IESM: Goodwill, talent and volunteers needed to forge ahead our veteran movement

Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of you all I welcome Brig RS Chhikara, as a new member into the IESM family. In addition to the membership fee he has also made a donation of Rs 4500/-. Our grateful thanks to him for his generous gesture. Thanks also to Brig Kamboj for motivating him to join in.

Our effort to run the IESM with minimum expense has not been without its downside. At times we have not been able to complete the desired tasks in a timely manner. One example is sending of the membership cards. The ESM fraternity has enormous talent in diverse welfare related fields and ample goodwill to pitch in with voluntary help. May I request the environment that those who can spare time may send their offer of help mentioning any special expertise they possess and the issues they feel comfortable with? This could be mailed to the General Secretary Gp Capt VK Gandhi.

Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

Paying Homage to Our Guardians

Gentlemen,
We must be the most callous and insensitive group of people in the world who do not find it worth while to pay homage to our soldiers who have laid down their lives so that you can write with full freedom. Paying homage apart, you dont mind ridiculing the soldier eg., when one of you printed a photograph of the Army bagpipers playing the dirge at the Kargil Memorial on 10 Jul 09 the caption given underneath was ,"Blowing Their Trumpet". I think it is a terrible example of insensitivity to the numerous soldiers who had taken part in Kargil Operations and paid with their lives and many, their limbs. My request to make amends to the paper went unanswered.

If you all have access to the European and American papers online, you would have noticed that every country which took part in World War I commemorated Armistice Day on 11 Nov with due ceremony and the highest in the land took a prominent part in it. But in India 16 Dec ( Victory in East Pakistan) and 10 Jul (Victory in Kargil) are contentious dates, with every petty politician and mandarin of MEA giving his own version as to why these days need not be celebrated. Are we really concerned with the security of our country. I doubt it. We seem to be content with out sourcing this task to the armed forces who are getting their due compensation! Is that the only link citizens should have with the people who permit them to carry out their daily professions, permit them to sleep peacefully, be able to talk freely and grow food as they wish? I have never seen any concern being shown at the rising number of deaths amongst our security forces, similar to the one shown by the Europeans, Americans, Japanese, Australians and even the Chinese.

I give you an example of the Indian attitude. I was posted in Paris as the Military Attache(MA) in 1975-78. Every year on Armistice Day there was a parade at the Arch Of Triumph which was attended by thousands of Frenchmen, all ambassadors, MAs, Cabinet Ministers, and the President. Similarly another ceremony was held at the Notre Dame Cathedral which was attended by Ambassadors & MAs of all Common Wealth countries, their Ministers of Veteran Affairs and the French PM. It was a thanks giving mass for the one million Common Wealth soldiers who had laid down their lives for the safety of France during WW I. There is a plaque on the Cathedral's altar which mentions the names of six countries, including India, who took part in this effort.

But do you know who was the person conspicuous by his absence at both the ceremonies? The Indian Ambassador!

Shouldnt you, who are assured the right to freedom of speech due to the sacrifices of the soldiers, do something about it?

Lt Gen SK Bahri (Retd)

Remembering the brave by Lord Meghnad Desai

Subject: Lord Megnath Desai
Dear Chander

It may be interesting for the Report My Signals readers to read an article by Lord Megnath Desai, member of the British House of Lords on remembering the brave in Indian Express on Sunday.

The main theme of the article is that the Indian soldiers by fighting bravely in the two world wars were as much responsible for our freedom as the political leadership that led by non-violent techniques. His concluding remarks are telling by asking the government not to treat the armed services as 'step children'.

Kind regards,
Maj Gen VK Khanna (Retd)
Remembering the brave by Lord Meghnad Desai

IESM: Thoughts put into action is better than just day dreaming!

Sentiments about 'neglect' of servicemen are common discussion points in service circles- messes, bars and social gatherings. We all hope, and PRAY that the Indian National Milieu will some day behave more empathetical with the Defence set up. They would... but for the sibling rivalry ridden 'babus' we feel. Correct? Yes, perhaps. But only just.

Question: Why are MOST of us only content to TALK about it? Why don't we step forward ourselves to contribute our effort to improve matters?

