CIVIL - MILITARY RELATIONS ;- FIFTY YEARS AFTER 1965

SOURCE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSIUf2hD6Io




                             
                                       1965

                             BIG PICTURE
                                    THEN




© Provided by Indian Express Then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri with officers of 1 Strike Corps (Photo courtesy: Photo Division)

                   WAR DIARY IN 1965



War diary: Start to finish

May 1964: Trouble in Kanjarkot, Rann of Kutch, as Pakistani trespassing increases. More incidents by Jan-Feb 1965

February-April 1965: India’s 31 Infantry Brigade instructed to capture Kanjarkot in Operation Kabaddi. Pakistan retaliates, launches Desert Hawk II. Raiding party of 6 Punjab (Pakistan) kills eight Indians.

April-June: Ceasefire negotiations begin. Both sides agree to restore status quo as of January 1, 1965. Ceasefire signed. Is to take effect from July 1.

June: Indian military authorities, prompted by ceasefire violations in J&K, decide not to remain passive any longer. Launch offensive.

August 5: Pakistan’s 12 Infantry Division, led by Maj Gen Akhtar Hussain Malik, launches extensive infiltration. Under Operation Gibraltar, 30,000 men are pushed across the ceasefire line (now called LoC) into J&K.

August: Indian leadership decides Pakistan needs to be dealt with strongly. India’s 68 Infantry Brigade is tasked to capture Haji Pir Pass in operation codenamed “Bakshi”. Haji Pir sector is secured. India’s XI Corps and I Corps plan offensive in Lahore and Sialkot. Offensive called off due to ceasefire on the night of September 23.

September 1: Pakistan makes a three-pronged attack. At 3 pm, Brigadier Manmohan Singh, commander of 191 Brigade Group, calls for IAF support when Pakistani tanks have reached 450 metres from Brigade HQ. IAF support arrives at 5 pm and bombs Pakistan army’s gun posts causing damage to all artillery ammunition lorries, tank ammunition. Brigade HQ is moved to Jaurian and given responsibility of defence of Akhnoor.

September 2: Pakistan Sabre jets bomb Jaurian in Jammu but despite initial success and closing in on Akhnoor, Pakistan’s Grand Slam loses momentum. Then, Pakistan carries out air raid on Amritsar.

September 4: UN Security Council adopts a resolution jointly sponsored by six non permanent members for immediate ceasefire in Kashmir. Indian PM Lal Bahadur Shastri blames Pakistan for situation in J&K.

September 10: Pakistan’s famed Patton tanks launch a tank offensive on Manawan in Khemkaran sector. A recoilless gun mounted by Havaldar Abdul Hamid knocks out three Patton tanks. Hamid is posthumously awarded Param Vir Chakra.

September 16: Shastri makes a statement in Parliament, puts blame on Pakistan.

September 22: Bhutto makes an impassioned statement on Kashmir at UNSC emergency session. Reads out Ayub Khan’s statement that Pakistan is unsatisfied with ceasefire... India’s permanent representative to UN, G Parthasarathi, conveys that India has accepted ceasefire and asks for a new date to implement it. UNSC fixes it at 3.30 pm on September 23

September 23: Guns go silent.
January 4, 1966: Indian and Pakistani leaders meet in Tashkent, Soviet Union, for talks

January 10: Shastri and Ayub Khan reach a final agreement.

Joint declaration is signed by 4.30 pm.

January 11: Shastri dies of heart attack at 1.30 am.
(Compiled by Pranav Kulkarni)

They were at the forefront
Capt Amarinder Singh, Sikh Regiment, former ADC to GOC-in-C Western Command Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh in 1965


“For me, it was a great opportunity as a youngster to be with Army Commander, Lt Gen Harbaksh Singh, who was commanding the entire Western Army which was at war. I saw the Commander at work and not once did I see him stressed. He didn’t show any signs of panic in the worst of conditions, and this (confidence) spread (across the regiment) and that is why the Army did so well.”
***
K S Bajpai, former ambassador to Pakistan (1976-80), who was posted in Karachi during the 1965 war
             
It is definitely a time to introspect. We may have been successful in stopping Pakistan’s misadventure for the time being in 1965, but we have not managed to leave a lasting impact on them. Pakistan’s determination to wrest Kashmir from us, by any means, fair or foul, still exists. So, measures to tackle such stance must be a part of our policy.
***

Kuldeep Nayar, veteran journalist who, in his book Beyond The Lines - An Autobiography, has chronicled the 1965 conflict

“The 1965 war at best was a draw or just a small edge over Pakistan. Lahore was important but we did have to bypass it. We are boasting too much. We could not avoid it...(Many years ago) I wanted to talk to Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s president then. He said I should talk to (Zulfikar Ali) Bhutto as it was his war. When I met Bhutto, he said, ‘I had really thought that if Pakistan could beat India, this is the time. I was wrong....’”

***
Capt Reet MP Singh (Retd), 8 Cavalry, awarded Vir Chakra for the 1965 war

“I consider myself lucky that I participated in the entire war. It was providence that I was not injured in the beginning of the war and suffered injuries only at the fag end when my regiment was trying to re-capture the village of Mchhike in Khemkaran sector from the Pakistani Army.”

