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PTI
CALLS FOR PARTICIPATION: “One Rank One Pension is not just a dispute between ex-servicemen and the government. It is a national security issue where every citizen needs to pitch in.” Picture shows ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi protesting for OROP.
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The One Rank One Pension issue has been ignored for too long. But any victory achieved through bellicose means will be, at best, pyrrhic, leaving a bitter legacy.
PTI
CALLS FOR PARTICIPATION: “One Rank One Pension is not just a dispute between ex-servicemen and the government. It is a national security issue where every citizen needs to pitch in.” Picture shows ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi protesting for OROP.
The One Rank One Pension issue has been ignored for too long. But any victory achieved through bellicose means will be, at best, pyrrhic, leaving a bitter legacy.
The Indian armed forces are fighting their toughest battle ever. For an Army that has fought on every terrain and in every operation imaginable, this battle is confounding. Because this time, they don’t know which side the enemy is on.
As the national discussion about the plight of ex-servicemen reaches a crescendo, the toughest battle is being fought not at Jantar Mantar between the khaki and the olive green, nor is it being fought between South and North Block that house the mandarins of the Defence and Finance ministries respectively. The battle is definitely not about the blame game between political parties, none of whom solved the problem when they could. Neither is it being fought on primetime channels where screaming ‘experts’ misconstrue volume for value.
The toughest battle is being fought by the young leaders of our armed forces – the Lieutenants, Captains, and Majors. It is they who have to lead troops into battle with no material incentives to assist them. Consider their situation.
Acute shortage of officers
It is well-known that the Indian armed forces are facing a grave shortage when it comes to junior leaders. Many active combat units are facing an acute shortage of officers. Young officers, barely out of their teens, are handling bigger responsibilities than ever before and stepping up to discharge additional duties.
It is these young leaders who have to answer disconcerting questions from their troops, picketed in the heights of Siachen or the heat of the Thar, on why their own government is manhandling them. They have to justify the perceived perfidy of former Generals who seem to have forgotten their troops and the promises made to them. It is time we started thinking about our frontline troops and junior leaders who are getting disillusioned with their role models.
All stakeholders in this game, by definition, are on the same side. So, whether it is the ‘treacherous’ politicians; the ‘Machiavellian’ bureaucrats; the ‘arrogant’ policemen; the ‘indifferent’ bean counters or the ‘unreasonable’ ex-servicemen — they are all citizens of this country who will pay a heavy price if the fibre of our apolitical armed forces unravels. And it is unravelling.
Social media is rife with serious dissent among ex-servicemen and, more alarmingly, serving soldiers and officers. Conversations bordering on sedition are creeping into discussion threads. Junior officers are openly questioning the spine and integrity of their seniors. Soldiers from serving units are contributing monies to fund the One Rank One Pension (OROP) agitation, albeit in their personal capacities.
Sane voices who dissuade such collection are countered by those who challenge the basis on which Chiefs regularly contribute a day’s salary of the entire Army to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund without the consent of their soldiers. Such open discussions — which just a decade ago would have amounted to heresy — constitute a grave development and provide a fertile ground for elements inimical to India.
It is critical to step back and look at the big picture. The fact that the OROP issue had been relegated to files for far too long is obvious from the critical mass of the problem and the indignation of the aggrieved. The fact that a former Chief chose to withdraw as an interlocutor underscores the divide and truculence of both sides. But it behoves the leaders of our Government, bureaucracy and most importantly the Defence Forces, both serving and retired, to realise that this impasse cannot be resolved in a combative manner. This is because, on one side you have the Indian armed forces, who have never learnt to take defeat regardless of the casualties suffered, and we should be thankful for that. Any result short of a victory will demoralise one of the finest armies of the world.
However, on the other hand, if the demands of OROP are achieved through bellicose means, what kind of armed forces would we leave as a legacy? One that fights its own government to get its due? Where does the story end? What prevents this pyrrhic victory from becoming a new ‘doctrine of belligerence’ that the armed forces use to press their demands in future? And what example will they set for their junior officers, struggling to keep their troops motivated?
The resolution to OROP doesn’t have to consist of a single silver bullet. Solutions can be a combination of the private sector stepping in with post-retirement options; the clustering of ex-servicemen into categories and re-skilling and funding them for entrepreneurship; and a slew of other measures to ensure the dignity and livelihood of our ex-servicemen.
