Saturday, September 17, 2016

IN *SELF DESTRUCTION OF A GREAT NATION* - "WHERE IS THE ADMINISTRATION, IF THE ARMY HAS TO DO EVERYTHING? WHY IS THEN THE GOVT SPENDING POORMAN'S MONEY ON THEM" :: BY COL RAJA CHANDRA (RETD)

India is the only country where there are 400+ Lt Gen rank wearing police officers  (Army has 83 Lt Gens, though being 1.3 million).

Out of 400 plus DG and ADG post officers, 40 plus are drawing salary equivalent of Army Commander  from 25 years of service till they retire (even DG NDRF having strength less then 5 infantry battalions draw Army commanders salary).
Another astonishing fact is that indian police is only organisation in world to wear Rank batches of Lt Col in 2 years of service after two years of probation and trg. Our Majors and Lt cols address these 2 yrs mocked police boys as sir and maam, and our senior officers force this wrong precedence in name of liaison with civ auths.

Indian soldiers shouldn't be denied their due rights. Read this post and you will know that DC's, SPs and SDM's hide themselves behind curtains in calamities.           

I had an opportunity to glance through IDSA study which has been extensively quoted by the Pay Commission to deny or scale down the dues to Armed Forces personals. But I am surprised that the IDSA study did not mention that in US and UK soldiers get their pensions at the rate of 75% of their salary. Also when the US & European nations deploy their soldiers in war like situation or disaster relief operations they do not pay income tax.

I wish the study had made the mention that even while fighting kargil war officers and JCos paid the income tax, same is the case for J&K and NE insurgency. I was told that the income tax is also charged from the last salary of a martyr. which is nothing short of national shame

I wish these facts should have been included in the 7cpc. Since the IDSA study compared the purchasing power of other country soldiers vis a vis India. But the pay commission did not use this analogy while calculating and doling out three increments to IAS , IPS & IFS.

An army officer gets 31500/-- for serving in Siachen but a central cadre officer gets 50000 to 70000 for serving in so called difficult areas such as Shillong, Imphal and Guwahati @ 30% of their salary (In Spite of the acknowledgement made by pay commission cell that most difficult area to serve with no parallel is Siachen).

During Uttrakhand Disaster relief operations, three DCs were literally not available during the critical days of disaster. Same was the case with SDMs and tehsildars. The SDM who was deputed to go to Kedarnath emerged only after five days of relief operation in vogue. DC prefered to park himself inside the Joshimath camp so that public can't reach him. When DC was forced to go and see the condition on ground, the gentleman did not get down from the helicopter fearing that he might not be allowed by public to board the helicopter. DC uttarkashi did not feel safe to visit and see the conditions of pilgrims at Gangotri and harsil. The pilgrims kept asking "where is the administration, if the army has to do everything why is government spending poormen's national wealth on them"

It is sad that the public of India does not even know why a soldier defy the logic and conventions? Why does he risk his life? In-spite of the fact that there is no written rule where a soldier is suppose to die while performing his duty, yet he does so. It is ethos, traditions and character of soldiers that prompt them to do so. Second factor is because he knows he is not a government servant, he is an elite and serves the nation. He also knows that he is the last bastion and pillar which nation is dependent upon. Every other department has failed and and can fail, but nation can still recover. But if the soldiers fail, the nation will fail. No other government agency can redeem it. it is elitism that separates soldiers from the rest.

Unfortunately over a period of time the elitism has been killed and soldier is repeatedly told he is a government servant that too semi skilled. Whereas soldering is most complex, technical and skilful job which is unparalleled. 

I must quote the examples of US/ Uk and other countries. When the body of a martyr is brought back to US. The captain of the aircraft makes the announcement prior to taking off "we are privileged to fly back martyr ---xyz--- on his last journey back home" On arrival of the body of the martyr on US soil and his native place.water canon salute is given. Crew line up on tar to pay last respect. The CEO or the highest authority of the air port receives the body along with the Guard. All passenger stand in line till body is moved out. But when the body of Maj Varadarajan was being flown from Srinagar to Chennai, the Captain was requested by the officer accompanying the body to announce that maj Vardrajan is on board on his last journey back home, the captain of the aircraft refused to announce that he is privileged to fly the martyr on his last journey back home, saying it will send a kind of bad feeling and omen to people flying and thus he will not do so. Incidentally there was another pilot who wrote small message of regretting such an incident. The body of soldiers are taken from the cargo gate which is indeed an insult. And we continue to accept it without highlighting it. It is only Mr Chandrashekher MP Rajya Sabha who is fighting a lone battle.

