Will the NDA
Government address the Angst of Armed Forces
Kautilya reminded the king that his safety and security as well as of his
empire depended on the trust and sacrifice of his soldiers.
“The Mauryan soldier does not enrich the Royal treasuries nor fills
the Royal granaries. He does not carry out trade and commerce nor produce
scholars, litterateurs, artistes, artisans, sculptors, architects, craftsmen,
doctors and administrators. He does not build roads and ramparts nor dig wells
and reservoirs.
The soldier just ensures that the tax,
tribute and revenue collectors travel forth and return safely; that the farmer
tills, harvests, stores and markets his produce unafraid of pillage; that the
trader, merchant, and financier function and travel across the length and
breadth of the realm unmolested; that the savant, sculptor, maestro, and mentor
create works of art, literature, philosophy and astrology in peace; that the
architect designs and builds houses without tension; that the tutor and the
priest teach and preach in peace; that the sages meditate in wordless silence; that the
doctor cures and prescribes medicines undisturbed; that the mason and
bricklayer work unhindered; that the mother and the wife go about their chores
and bring up children in harmony and tranquillity; that the cattle graze freely
without being lifted or stolen.
Pataliputra reposes each night in peaceful comfort, O King, secure in
the belief that the distant borders of Magadha are inviolate and the interiors
are safe and secure, thanks only to the Mauryan Army standing vigil with naked
swords and eyes peeled for action, day and night, in weather fair and foul, all
eight praharas (round the clock), quite unmindful of personal discomfort and
hardship, all through the year, year after year.
While the citizenry of the State contributes to see that the State
prospers and flourishes, the soldier guarantees it continues to exist as a State! To this man, O Rajadhiraja, you owe a debt: please, therefore, see to it,
on your own, that the soldier continuously gets his dues in every form and
respect, be they his needs or his wants, for he is not likely to ask for them
himself.”
Then Chanakya gave his king this blunt warning: “The day the soldier has to demand his dues will be a sad day for Magadha for
then, on that day, you will have lost all moral sanction to be King!”
(Quoted in part by Justice (retd)
Markandey Katju in his order in Writ Petition (C) No. 291 of 2010 – in his
order on an Armed Forces Redressal Grievance Commission (AFRGC) which was since
recalled)
* * * * * *
The hopes of personnel of Armed
Forces were re-awakened at the Ex-Servicemen rally at Rewari addressed by then
PM candidate, Shri Narendra Modi. The promises made there, and thereafter, with
oft stated affirmation of the importance of India’s Armed Forces, have given
rise to high aspirations, hopes, even prayers not only for the washing away of
past injustice, but also for amelioration of anomalies, pay, allowances,
pensions and, compliance with Armed Forces Tribunals, High Courts and the
Supreme Court of India’s orders and judgments. In other words, Armed Forces
personnel, present and past, look for justice and fair play and an
acknowledgement of the immense sacrifices, in life, limb and deprivations put
up with by personnel of the Armed Forces and Veterans. They do not look for yet
another reference to a Committee of Secretaries, where the Armed Forces are
neither represented nor understood.
Politicians respond or react to
briefings and situations by promising a better tomorrow. Example: - a reputedly
hard-hearted and hard headed politician like Shri Chidambaram promised One Rank
One Pension to the Armed Forces. But his decision had a caveat - that one
carrot (of Rs 500 crore) is better than a full meal of about Rs 5000 crore.
So Shri Antony and the Treasury
Benches rewarded Shri Chidambaram with smiles and desk thumping. Shri
Chidambaram, in turn, bestowed that rarest of his commodities, his smile, on
the members in the House and over electronic media. Shri Chidambaram alone knew
what that smile revealed and how much it concealed.
Some self-appointed leaders of the
community called, variously, Ex-Servicemen (ESM) or Veterans thumped their
chests (and nearly fractured their arms patting themselves on their own backs)
that a hard fought victory was won and OROP was a given.
But, politicians are never held to
blame for not fulfilling promises, simply because their promises are to be implemented
by the bureaucrats, who are some steps ahead in thinking and, if one may be
permitted to state the truth bluntly, weakening what the politician promises.
The bureaucrats, like pathologists,
have the luxury of time to dissect the promises to see the most important factor
“what’s in it for me?” So they take their own time, because bureaucrats are never
called to explain delays. They use every tactic in the bureaucratic book of
stratagems, with some even inventing more to add to that book, to delaying or
denying – a sort of “Politician proposes, Bureaucrat disposes” game, [reversing
a proverb from a translation from "The Imitation of Christ" by
Thomas à Kempis (c.1380-1471): "…..For man proposes, but God disposes;
neither is the way of man in his own hands."]