***
Lt Col Nagindar Singh (Retd), 3 Cavalry, fought the 1965 battle

“The bulk of my regiment was deployed in Khemkaran sector in the Battle of Asal Utar while one squadron was near Attari to prevent a flanking Pakistani attack. The morale was high. Troops under my command shot down a Patton tank as it came down the Lahore-Amritsar road and we never saw any Pattons again in that area”.

(Compiled by Pranav Kulkarni)

                                   NOW  

               2015, FIFTY YEARS LATTER








                                    FIFTY YEARS  AFTER  1965
                        CIVIL - MILITARY  
                   RELATIONS TODAY 2015 :

 

 

                                          Bugger The Bankers
                  THE OFFICIAL VIDEO

                          MODIFY IT TO

                               BUGGER 
        THE BABUs AND THE POLITICIANS





















 

OROP : One Rank One Pay – #OROP Perspective from our Veterans

SOURCE:
http://www.niticentral.com/2015/06/14/one-rank-one-pay-orop-perspective-from-our-veterans-317866.html




One Rank One Pay – #OROP Perspective
                              from
                          Veterans  
                Author: Niti Guest

June 14, 2015

Editor’s Note: An emotional issue like OROP tests the Niti Editorial Policy like none else for how does one reconcile National Interest with the Principles of Economic Freedom and Limited Government. In the interest of open debate also read this critique of OROP by Ajay Shah while reading this emotional defence of OROP by Brigadier VRP Sarathy, VSM.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 AJAY SHAH HAS NOT TAKEN THE FOLLWING INTO CONSIDERATION

(a) Ajay Shah    Should read Samuel Huntingdon's Soldier and the State http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/782/1/__lse.ac.uk_storage_LIBRARY_Secondary_libfile_shared_repository_Etheses_Content_Theses%20submitted%20by%20students%20%26%20alumni_Live%20theses_Rahbek-Clemmensen_Beyond%20soldier%20and%20state.pdf


THOSE WHO ARE SHORT OF TIME CAN READ THIS:The Soldier and the State AT

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soldier_and_the_State





(b)  Corpus of  Rs 1,37,000/-  LAKH CRORE  Defence Pension Funds were amalgamated with CIVILIAN PENSION FUND OF merely  Rs 25000/-  thousand  crore to the utter advantage of BABUs at the cost a poor JAWAN

 AGAIN DISINFORMATION WHY HE IS AVOIDING THE THEFT OF DEFENCE PENSION FUNDS IN 3 CPC

 http://bcvasundhra.blogspot.in/2015/08/orop-reference-to-httpwwwindianmilitary.html  

 

 

 

 

 

THIS WAS THE BEGINING OF ARMED FORCES WATERLOO )      VASUNDHRA

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------



In a democracy can governments get away easily by actually reducing pay and pension of its employees?

They can and have done this with the Armed forces- who cannot protest, form associations and blackmail the Government- like all others!

Before we discuss the ongoing struggle for ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) its merits and implications, let us get a historical perspective of past denials- indeed betrayal- of Armed forces by successive Governments and bureaucracy in Independent India!


Denial-1

 Lt Gen Sinha mentions how after independence new pay scales were introduced for both civil and military officers. Pre-Independence civilian officers were allowed to retain their old, higher scales and the new scales applied to their post-Independence colleagues.

In case of Army officers, those serving from before Independence were also brought on the new (reduced) scales! Lt Gen Sinha’s own salary, Rs 1065 per month as major, was reduced overnight to 700 per month, loss of about 30% salary; while his pre-independent bureaucrats continued to draw their old higher salary! Sardar Patel wrote on 22 March 1947 that this was very unfair to Army officers. Finance maintained that whereas in the case of civilian officers, the numbers involved were very small, they were very large in the Army and the Government could not bear the heavy financial burden! Today Armed forces officers being lesser than civil bureaucracy, should the same logic not hold good, if funds are a problem for OROP?

                   [ I Speak with  FULL ACCURACY : Senior Officers of Armed Forces were also culprits. Those OFFICERS who had passed out from Sandhurst  UK were allowed to retain the BRITISH SCALES & were to be paid for life time in POUND STERLING even pensions till death. SO WAS THE CASE FOR ICS BABUs.  THIS WAS THE BEGINING OF BRIBERY BAIT by BABUs, hook a few who mattered & roger the others. OROP for few APPEX RANK, NFFU to some more in the form of AVS REPORT &  UPGRADATION OF RANK in PHASES to keep the carrot dangling .  Simultaneously hitting hard the MIDDLE RANK OFFICERS in particular "LT COLs & MAJORS who even after   their retirement have been reduced to levels of  "COMPANY COMMANDERS &  COMPANY OFFICERS & GETTING PENSIONS OF 13 Yrs  & 6 yrs respectively against thirt years or so. They were Batallion  Commanders & Company Commanders.Armed Forces hierarchy has maintained   silent till date because crunches of promotion were thrown at them as crunches are thrown at DOGs. I speak thus because   SELF IS ONE OF THE VICTIM of aftermath of AVS REPORT. This report simply ignored the " RETROSPECT IMPACT " IMPACT OF FINANCES ON PREVIOUS PREVIOUS retirees. MONEY THUS  SNATCHED FROM THESE VICTIMS WAS UTILISED TO MAKE UP THE COST OF UPGRADATION .Solution was simple "ONE TIME PROMOTION ON PAPER TO FULL COLONEL & To Lt Col.  YET IN THE LONG TERM AVS HAS FAILED IN ITS AIM TO HASTEN UP THE PROMOTIONS] -VASUNDHRA