We can achieve this outcome provided we comprehend that this is not just a dispute between ex-servicemen and the government. It is a national security issue where every citizen needs to pitch in. Because, if war is too serious a business to be left to generals, nation-building is too serious a process to be left to the politicians and bureaucrats.
(The author is a former Army officer and founding CEO, NATGRID.)
COMMENTS
- BHARTArmed forces are demanding their right. And government should resolve this matter as fast as it can do.Indian democracy is serviving because our army is most disciplined and satisfied (despite having lots of problems) otherwise we have many examples of armed ruling across the world. Once become rebellious it will be difficult to make it as disciplined as it is now.about 3 hours ago
- VVyjayanthiThe government should reach out to the ex servicemen who had served their country and explain the administrative, legal and financial dimensions in implementing the OROP as per their demands. The government pays military pensions for a longer period as 80% of the forces retire at 35-40 yrs. Various political leaderships who had committed to OROP have done so without considering the nuances of its implementation - the ex servicemen were superb vote banks to be exploited. Once in power they conveniently forget about the various issues of retired servicemen and war widows. If finance is the problem then governments can look for other avenues to raise pension funds. Wasteful government expenditures can be cut. Scamsters and money launderers can be brought to book & the swindled money put to good use. Laterally induction of fit personnel into paramilitary forces can save pensions. The threat to boycott the 1965 war celebrations and the RD parade by the veterans is also uncalled for.about 3 hours agoPoints2880
- RSR SAlmost every post in media is written by the officers and centres only around the Commissioned Officers to show them the most deprived people though every Officer gets around 45,000/- (Minimum of Major in 2015 including DA) in his monthly pension. None of these learned writers includes the Jawans and their widows, either in any Pay/pension related topic or in his comments. Only Jawans (Junior Commissioned Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and Sepoy) retire (or are kicked out) between the age of 35 to 40 years and live in inexplicably harsher conditions than the Officers during service.about 3 hours agoPoints630
- SSekharDear Sir, 1.This article is among the very best written on this subject.(Disclosure, I am a proud veteran) 2.The writer is highlighting the national security issue rightly;we have many second, third generation soldiers in the Armed Forces.Thus, we have Col Pushpinder Singh on fast at Jantar Mantar, and his son as a serving Officer. Can you imagine what is going through his mind and that of thousands of serving soldiers whose fathers, grandfathers are made to go on fasts, agitations for what is their right? And further humiliated by policemen on the eve of Independence day? 3.The real problem is the disconnect of the Armed Forces community with the ruling elite.It is reasonable to assume that if some of our senior politicians, bureaucrats,or their kith and kin served or are serving in the Armed Forces,this issue would not have come to such a pass. The cultivated disdain the elite has for Soldiers coupled with the pettiness of the IAS lobby is a poisoned cocktail. This has to changeabout 5 hours ago
- MMajorIt is evident that Mr Modi's cocktail of nationalism and economic paradise doesn't include the serving soldiers and veterans of the Armed Forces. He wants to continue with his election vote catching mode of governance and back track on his earlier promises on technical basis.about 5 hours agoPoints1930
Venkatakrishnan Subrahmanian
The opinion by the army officer himself has emoted repeatedly what would happen if the OROP was resolved. He has identified certain viable routes of empowering the exservicemen. He does not want the generals nor the politicians to sit across and iron out the differences. Who else would do? Why does he play the card of national security in the long drawn game of OROP? What were they doing all these years? Why talk about the victor and vanquished? Is the government not democratically elected? Does it not represent `the constitutional majority of the country'? The writer has gone overboard.about 7 hours agoPoints1980- MGMB Gopinath,Considering the sacrifices made by the soldiers since independence they are not putting claims for impossibles. In fact they were the silent sufferers hitherto living under the hope that their problems would be solved very soon. That very soon prolonged for more than 40 years. Nationalism is evident only in rhetoric now. It was not so in earlier times. But the patience shown by soldiers over the years have gone against them. The Government must take initiative to solve the problem. After all they are asking only moderate things considering the huge sacrifices made by them and they have in mind welfare of tomorrow's ex-servicemen too.about 8 hours ago