It is axiomatic that bureaucrats
think that benefits promised to Armed Forces are either undeserved special
privileges or are advantages that the Armed Forces do not deserve. When
something has to be sanctioned for the Armed Forces, the bureaucrats look for
“precedent” (which does not appear to them to indicate the “sheep” mentality,
though they take pride in being the best of the civil services). The finale is that,
if they cannot deny the Armed Forces, bureaucrats must gift themselves
something better – lack of precedent notwithstanding.
Today, we can look back to almost a
decade of benign neglect by A K Antony, one of Congress party’s revered and
respected leaders, and of bureaucratic shenanigans. One would be kind to Antony if one called his
tenures as Raksha Mantri as insipid or tame but then it would not be Satyam ev
Jayate.
Or one could, becoming less
charitable, credit him with the dubious distinction of slowing down, if not
stopping altogether, supply of critical equipment and modernization by
referring every, if not every alternate, requirement for investigation. The
list of firms black-listed is longer than the long arm of the investigating
agencies! It is reported that about Rs 22,000 crore of funds have been
surrendered by the MoD. Wonder why Chidambaram did not thank Antony for his contribution to lowering the
Current Account Deficit (CAD)!
Angst of the Armed Forces – serving
personnel and Veterans – over their pay, pensions, perquisites and allowances
is now something of a perennial condition because their sacrifices are never
matched by oft-repeated promises of dignity, benefits, improvement of the
quality of life, edge over, let alone parity with the Civil Services, justice
and a fitting memorial to those who sacrificed their lives for the greater
glory of the Nation.
Antony has stirred moral outrage by
promising much (made famous by late Kamaraj with his “parakalaam” (we’ll see)
but not fulfilling any of his promises. There has been no display of a sense of
decorum, let alone responsibility and accountability by his bureaucrats for
they have overtly defied him. Disclosures through RTI reveal his meek approval of,
or acquiescence to, notes placed before him without a single question, an
intelligent one at that, or even a demur.
Antony has outdone all his predecessors. Just
look at this small list of abject failures of leadership of a Ministry that
demands responsibility and accountability from the Sepoy (and equivalent) to
the Chief: -
Rank Pay,
Non-Functional Upgradation,
Implementation of
decisions/orders/judgments of the Armed Forces Tribunals, High Courts, even the
Supreme Court of India, and
One Rank One Pension announced with
such fanfare by the UPA-2 and reiterated by NDA Govt.
Interestingly, despite repeated
reiteration by NDA on implementing OROP, and even after a meeting taken by
Defence Minister on 12 Jun 2014, the CGDA, who is chairperson of the Working
Group is nowhere near furnishing an implementing order.
MoD’s bureaucrats do not inform the
Courts of decisions taken when matter is sub-judice, blithely stating that it was
not done. Bureaucrat/deponents solemnly swear that they have not concealed any
material facts when they are comprehensively aware that it is not the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Bureaucrats make statements on file
which are contrary to sworn affidavits and get away unscathed because Shri
Antony approves those notes without even a demur, let alone questioning the
bureaucrats on the contradictions.
Bureaucrats state, almost as
facilely, that the matter (NFU) has been “decided to wait,” perhaps used to
being placed on “compulsory wait.” By awarding themselves a considerable amount
by way of NFU, they have nullified the Military Service Pay given to Armed
Forces Personnel for risking, and quite often losing life and/or limb, to
protect the sovereignty of India.
Review Petition in the UoI Vs Capt
KJS Buttar case was dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 21 Jan 14 but the
decision of the Apex Court is yet to be implemented. Again, the Apex Court upheld
the Civil Appeal in the NANA (not attributable to, not aggravated by military
service) case but its implementation is still not evident. In fact,
MoD/Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) issued an ill-considered and
unilateral order to Armed Forces HQ to go ahead and contest any and every
decision not in its favour without approval of DESW, ostensibly because the
“Department is over-burdened” (source: disclosure to RTI application).
That it was ill-considered and
unilateral became apparent when the Ministry of Law declined to accept any
references direct from Armed Forces HQ. The only time Shri Antony took a
decision was when he had the order withdrawn because of the adverse publicity
it had drawn.