Denial-2

Till the Third Central Pay Commission (CPC) in 1973, the pension for Armed forces was 70%, and civil Government employees 30 % of last pay drawn! This was to compensate for the compulsory early Retirement of Armed Forces as compared to the Civilians, explained subsequently. However in the 3rd Pay commission (CPCs are formed mainly by bureaucrats till date) the pension percentage was made equal to both! It actually reduced Armed forces pension from 75% to 50 %, and increased civil pension from 33 % to 50%, on the logic that the Armed forces were soon TO GET  OROP, yet to see the light of the day even after 42 years!

The implications of this were cruel to armed force veterans! Pre-independent veterans, many of them having fought, wounded disabled and survived in second world war, 1962 China war, Indo-Pak wars of 47, 65 and 1971- fighting five major wars and saved Kashmir and Srinagar for India from Pakistan – lost about 30% salary while in service and 20% loss in pension! Post- independence veterans lost 20% on their meagre pension and financially too lost out on full pay due to early retirement! Contrast this with their civilian counterparts who enjoyed 20% enhanced pension, and serving full tenure till 58 years (later 60)!

  [ EFFECTIVE PENSION OF JCOs & JAWAN BECAME 37 PERCENT BECAUSE OF 33YEARS OF FULL SERVICE condition TO EARN FULL PENSION KNOWING FULLY WELL THAT NONE IN THE ARMED FORCES CAN SERVE FOR THAT LONG PERIOD DUE TO TERMS & CONDITION OF SERVICE  including the weightage- Vasundhra ]




Denial-3

4th CPC sanctioned ‘Rank pay’ in addition to Basic pay but due to ‘faux paus’ by the controller of defence accounts(bureaucrats)- deducting ‘rank pay’ from total emoluments and then doing pay fixation-resulted in financial loss to the Armed forces with negative cumulative effect on pay, DA, Pension, gratuity and commutation! After years of litigation, the matter was decided in favour of Armed forces by the Supreme Court in September 2012, yet to be implemented by bureaucracy!



Denial-4


6th CPC ruled that pensions should be fixed at 50 % of the ” MINIMUM OF THE RANK IN THE PAY BAND, CORRESPONDING “. The bureaucracy erroneously placed the pensions of (only) Armed forces at 50 % of the ” MINIMUM OF THE PAY BAND, CORRESPONDING”! 4 different ranks Lt Col, Colonel, Brigadier and Maj Generals were in the same Pay Band-4, and MOD placed all of them at the bottom of this pay band for pension fixation ignoring their ranks! The resultant utter chaos- officers of 4 different ranks and grades; drawing the same pension, irrespective of their Ranks and differences in length of service- yet to be remedied till today! Denial of even a few hundred rupees in the eighties while one was in service with family commitments to cope up, was indeed harsh!

  [ WILL BABUs WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME  IF THEY WERE THE AFFECTED LOT??!!  BABUs HAVE INBORN HATERED TOWARDS THE ARMED FORCES , THUS BY ABETMENT BABUs  ARE FACILITATING THE  DESIGNS OF THE ENEMIES OF THE NATION - Vasundhra ]




Denial-5

Imagine thousands of veterans who died and are dying every day and have all lost out on their full rightful pensions for ever! To those living since 1973, three-fold loss – being deprived of 20 % of their earlier pension(3rd CPC) plus loss of their genuine entitlements due to rank-pay calculation error(4th CPC) and Band pay(6thCPC)by bureaucracy! No errors were ever made while calculating the emoluments of civil bureaucrats- by themselves in all CPCs-getting their dues in time, unlike the Armed forces!



Denial -6  

  न फ फ उ (NFFU ) -हराम का  कमाई 


Now contrast this with how the bureaucracy had gifted to themselves “non-functional upgrade“ (NFFU) in the same sixth CPC to officers in all India Group A services(IAS, IPS, IFS)- from which the Armed forces were inexplicably excluded- wherein subject to certain conditions, even without being promoted a civilian could draw higher pay than their rank and grade- a sort of `pay-promotion/ compensation, reward for non-performance/ promotion, despite supersession- with the higher pay automatically resulting in higher pension on retirement, a modified OROP for themselves!


Denial-7

Disabled civil employees are retained in service till 60 years with normal pension! Military personnel, where chances of disability are much more due to professional hazards, wars and risks are thrown out of service, often with these personnel denied even their disability pension!


Capt Siddu’s right arm was amputated while on duty at high altitude in November 1970. After fighting legal battle in various courts for 40 years, and even burning his artificial limb at India Gate, he did not got justice!

