Here is a real story of the Great Babu during the third pay commission,
who stabbed the soldiers in their back. Babu's venom is far more poisonous than
that of Cobra. The sad fete of Indian Armed Forces in a strong democracy like
India. Neither babus nor politicians wanted powerful India. By lowering national
military personnel morale, national security being compromised by the
politician and babu nexus.. Well written by veteran Lt Gen PG Kamath, PBSM,AVSM,YSM,SM
It was post 1971 and
the nation was euphoric. Our countrymen were lauding the Indian Armed Forces
for a spectacular victory that had changed the geography of the sub-continent.
The nation was savouring the victory and more than 97,368 prisoners were in our
Prisoners of War Camps. It was the second largest surrender in the Military
History; second only to the surrender of Gen Von Paulus, German, 6th Army at
Stalingrad in the Second World War. The Armed Forces were feted everywhere for
its courage and the people were convinced that it was one instrument that would
never let the country down.Amidst this euphoria there were 4000 families, who
had lost their fathers/sons/husbands in the war. Another 10,000 were wounded
and maimed for life. They were picking up the lost threads of life to continue
their journey in the forbidding world. However their sorrow was lost amidst the
mirth, laughter and jubilation of victory.
Unknown to the
services a band of bureaucrats were conspiring as to how to cut the Armed
Forces to size. Defence Secretary was Mr K B Lal, who was literally there for
the entire duration of the Third Pay Commission. He was the one, who provided
the inputs to the Third Pay Commission. The Commission was constituted a year
before the war and concluded two years after the war. It’s final recommendation
marginalising the Armed Forces was made public two months after Fd Marshal
Manekshaw relinquished the post of Chief. Indeed it was a clever move as the
most popular person in the country was not able to take cudgels against the
government. This Pay Commission cut the Armed Forces to size for winning the
war for the country. Even Fd Mshl Manekshaw was not spared; more of it later.
‘Ingratitude unkinder than the winters wind’ to adopt Shakespearean phrase to
an ungrateful government. How did the Government go about the act?
Firstly they
abolished a separate Pay Commission for the Armed Forces and formulated an
equivalence between the Armed Forces and Civilians. It was here that the Pay
Commission struck its vilest blow when they considered that ‘a trained infantry
soldier with three years of service is below a skilled labour. Little do they
know that it is the infantry soldier who does the actual fighting and charges
the enemy with naked bayonet literally on the very front edge of the battle and
makes eye and steel contact with the enemy. He is the one who bears the brunt
of more than 90% of casualty in all wars and yet he was considered the lowest
strata to base their comparison. It also means that the infantry soldier with
less than three years’ service was considered an semi-skilled/unskilled labour?
Just mark the irony of the sinister and ignorant move? Rest of the soldiers
were equated based on this preposterous formulae?
Next step was to
reduce the percentage of pension for the Armed Forces. The OROP that was
effective till 1972, was annulled after the third pay commission. A soldier
then served only for 15 years and went on pension at the ages ranging from 33
years to 36 years of age. In view of this, his pension was 70% of his basic pay
and an officers pension was 50% of his basic pay as the bulk of them retired at
50 years of age. The civilian counterparts were getting only 30% of their basic
pay as pension. Please note they served till they were 58 years of age (now 60
years) and the soldiers retired a quarter century earlier. The wretched Third
Pay Commission did not consider the additional 25 years of service his civilian
counterpart served and raised their pension to 50% and reduced a soldiers
pension from 70% to 50% in order to achieve the so-called parity. Further the
government put mandatory 33 years of service for full pension fully knowing
that the soldier then retired after 15 years of service. They further as a
largesse made a seemingly generous gesture to the Armed Forces by pegging the
mandatory service for full pension (50%) to 25 years. Just look at the clever
move; fully knowing that the soldier retired after 15 years of service. Thus
the soldier in effect got only 30% of pay after 15 years of service, as
extrapolated from full pension of 50% of pay with 25 years of service. Thus the
Government ingeniously cut a soldiers pension from 70% to 30% of pay at the
same time enhancing the civilian pension from 30% to 50%. Look at the perfidy;
how can possibly a Government run down her own Armed Forces? It is indeed a
remarkable feat from a nation that was a slave nation for over two centuries,
yet disregards her Armed Forces who ensure her hard earned freedom?