We need to introspect and make the nation aware that Profession of soldiering is not routine government job. It is different an elitism is must or else, we will have soldier also behaving like other government staff such as the famous DCs of Uttrakhand. Can nation afford soldiers behaving like government servants? I don't think so. I heard in the news today that Drs did not turn up in Chennai, the government staff in haryana did not turn up for their duties...... But soldiers did their best whole day. Is it that their lives are not precious?


(SOURCE - VIA E-MAIL)

5 comments:

  1. Knowing fully well, the realities and facts are not brought on record but being suppressed deliberately in Pay Commission Reports considering solders have no say being self disciplined. Time has riped to made known the superior duties of soldier to the concerned for deserved recognition tangible as well as intangible.

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  2. Yesterday in a debate in one channel, AAP representative was saying and asking central govt to deploy army to control the mosquito menace in Delhi,at last we have come to that stage,control mosquitos,

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  3. Orop totally hijacked by the off cadre demolishing the soul of Orop for early retiring soldiers and now hijacks 7 CPC ..bravo dudes.

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  4. There is no respect of faujis in the civil street today. To some extent we ourselves are responsible for this. There are many ESM, both officers and pbors, those who have made themselves big in the civil after retirement, either in business or politics,have exploited their brother ESMs in their ride to success. They have used all type of means at their disposal to gather wealth and in the process harmed the image of faujis. Than there are those who during their years in the fauj have managed to stay at metros for long periods during which they got into the inner circles of Babus and businessmen. Their neighbours,aquintences always saw them enjoy good life at clubs in the heart of metros. And when many of these type of people are seen voicing the concerns of faujis today,in the eyes of the people who have seen them always enjoying the good life they just do not juxtapose with the hardship images of Siachin being put across. This apart, we have a tendency to always put up a very rosy picture to these civilians from the govt.or judiciary when they visit us in the field when we should be showing them the actual hardships being faced by the troops and the life of the officers in the field. Why are'nt these people fed the staple diet that is served to the soldiers, why are they not made to sleep in the leaking tents, why are they not made to shit on the dtls, why are they not made to pay for the services provided to them. Our senior officers have made these freeloaders members of our exclusive clubs in exchange for some personal favours in return. They need to be made accountable. Today, a soldier of the Indian army who handled sophisticated weapons and equipment for the country when in service, once he retires at a young age with kids in junior school, is found fit for nothing other than the job of a security guard and an officer as a security officer. And the DESW in MoD shouts from rooftops it has done such great work for resettling the ESMs. With the kind of training and exposure received by the officers and jawans, they are surely capable of doing any type of work but somehow no such opportuni are available to them. On the contrary, the IAS Babu never retires... keeps getting extension after extension and then made to head some Board or placed somewhere as consultant, when the fact is he has mostly been a failure even while in service. Our military leaders need to pay more attention to this aspect too. We should not expect that our self serving politicians or Babus would ever do anything in this regard.

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  5. It is painful to see so much clamour over salaries, pensions and then Izzat. Let us admit it, people are respected only for two things- value and nuisance value.It is not understandable why the forces' people hide their monetary needs/aspirations in the garb of Izzat in today's era of openness.Come out in the open and claim your dues in the court.Who or what stops you.There is no one except your own people or your own training and convictions, right or wrong, forcing you to bow before your junior civil officers and other wrongs, imaginary or real.Who tells you to organise tamasha for a religious Guru in new Delhi. What compels you to parade for public display when ex servicemen's contingent is ordered to be excluded to preempt their perceived boycott of such parade. One flows either with the tide or against it.The malaise is within. No body, no civilian is responsible for the decisions and choices of your making and your failures and your failure to correct such failures in the process. There is nothing called emotional practical or practical emotional.Take it in your stride for soon people may start demanding you security at marriage ceremonies in view of your "honourable" service rendered to ceremony organised by Shri Shri at N Delhi, claiming "equality to all before law" if needed, in court in such cases. Jai Hind.

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