 0n 1 Apr 2010, the Supreme Court slammed the union government for treating army personnel like “beggars” in respect of emoluments and pension and asked the authorities to adopt a more “humane approach” towards those bravely defending the country’s borders.
 They went to the extent of saying that
 “If a person goes to any part of Delhi and sits for begging, he will earn Rs1000 every day and you are offering a pittance of Rs 1000 per month for a man who fought for the country in the high altitudes and whose arm was amputated? It is unfortunate that you are treating them like beggars”.



OROP for Armed force personnel should be examined in this background!


Definition

One Rank One Pension (OROP) implies uniform pension for Armed Forces Personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement, with future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.

            [ Pay in Armed Forces is directly connected with the RANK & for command &  control forces strictly follow the pyramid structure . Tampering with the PYRAMID STRUCTURE has a direct   retroactive  impact on the organizational efficacy at the peril of the NATION. Babus have used the rank structure of the Armed Forces as a LADDER for selfish financial & order of precedence enhancement by MONKEYING WITH THE MILITARY ORGANIZATION thus jeopardizing the NATIONAL SECURITY   - Vasundhra ]
 


Justified

OROP, despite acceptance and firm commitment by all political parties of all hues; the Parliament; the public; and by all pay commissions since 1973, and by Supreme Court ruling on 16 Feb 2015 for its implementation within three months(15 May) is not complied with! The Parliamentary (Koshiyari) Committee said

“There is merit in the demand for One Rank One Pension by Armed Forces Personnel, otherwise the matter would not have been considered time and again by various committees of the Government and Central Pay Commissions. It could have been rejected once and for all and principle of res judicata would have been applied to this demand”.

Despite this the bogey of huge unrealistic financial outlay, similar demand by other central police forces and bureaucracy were spread to frighten the governments!


Why OROP only for Armed forces?

1. About 88% Military Personnel retire between 35-37 years of age, and 90% out of the remaining retire 54-56 years, whereas ALL CIVILIANs retired earlier at 58 (now at 60 ) years. Thus the Armed force personnel miss pay increments due to successive pay commissions till 60 years of age due to compulsory early retirement which is the necessity of the nation to keep a young age profile in the Army/ Def. forces

 

2. Restrictions on fundamental rights granted to a citizen are denied to the Soldier. They have no right to protest, form associations, agitate or complain about nature of duties, working hours, conditions and hazards!

 

3. While civil employees are only subjected to Indian Penal Code, Armed forces personnel, besides IPC, are also subjected to Military law and court-martial, swifter and harsher in nature!

 

4. Tough postings in Hilly, High-altitude, jungles, deserts, insurgency prone areas, more often separated from families

 

5. War risks, loss of limbs or life and poor compensation!

Existing Sad Reality

Political parties In last 4 decades- because of party politics, coalition politics and struggle for its own very political survival- had neither the time, nor interest to get into the nuances of this complex problem! This resulted in heavy dependence on bureaucracy- well informed and well entrenched with its views- and the results are there for all to see!


Conclusion

The Armed forces function under adverse conditions, in a strictly regimented, mostly in hazardous, stressful conditions, often compelled to maintain two establishments on being posted away from family!

They work 24X7, under a strict disciplinary code throughout their service!

OROP is more than justified not only for a dignified living as a veteran soldier but also for the past denials of their genuine dues!

A word of caution to my friends in bureaucracy-

“Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it doth singe yourself”- William Shakespeare

About the Author – Brig VRP SARATHY, VSM (Retd)

Brig VRP SARATHY, VSM, after his graduation from Madras, joined the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Jul 1962, just before the Indo–China war. Posted in J&K, he took active part in the 1965, and later in 1971 Indo-Pak wars, and was decorated twice during his service. During his service he had tenures in Kargil and Ladhak, and has dealt extensively, on the subject of Pakistan, during his long tenure in Army HQs. He was selected as an instructor in the prestigious “Military College of Telecommunication Engineering”, (MCTE) in Mhow near Indore in MP. A specialist in “Electronic Warfare”, he taught the subject, besides other subjects like Administration, Man management, Morale and so on.

 

He commanded an Army unit in Ferozpur, (about 7 KMs from Pak border) in Punjab, at the height of Punjab insurgency, in highly terrorist prone area from 1987 to 1990, and is well versed with Counter Insurgency Operations. Prior to retirement he commanded the Signal Training Center, in Jabalpur

 

He was awarded “The Chief Of Army Staff’s Commendation”, in 1971 War. He has also been decorated with the coveted award of “Visisht Seva Medal” (VSM) by the President Of India, for exemplary and meritorious service.

 

Since retirement, he has been writing on Indo–Pak relations, and other subjects. Study of religious scriptures has been a hobby of his since long!

 

OROP: OROP PROTEST ON. EX ARMY CHIEF URGES PRIME MINISTER TO TALK DIRECTLY

SOURCEhttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/OROP-protest-on-ex-army-chief-urges-PM-to-talk-directly/articleshow/48591654.cms

OROP PROTEST ON. EX ARMY CHIEF 

                              URGES

                PRIME MINISTER

                                   TO

                     TALK DIRECTLY 

   Aug 21, 2015,

The agitation demanding implementation of one-rank, one-pension' scheme for ex-servicemen continued for the 68th day on Friday, which also marked the fifth day of indefinite fast unto death at Jantar Mantar.