- AAA.R AhmedOROP is a fair Demand and Ex-Servicemen are requesting for it from more than thirty years,they are patiently insisting for it. Different Governments different political parties like Narsimha Rao's congress or Vajpayees NDA or Janata Dal's third front every government assured them that they will soon take steps to make it happen,but these Ex-Servicemen OROP is still remains unfulfilled. Indian Citizens should understand that these people had fought for the country and many of them died for the cause of protecting motherland.their deeds in wars are unparalleled with any country's army in this whole world.now they are old and fragile and what they get through pension is not sufficient for their livelihood, and there is vast differences in pay of pensions like one gets a pension of Rs.3500/- on the other hand one gets more than ten thousand. Instead of watching these old men staging protests,the government should declare a date for Implementation of OROP.about 8 hours ago
- RRaviIt is important that a soldier on retirement at such young age must be reoriented towards useful employment as he enters the civilian life. His Military duties of 24 hours 365 days a week, for 15-20 years make him unsuitable for a civilian life where people of his age are at their prime. Making a soldier a Security guard outside bungalows and industry are a real downgradation. The resettlement dirctorate must come up with innovative training methods for absorption in civil life. These are capable men selected from amongst the best when they were enrolled. Must create a think tank of intellectual capability to understand the soldier and what he can be capable of and come up with meaningful options for reentry in to the civil life. I am sure when the issues are analysed solutions will come.about 8 hours ago
Srinivasan Iyer
The promise made by Modi at his first election speech with a former Army Chief sitting by his side (and now a minister in the Govt) has been in the Defence and Finance Ministries for over a year. There is a long standing feud between the bureaucrats and the Service chiefs which not only delays in procurement but also affects the morale of the servicemen at all levels. The excuses given by the Govt so far seem shallow on shortage of funds. This can and should be resolved with some staggered payment system. Allowing this prbloem to fester could seriously affect the morale of our services from the top to the lowest level. Modi always claims that he is a decision maker. Let him prove it!!about 10 hours agoPoints2605- MRMurali RaghavanIt is absolutely necessary to keep our defense forces motivated at all times. OROP agitation will discourage the youth to go for employment in defense services. OROP should be resolved immediately.The Union Government should work on providing the right compensation to those in service so that there is hardly any discontentment. Risk perception at different levels could be one of the major guiding factors in determining the pay scales. The Government should be in a position to attract talent in order to ensure that India is in the safe hands of a smart defense force.about 10 hours agoPoints1185
Varghese Varghese BJP is learning the hard way what it is to be in the driver's seat. On this and other similar issues, the ruckus created by the BJP while in opposition, is still fresh in our minds.about 11 hours agoPoints5530- MMajorThe author could have given a moral lecture to the government, but asking us to retreat is illogical. True, certain ills crept in the junior ranks of the regular Army, and the blame lies with the government of the day, for they stretched the OROP issue too long with imagined technicalities invented by the bureaucrats just to dilute the original definition of the OROP to save few pennies. The Veterans were trained and fought battles in the past for the country with no compromises in the end results. Retreating is not in their blood, our elders in the past retreated giving time to various governments to react positively, but they left the will to gain the final objective. And we will never disgrace them and their wishes. As a finality, it is pay up time for the governmentabout 11 hours agoPoints1930
M Govinda Bigger picture is much larger and wider... The present struggle for fulfilling the promises on OROP is again only a symptom and the real ‘disease’ lies hidden elsewhere. The reforms era in India has witnessed total neglect of the public sector and government employees. It served well for certain vested and some political interests. Leaving the wider issues, let us look at pension-related developments. Centre, even before there was any legislative sanction, discontinued a well-established pension scheme effective January 1, 2004 through a notification. Even at that time, GOI was aware of the sensitivities of the issue and shrewdly excluded defence services while making New Pension Scheme applicable to all central government employees. The ‘divide and rule’ worked and as the employees on the roll as on December 31, 2003 were not affected, the protest from unions were feeble. Gradually, NPS was forced on most of the public sector organisations and state government employees . M G Warrier
(SOURCE- THE HINDU)
Mr Jaitley and his team has taken it upon themselves that OROP over their dead bodies and PM seems being blackmailed by them as if they hold with them some great secret which if exposed would finish his PMship. Ram ji bhi nahin bacha payenge is desh ko jyada wakt tak.......
ReplyDeleteGood writeup but a fundamental question is will short service commission officers be ever part of this "big picture" who form the cutting edge force multiplier for the services and remain neglected by services fraternity, Govt as well as the civilian brotherhood - with no pensions, no medical facilities, no alternate career assurance, no reservations, uncertainty of resettlement and therefore NO HONOUR and None ESM organisation bothered to support their grievances.
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