head constable is 39 lacs. For Havildar/ASI it is 29 lacs. It carries on similarly. For a Sub Major/DSP it is 15 lacs. We can see how demoralizing this can be for a soldier. All figures are approximates based on the recommendations of 6 CPC.
In defense forces a person holding a senior rank is always considered with reverence and is always respected while in service and after retirement. He is permitted to still quote his rank after retirement. Today the situation has become so bad that a retired sepoy is getting more pension than a havildar who had retired say 10 years back. This situation is hurting his moral fibre and destabilizing the finely balanced social structure. Recently retired Maj Gen had approached the courts as their pension was fixed less than Brigadiers. They have won the case in the courts and Government is forced to increase their pension under the order of Supreme Court.
Only solution to this difficult problem is One Rank One Pension (OROP) for the retired soldiers. This means same pension for equal rank and equal length of service for all retired soldiers. Government is refusing to accept this principle for the retired soldiers while all MsP, MsLA, Judges and 95% of bureaucrats of secretary level (95% of the bureaucrats reach the level of secretary) and only 1% of army officers of General rank (only 1% of the army officers reach the lever General) are entitled to same pension irrespective of their date of retirement. Non application of this principle and refusal to grant OROP to the ex-servicemen is gross injustice to the loyal defense forces of India.
It is the moral duty of the Government to look after the interest of a soldier whereas on the contrary Government is even refusing to give Ex-servicemen their due. Ex-servicemen under the banner of Indian ex-servicemen movement (IESM) are protesting peacefully against this apathy of the Government and holding rallies for last one year at Jantar mantar. Government has steadfastly refused to even talk to the ex-servicemen. Frustrated with the Government apathy, Ex-servicemen have devised a novel method of protest. They have decided to deposit their hard earned medals to the President of India, supreme commander of Indian defense forces, for safe custody and will take them back only once their demand of OROP, for all ranks, is accepted. It is very painful for a soldier to part with his gallantry medals as these are very dear to him and he is very proud of them. He keeps narrating the stories of bravery and award of these medals to his children and entire village. Every soldier has only one wish that when he dies, his hard earned gallantry medals would still be decorating his chest. If a soldier has decided to return his bravery medals to the President it means he is in real anguish.
Ex-servicemen have so for deposited 20000 medals in four tranches to the President of India on the call given by IESM. They have vowed to continue this peaceful and yet very effective method of protest till their demands are met. Next date of return of medals is 25 Oct 2009.
GROUP CAPTAIN VINOD KUMAR GANDHI VSM has retired from Air Force on 31 Dec 1999 after completing 30 yrs of active service. I am now settled at following address
L – 48, Sector – 25
Noida
Tele no 0120 – 2519440
Mobile 09810541222