Friday was the fifth day of the indefinite hunger strike by Colonel Pushpender Singh (retd) and Major Singh, a retired Havaldar and the fourth day for Havaldar Ashok Chauhan (retd).

All three veterans are medically fit, spokesperson of United Ex-servicemen Front Col Anil Kaul (retd) told IANS.

Former Army chief Gen. V.P. Malik (retd), meanwhile, stressed that it was high time the political leadership talked directly to the agitating soldiers.

Gen Malik, who has been actively involved in the talks between the government and the veterans, and acted as intermediary a lot of times, said it was unfair that the bureaucrats were talking to veterans on behalf of the government.

"I do feel that the Prime Minister should talk to the veterans directly now," Malik told IANS. "I don't think it is fair that bureaucracy talks to the veterans. The leaders should talk directly."

The veterans were trying to meet the Prime Minister and have sought help from Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for this.

READ ALSO:
 Veterans to meet Modi next week over OROP demand


 Asked if the veterans got any confirmation for a meeting with the prime minister, Col. Kaul said: "We are hoping that the Prime Minister will meet us by August 25 or 26."
"The principal secretary (in PMO Nripendra Misra), when he met us, had asked for around 10 days... The ball is in their court now, we can only wait and watch," he told IANS.

"We are firm that we will not agree if there is any dilution in the definition of OROP," he added.

The Prime Minister's Office held talks with the veterans at least thrice in the last fortnight.

The first two meetings were before Independence Day, when Gen Malik met PMO representatives on August 11 and again on August 13.

According to sources, Modi was ready to announce OROP in his I-Day speech, however, the talks between PMO representatives and the veterans failed as the government wanted to make certain changes in the scheme, which the veterans felt was equal to back tracking from what was promised.


READ ALSO:

PMO urges ex-servicemen to call off OROP agitation


 The situation worsened when police used force against the veterans on August 14. The next meeting with Principal Secretary Misra came on Tuesday.

The meeting, however, remained inconclusive.

While the secretary urged the veterans to end the agitation, the ex-servicemen stayed firm on their demands.

The ex-servicemen are demanding that there should be no change in the definition of OROP, the date of implementation should remain as April 1, 2014, and the base year must remain 2013-14.

That means all past pensioners would be brought at par with pension as existing on March 31, 2014. 
















 

OROP: MODI TO WALK "OROP" TALK

SOURCE:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pm-modi-one-rank-one-pension-ex-servicemen-government/1/459972.html






       MODI TO WALK "OROP" TALK
                                   By 
                     Sandeep Unnithan

After a nasty impasse between the defence and finance ministry and the ugly spectacle of veterans on hunger strike, the One Rank, One Pension issue is now back in the PM's court

AUGUST,20, 2015

General Dalbir Singh is to embark on his toughest challenge since taking over as army chief last July. Beginning August 25, sources say, the Army chief will mediate in a contentious battle between the government and ex-servicemen on the implementation of One Rank, One Pension (OROP).


The unprecedented step of involving the army chief was precipitated by a series of events over the past few months: an unresolved deadlock between the defence and finance ministries, the impact of simmering street protests on serving armed forces personnel and the failure of talks between the government and ex-servicemen. The OROP issue is now being handled directly by the PMO which will attempt to resolve the issue. On August 18, General Dalbir Singh first intervened to facilitate a meeting between the PM's Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra and ex-servicemen.

The hour-long meeting, the veterans' first interaction with the government since the start of their June 15 relay hunger strike, ended inconclusively. Misra wanted the protesting military veterans to "restore normalcy", wind down their nationwide campaign-particularly a fast-unto-death begun by three ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar on August 17. The veterans wanted a deadline for implementation.

 

 Misra could give them none.

Prime Minister Modi, sources told India Today, was keen to firewall the service chiefs from the two-month-long protest by the veterans at Jantar Mantar. Now, he had little option but to recognise the umbilical ties between serving and retired soldiers. General Dalbir Singh will be represented by senior serving army officers in the talks with the veterans. "Only a serving army chief can command the respect of the ex-servicemen," a veteran says. The build-up had been gradual. On August 13, four former armed forces chiefs wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee warning him that the stand-off had the potential to inflict long-term damage on India's apolitical military ethos and the self-esteem of its serving soldiers.

The Delhi Police's inept attempt to evict the protesting veterans from Jantar Mantar on August 14 pumped fresh oxygen into the struggle. Visuals of veterans being roughed up by police triggered outrage across the country and prompted an angst-ridden open letter signed by seven former army chiefs, two former air force chiefs and a navy chief to the PM. The August 17 letter condemned the police action and warned of serious blowback from the OROP imbroglio to the services.


It was the worst indictment of the government by former chiefs. No issue has in recent years prompted 14 former service chiefs to write to the government, another sign of how the NDA completely misread the campaign. Worse, by repeatedly promising to deliver on an issue deflected by earlier governments and then seeming to backtrack on his commitment, Prime Minister Modi exposed himself to ridicule. "He promised a Rs 1.25-lakh crore package for Bihar but he does not have Rs 8,000 crore for OROP for ex-servicemen, who for the first time are sitting on protest," Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said in Amethi on August 18.