The strict rules and regulations of
the Armed Forces ensure quick disciplinary proceedings, exemplary and deterrent
punishment, no matter if it is a Sepoy or a Lt Gen (and equivalent). The latter,
though Additional Secretary level officers, did not have the benefit of the
Single Rule that Joint Secretaries and above enjoyed, which was recently struck
down, yet again, by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Single Rule ensured
indefinite postponement, if not permanent shelving of sanction for
investigations and, if necessary, prosecution of these high officers. And the
reason – allegations could be frivolous, vexatious and hamper decision-making!
So, the MoD’s bureaucrats, under the omnipresent
umbrella of “RM’s approval” have trampled over the genuine, even Court
approved, requirements of Armed Forces. And, not a single bureaucrat has been
proceeded against, let alone punished.
Access
to information through the media and disclosures to RTI applications has made it
easier for the cloak of secrecy that surrounded the working of MoD to be
removed (not without MoD fighting it, one might add). There is a growing
disenchantment, discernible to all but the politicians who make the promises at
Services functions and conferences and, at every ex-Servicemen rally. The
disenchantment is made worse by the bureaucrats using every stratagem to deny fulfilment
of those promises.
This
growing disenchantment is evident from the increasing number of fratricides and
disobedience of rules and regulations. Defence
Minister AK Antony told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to questions
from members that the army lost 1,082 personnel to suicides since 2001. The
suicide data from army for the year 2000 is not available. The navy has had no
case of fratricide during this period, while it had 27 suicide cases. The
Indian Navy is a force of about 60,000 personnel. The Indian Air Force, with
nearly two lakh personnel, has suffered three fratricides, while it has
recorded 253 cases of suicide (source: dna newspaper).
Do Armed Forces – serving and
Veterans- have some hope from the Government?
Just look at one item in the terms of
reference for the 7th CPC for Defence Forces: -
Item 8.2
In what manner should the concessions and facilities, both in cash and kind, be
taken into account for determining salary structure in case of Defence Forces
personnel.
What are these Concessions? Let me quote from a Government source: www.archive.india.gov.in:
-
o
75% on air travel to Chakra series holders or their
NoK
o
50% on air travel to NoK of those killed in anti-terrorist
or anti-extremist operations
(How many
times do they travel annually?)
o
Benefits of re-employment for 10% in Gp C and 20% in
Gp D (now extinct) in Central Government,
o
Reservations in PSUs’ for 14.5% in Gp C and 24% in Gp
D and 10% as Asst Commandant in para-military forces when even lateral
absorption has not been done because MHA objected (was Chidambaram Union
Minister for Home Affairs?);
o
8% quota for oil product agencies and 18% quota for
LPG agencies
What are the facilities? Let me quote
one - Rs 79.93 per day for entitled rations per head.
The scale of rations (with market
price in Bangalore
in brackets), amongst other things
Atta/rice 450 gms (Rs 45/kg), dal -
40 gms (Rs 120/kg), Oil – 80 gms (Rs 344/kg), sugar – 90 gms (Rs 35/kg); Milk
fresh – 260 gms (Rs 36/kg toned milk), Fresh veg – 170 gms, potatoes – 110 gms
(Rs/kg), Onions – 60 gms Rs /kg, eggs – 2 nos (Rs 4/per egg), LPG – 150 gms (Rs
450/15 kg cylinder) etc etc.
Armed Forces should thank them for it
is somewhat better than Rs 32 in rural and Rs 47 in urban areas, respectively,
per day that attracts the Below Poverty Line (BPL) tag defined by the Planning
Commission.
Every Armed Forces personnel –
serving and retired - will look and hope and pray that the NDA Government will
reverse the ‘Antony process’ whether in not providing critical equipment or in ill-treatment
of personnel, especially pensioners, as
is evident in the MoD’s and CGDA’s respective procrastination in implementing
payment of Rank Pay arrears, which impact the One Rank One Pension, either on
the basis of “large financial burden to the State” - notwithstanding the
opinion of the Ld Attorney General in the Rank Pay case and the order in PB CAT
OA No. 655 that once the Govt announces a scheme, it is not for functionaries
of a Ministry to decide on the financial impact or because “UPA Govt’s Interim
Budget states an amount of Rs 500 crore, so we will trim OROP to fit into that
figure.”
Armed Forces personnel (who have to
retire some day) and pensioners, who have retired already, hope and pray that
NDA’s Finance-cum-Defence Minister and its Prime Minister will be true to their
words of implementing OROP fully and also addressing the angst of the Armed
Forces personnel and the shortages in critical equipment to fight.
Will the NDA Government do it – bite
the bullet?
Jai Hind
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