Our Defence Ministry
were hand in glove with the proposals. There was not a whimper of protest to
set right the injustice. The soldiers had to pay heavily for having won the war
for the country. Their travails were not over; more was yet to come!
One would wonder why
the soldiers did not protest against the brash injustice perpetrated on them?
It would be difficult to believe, as those were the times the officers in
particular were told that politics and pay were not to be discussed. They were
naïve and had full faith in the government that in the long run; no injustice
would be done to them? The disarming naivety of our officers appear
incomprehensible now; but it was true then. Hence the entire master stroke of
cutting the armed forces to size by impoverishing them was done with so much of
dexterity, it took us couple of decades to realise its negative impact.
Mrs Gandhi was feted
and was called ‘Durga’ and she basked in the limelight of victory and
self-adulation. However, she proved to be the daughter of her illustrious
father by sharing the same antipathy and disdain towards the Armed Forces. She
was a smart women hence concealed it to a great extent with outer façade of
support and derived maximum political mileage of the victory. The running down
of the Armed Forces in the Third Pay Commission could not have been done
without her active and positive consent?
Their next target was
the most popular figure in the country Fd Marshal Manekshaw. He was made a
Field Marshall and the appointment is active for life, though ceremonial in
nature. A Field Marshall does not retire and continues to wear his five star
rank for life. He was entitled to Pay and Allowances for life. The bureaucrats
who were literally jealous of his popularity ensured that he did not get his pay
and allowances; low and behold! for the next 36 years, and finally a lump sum
of ₹ 1.60 crore of arrears was released to
him on intervention by then President Abdul Kalam. A non-descript bureaucrat
gave him his pension dues on his deathbed in Jun 2007 a few days before he
breathed his last. Isn’t it a national tragedy? Don’t you sometimes feel
whether the country deserves selfless service from its soldiers? Can any
country on this earth be more ungrateful towards her soldiers than ‘Mother
India? What a great victory for the MOD for destroying the soldiers pride?
Let us now analyse as
to why a soldier fights? Why does he give his life for a cause? What makes him
charge through a fusillade of bullets and splinters against sure death and
injury overcoming the instinct of self-preservation? Why is he prepared to make
his ultimate sacrifice and bid goodbye to the world? Why does he not think of
his loving wife, his innocent children, his aged parents and the living world
of mirth and bliss; knowing he has not even spent a quarter of his life? Why
all his near and dear ones pale in to insignificance and he sees only his
mission like Arjuna only seeing the eye of the bird? All these questions can be
answered in two words; His Pride.
It is his
professional pride that make him a hero. He wants to be a hero before his
comrades; before his superiors, in his unit and in his country. He is a hero of
his village and hero in front of his parents. He is a hero to his wife and a
super hero to his children. He also knows he is the last bastion of the nation
and he is the last trump card in the hands of his nation. He knows that if he
fails the nation fails. It is this emotion that drives him towards mission
accomplishment. It is all the way Pride! Pride! And Pride. It is nothing else
but ‘Pride’.Sad to say; it is exactly that the Governments of his own country
wants to deprive him of? He has been badgered, humiliated, impoverished and
made a laughing stock in all the successive pay commissions. His status has
been lowered time and again by an insensitive government. How can noble
thoughts like sacrifice, mission, cause, patriotism and pride be ever
understood by self-serving, sly and scheming bureaucracy? A soldiers pride has
taken a beating and believe me sir! It would be a long and painful time to
build it again?
Mr Prime Minister!
Before you forget history; In Jun 1932 President Herbert Hoover, the 31st
President of US ordered firing on the veterans of First World War for demanding
the promised bonus. Two veterans were killed and several injured. Herbart
Hoover lost the election with a devastating defeat and has gone down in history
as a lack lustre President. The Great Depression may have contributed to his
rout but the firing on veterans brought him great disrepute. Mr Prime Minister!
You are certainly made of a better stuff than Herbert Hoover?
Enough has been said
of ‘OROP’ and nothing more needs to be said about it. Supreme court has granted
it and parliamentary committee has approved it. Not a single political party
has opposed it but it is still undone? For the past 70 days agitation is on and
brute force of police has been unleashed on them. Dear Prime Minister! I hope
you have seen the sad picture of a proud veteran trying to fight his tears and
another veteran whose shirt with medals torn asunder withstands the criminal
use of force against him with quiet dignity and equanimity. It is still not too
late to make amends.