The PMO was already in firefighting mode three days before the PM's Independence Day speech, where he once again reiterated his government's commitment to OROP as "a long-pending issue, whose discussions were underway and in the last stages". On August 12, PMO officials contacted former army chief General Ved Prakash Malik to mediate with the ex-servicemen. General Malik then roped in a passionate OROP votary, Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The negotiations which took place in Chandrasekhar's North Avenue office involved General Malik, a joint secretary from the PMO and veterans' groups. But just two days later, by August 14, the former chief realised that both sides were unwilling to compromise. Talks broke down completely.


With the PMO now once again set to resume talks with the veterans beginning August 25, it will have to negotiate the same minefield which the parleys with General Malik and Misra walked over-to get ex-servicemen to agree to reduce their demands.


If the government agrees to OROP from 2015 onwards, it will need to pay Rs 8,293 crore per year plus an equal sum in arrears for 2014. In negotiations with the veterans it revealed a willingness to pay Rs 4,000 crore and hike existing pensions by 50 per cent. The government wants to make 2011, not 2014, as the year for a cut-off date for revised pensions, far short of the OROP that the veterans want.


"Anything less than One Rank, One Pension will only mean enhancing the existing pensions," says Major General Satbir Singh, chairman of the Indian Ex Servicemen Movement (IESM), who lists three key demands:

(a) The definition of OROP is sacrosanct and will not be tampered with-equal pensions for similar ranks and same length of service, regardless of the last drawn pay;

(b) OROP will be effective from April 1, 2014, as per the UPA's February 2014 decision;

(c) and that the NDA should announce a date of implementation.


These will prove to be hard decisions for the government to take especially on an issue that seemed a done deal when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar calculated last December that the government's Rs 1.25 lakh crore annual pension bill would marginally increase when it paid Rs 8,293 crore to the ex-servicemen.


 The Arun Jaitley-led finance ministry stubbornly opposed this. "It (OROP) will impose a huge financial burden on us and open the floodgates for similar such claims from the paramilitary forces," a senior finance ministry official told india today.


Irrespective of its outcome, the acrimony over OROP has upset the delicate civil-military balance.
"There are some people who feel that the neglect of the military has tended to become contempt for the military," says General Malik.

Clearly the hidden costs of this imbroglio will be more than just financial.

 

























 

OROP : Are the armed forces being punished for bringing glory to the Nation?

Are the armed forces being punished for                  bringing glory to the Nation?  

Aug 13, 2015

 

 

 

Since March this year, a government that wears it's patriotism on it's sleeve has been promising that OROP was coming any day now. A 150 days later, the armed forces patience is running thin as the battle for their rights & dignity has been reduced to a spectacle. Today not one but 4 former service chiefs wrote to the president of India pleading that his office was the last recourse left to them after they'd be let down by their government.






 

 

YES  THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES ARE BEING PUNISHED FOR BRINGING THE GLORY TO THE NATION  


                    READ ONE EXAMPLE
                                     OF
                VALOUR , THERE ARE
               MANY SUCH EXAMPLES

Growing INDIA, Growing Ourselves & Making INDIA a Better Place to Live In

Major General Ian Cardozo was a young major in the 5 Gorkha Rifles in the 1971 war with Pakistan. In a swift military offensive, India defeated Pakistan within ...13 days, liberated a region and led to the creation of Bangladesh.

In the war, the then Major Cardozo stepped on a landmine and had to cut off his badly wounded leg with his own khukri.


Yet, through sheer will power and determination, he did not let his disability come in the way of his duty as a soldier and went on to become the first disabled officer in the Indian Army to command an infantry battalion and a brigade.

A brief interview with him..

Tell us about your wound.

At that time, I was still not wounded.

There was a BSF commander who got panicky when he saw all these fellows (prisoners) and asked: “Please send someone here.’ I told the CO that I would go. I did not know that I was walking on a minefield. I stepped on a mine and my leg blew off.

A Bangladeshi saw this happening, he picked me up and took me to the battalion headquarters. They were feeling bad. I told the doctor, ‘Give me some morphine.’ They had no#8800 it had been destroyed during the operations. ‘Do you have any Pethidine?’ ‘No’

I told him: ‘Could you cut this off?’

He said: ‘I don’t have any instrument.’

I asked my batman: ‘Where is my khukri?’

He said: ‘Here it is, Sir.’

I told him: ‘Cut it off.’

He answered in Gorkhali: ‘Sir, I can’t do it.’

I told him: ‘Give it to me.’ I cut my leg off and ordered: ‘Now go and bury it.’

You tell people that you are embarrassed to tell the story because it was nothing at all. What was your first thought?

My first thought was for her (pointing to his wife, Priscilla). I thought, ‘What a stupid thing happened to me. It was beyond my control, it just happened.’

Then the doctor came and tied it up. My CO also came: ‘Ian, you are very lucky, we have captured a Pakistani surgeon. He will operate on you.’

‘Nothing doing, Sir, I don’t want to be operated by a Pakistani doctor. Just get me back to India,’ I answered.

By that time Dhaka had fallen and there was no chopper available.

I then told the CO: ‘Two conditions.’ He immediately said: ‘You are not in position to put conditions.’

I told him: ‘OK, two requests. One, I don’t want Pakistani blood.’

He retorted: ‘You are a fool.’ I said: ‘I am prepared to die a fool. My second request, Sir, I want you to be present when they operate on me.’ The CO asked: ‘Why?’ I answered: ‘You know why.’ (There had been cases of torture). So, he agreed.

Anyway, the Pakistani surgeon did a good job. His name was Major Mohamed Basheer. I have never been able to say, ‘Thank you.’ I owe him a thank you, but it is not easy (to find someone in Pakistan].

What did you feel when you cut your own leg?

People are giving more credit than I do. Actually I just felt deeply embarrassed because my leg was in a terrible state. I did not want to look at it and others to look at it. I wanted to get rid of it. Nobody wanted to do it, so I did it.

You have said that you always dream that you have two legs.

Yes, in my dreams, I have two legs, no artificial leg.

How did you manage to get a promotion after being disabled?

One has to accept that the army puts a great amount of emphasis on physical fitness. One has to be fit to be a commander at any level.

From my side, I felt that the doctors were unfair to me to say that I could not perform as well as anybody else.

With my wooden leg, I was determined to prove to the army as well as to the world in general, that a person with a wooden leg could do as well, if not better, than a two-legged person. I resolved to keep myself physically fit.

I woke early morning, did some exercises and went for a run. I did the battle physical test. I had a problem with the officer in charge of the test who refused to allow me to pass the test. He said he would not let me go through that test because a year earlier someone physically unfit had gone through the test and died.

I told him I was fit, but he answered that he would arrest me if I do the test. I told him: ‘You can put me under arrest only after I commit the offense. So let me do the test and you can arrest me after.’

So I did the test and left seven officers with two legs behind me. The officer was a good man, he said, putting his arm around my shoulder: ‘Well done, Sir, good job.’

I later went to the vice-chief and asked him, what else should I do? He said: ‘Come with me to J&K.’
He came by helicopter to a place at 6,000 feet. I climbed from the road to the helipad. When he arrived, he asked me: ‘How did you come here?’ thinking I had used my contacts to fly with a chopper. I told him: ‘Sir, I climbed from the road.’

He was surprised: ‘You can climb!’ I told him: ‘What I can or can’t do is the minds of my senior officers.’

He said ‘Alright’ and put up my case to the army chief (General T N Raina) who asked me to accompany him to Ladakh. I walked in mountains in snow and ice. General Raina saw this and when he returned to Delhi, he asked for my file and wrote: ‘Yes, give him a battalion and to all other officers who are not taking shelter behind their wounds.’

For me, it only meant that one has to do what is required by one’s job. I was the first disabled officer to be approved to command a battalion.

The same thing happened when I was to take command of a brigade. The bureaucracy said: ‘No, you can’t command a brigade.’ [ BA*****s babus DECIDE WHO WILL COMMAND ] I wrote to the army chief that I had proven that I could command a battalion; there was no reason why I should be demoted in a staff job.

The chief said: ‘Why do you harass this man, give him the command of a brigade.’

Later three disabled officers became army commanders. One even became vice-chief: he had earlier had both his legs amputated. [ FOR THOSE WHO DONT KNOW THIS OFFICER, LT GEN JOSHI HAD TO PROVE THAT HE CAN DO BATTLE PHYSICAL EFFICIENCY(BPET) TEST WITHOUT ORIGINAL LEGS BETTER THAN MANY WHO HAD BOTH THE LEGs - Vasundhra] , IT WAS A SORT OF WORLD RECORD ]

What would you tell the youth of this country?

I have many things to say: You have only one life to live, live it to the full.

You have 24 hours in a day: Pack it up.

The other thing is ‘Never give up.’

If you believe in something, do it in a right way at the right time.

I must say I had always the support of my wife for whatever I did in my life.


- interview with Claude Arpe

 

OROP. :VIDEO - BABUS HAVE ACQUIRED "OROP" aka " NFFU" VIA ARSE DOOR ENTRY

SOURCE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPxsmAxW-mw





  Capital View With Sagarika Ghose

- Is OROP A Feasible Demand? | Full Show  


                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPxsmAxW-mw

Published on Aug 21, 2015

 

One Rank One Pension, the issue has been in the news for some time now and has highlighted the tussle between the Government and  servicemen/ex-servicemen.

 Is OROP a feasible demand or will it impose an exorbitant cost on the exchequer?

To discuss just this, Sagarika Ghose is joined by Ajay Prasad - Former Defence Secretary, Manoj Joshi - Analyst & Brigadier A.K. Mahalingam - Defence Analyst, in this edition of Capital View.

Tune in to the full show

  

                   READ  AN EXAMPLE
                                     OF
 PROFESSIONAL DISHONESTY BELOW


The writer is adviser,  Observer Research Foundation                                                             "" GOD SAVE THE ORF "" 

     Soothe The Gussa of Fauji Pensioners

Aug 21, 2015

Sanjeev Ahluwalia

The fact remains that OROP, as a principle, is flawed... Pension is a stream of future payment for past services... Increasing the base pension amount as pay increases, as envisaged in OROP, is indefensible.

Ex-servicemen are angry that their attractively titled demand — one rank, one pension — is not being implemented by the government. OROP as a “brand” is a huge communication success, hitting all the right buttons — simplicity, easy comprehension and being evocative of equity.

It is not surprising therefore that Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted it in his election campaign. The United Progressive Alliance, caught napping, made a notional budgetary provision in February 2014, but did not survive the general election to be held accountable for its implementation. This pledge was repeated by Prime Minister Modi from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15. But fauji pensioners were not impressed.


Top babus, secretaries to the government and generals retire at a fixed apex pay since the Fifth Pay Commission (1996). Their pension increases to reflect all future revisions in apex pay. Those retiring below the apex pay have to make do with pension revisions at 50 per cent of the minimum of the revised pay scale, even if they retired at the maximum of the pay scale. Hence the inequity. Babu and fauji apex level officers thereby invite the charge of being self-serving.


A bit of history here. The armed forces have traditionally enjoyed an “edge” in the compensation they get versus civilians. The logic for the premium is accepted and remains rock solid even today.


Till 1973, fauji pay was reviewed separately. The 1970s were bad times for all government servants. Faux socialism required that government salaries be stagnated in the name of removing poverty.

But the axe fell most heavily on Army pensioners via the Third Pay Commission, 1973.

The result was that the payout ratio (the proportion of last pay to pension) for fauji and civil pensioners was made the same — 50 per cent — by reducing the fauji payout and increasing the civilian payout.


Real basic pay under the Fourth Pay Commission (1986) doubled, but inflation adjustment was only partial. The Fifth Pay Commission (1996) doubled the basic pay and provided for 100 per cent inflation indexing including for pensions. This fixed the earlier problem of pension not keeping pace with inflation. The Sixth Pay Commission (2006) tripled real pay. Whilst this was necessary, it stoked the angst of pensioners, other than the creamy layer, because pension adjustments lag behind salary revisions. With every pay commission, pensioners fall further behind.

 Only faujis have led the agitation for OROP, possibly because of the high regard the public has for them versus a less than rosy public perception of other government employees.


The principle that fauji salaries must have an edge over civilian salaries has been consistently accepted. Suitable salary scales exist to illustrate this “edge” of around 10 to 15 per cent of basic pay. But in a classic case of maintaining the form whilst subverting the spirit, the benefits of the designed “edge” are only notional and not real.

Here is why.

First, the sharply pyramidal structure of the armed forces limits the potential for promotion. In comparison, the civilian cadres are much less sharply tapered. Since pay is still effectively linked to position or rank, this means that civilians’ pay outgrows the notional salary “edge” over the first 16 years of their service. Thereafter, they lead not lag the fauji pay.


Second, stringent health requirements also ensure that faujis retire much earlier than civilians. Estimates suggests that 60 per cent of fauji officers retire by the age of 54. A soldier retires at the age of 35, while other ranks retire by the age of 45. In comparison, all civilians carry on earning promotions and pay enhancements till the age of 60.


Shorter service spans and fewer promotion avenues ensure that at retirement faujis have a basic salary which is around 40 per cent lower than a civilian who started service at the same time at an equivalent grade.

To provide an equated pension to a fauji, the pension payout ratio has to be at least 75 per cent, as it was till the Third Pay Commission slashed it to 50 per cent.

The other options to safeguard the “edge” are to increase the salary scales of faujis significantly above civilian pay or to proliferate the number of senior positions — as it happens for civilians — to safeguard promotion prospects and income. Neither is an optimal solution to deliver more bang for the buck. Both require complex negotiations between losers and gainers within the armed forces.

The fact remains that OROP, as a principle, is flawed. It is not consistent with the principle of efficiency and it violates the principle of contracts. Pension is a stream of future payment for past services. Pay is a dynamic concept which changes as markets and job requirements change. Pay must reflect current market conditions. Pension is like a fixed annuity, albeit indexed to inflation to protect pensioners.

Increasing the base pension amount as pay increases, as envisaged in OROP, is indefensible.


What then is the way out of the Jantar Mantar logjam, where the agitating faujis vent their gussa?


Good practice suggests that huge changes in pay be avoided since they lead to intergenerational inequity — future employees get paid much more, even in inflation indexed terms, for doing the same job. But such pay changes are sometimes necessary to correct a long neglected problem. Interim solutions can be one way to smoothen the transition. This is the way to go.


The government can restore the pre-1973 pension payout of 75 per cent but only for those faujis who retired between 1973 and 1995 when pension was not 100 per cent inflation indexed. This will significantly soothe the gussa of faujis whilst creating no untoward precedents for civilians.

The cost is around Rs 10,000 crore per year (back of the envelope estimates) or 7 per cent of the annual defence revenue budget for a period of four years.

Righting a wrong is costly but best done whilst the cost is bearable. Giving fauji pensioners short-shrift, whilst feting them publicly is inconsistent. Let January 26, 2016 be when the President of India soothes the gussa of 1.6 million fauji veterans.

The writer is adviser, Observer Research Foundation