Illustrations:
1. In trying to improve ECHS services, we had requested volunteers to operate as Regional Liaison Cell members and Polyclinic Liaison Cell members. We got volunteers to man (only one or two each ) JUST 7 Regional Liaison Cells. 227 Poly clinics need manning. Just a handful have received attention! Where are the rest? BUSY?
2. Membership of the IESM can do with improvement. Lots of praise about the good work being done is received. So if you like the good work, why not JOIN and refer people to JOIN. When we like food in a restaurant, we refer our friends to that, don't we?
3. We all crib about the 'lack of knowledge of matters military' amongst the citizenry. How about doing something about it? Do you connect well with kids? (Most Grand fathers do). Can you identify schools that would allow you to talk to kids and talk about the '' Making of a Soldier- How does he do the seemingly impossible?' OR ' Positive Attitude as a Battle winning factor - in War and in Life'? Or such like. Remember, Positive strokes only . There is ample negativity going around in media anyway. AND I AM referring to Pan India. NCR is Not India. Sounds familiar? Yes, there are many more states/ parts of this great country.
4. Appreciate IESM work? Can you influence corporate to assist our aims of awareness through CSR activities? Sports matches, marathons, golf tournaments etc to commemorate military history milestones like Kargil Divas 26 July, or Vijay Divas 16 Dec?
5. Fund Raising? Now that we have 80G applicable?
6. A concluding question, if your answer to ANY ONE question above is YES.
Question. What are you waiting for? If the answer to my last question is that you are too busy (with grand children, work, earning money, sickness, family commitments etc), please be informed that the 'indifferent citizenry' is ALSO busy with the same. So let us respect that too.
With Warm Regards,
Col RP Chaturvedi,
Member IESM Steering Committee and ECHS Division Coordinator

Caught in camera by Tehelka that the drug and arms mafia had links with Socialite Politicians

TEN YEARS ago, the Indian Navy suffered a disgraceful defeat. The humiliation was inflicted not by any inimical foreign power, but by powers-that-be in New Delhi’s South Block. In December 1998, the then Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, was unceremoniously booted out at the instance of ‘honourable’ defence minister George Fernandes, who could not make him bootlick.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, a staunch nationalist, expected to be the last person to hurt the country’s honour, had his compulsions to back the Defence Minister. Fernandes was playing a key role in letting the government survive, acting as go-between with Tamilnadu chief minister Jayalalithaa. The Defence Minister’s main job, in fact, was to rush to Chennai to satiate her routinely. Bhagwat’s refusal to have vice admiral Harinder Singh, enjoying Fernandes’ confidence, as his deputy was the ostensible reason for the sack. Actually, the purpose was to teach a lesson to the service chiefs; they were harming entrenched interests doing deals in South Block.

In July that year, defence secretary Ajit Kumar had conveyed Fernandes’ instructions to the service commanders that they should seek prior approval of the ministry before intercepting any vessel suspected to be carrying narcotics and arms. The three service chiefs jointly wrote back that interdiction operations in the Andamans were ’mandated operations’, which did not require the ’prior approval’ of the ministry.
Read the full account:
No honour please, you are Indian Navy Chief

IESM: Perseverance- The success formula for OROP

It is necessary that we Ex- Servicemen reduce our rhetoric and silence those who so far are attempting disunion within us- by overwhelming their influence; and who at the same time have acted as if they had all the Veterans in their pockets.

Do not be deterred from your intentions by the fact that this or that majority resolution does not suit you. Such resolutions may be altered in the course of time. But the disgrace of separating here without accomplishing any results can never be blotted out; should such happen it would be equal to a crime against our cause which is the cause of the whole ESM Community. But the form can be found in which minor differences of opinion can be resolved in harmony, which the striving for a higher universally acknowledged ideal, common to us all- our legitimate demands.

Now friends, our sense of duty must be stronger than our self- will; our love for the cause must make us forget personal injustices we may have suffered; our entire thinking, feeling, and wishing must be consumed by enthusiasm for the work of rescue which we have to perform in common with the aim of righting the injustices inflicted on ESM, be it Pension Parity or any other in the interests of our ESM brotherhood.

But perhaps one or other among you may say: “These are but words, phrases which cannot stand before the real facts as they exist.” In answer we need only point to the rich experiences in life that nothing comes without hard work to fight injustices- "No pain no gain". The proof is that what has been achieved till now is because of our perseverance. We must march ahead without looking back!

Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)
Blog Moderator

Civil- Military Relationship: Does governance impact this ethical compact?

Are military professionals unaware of their own civic and strategic illiteracy?

One of the most significant issues facing any democracy today, is the current state of civil- military relations. Why should the relationship between the military and society be of such concern to us? There are two principal reasons.

First, the military relationship to civilian authorities and to society more generally lies at the very heart of what democracy is all about. Democracy, Harry Truman suggested, is "based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with reason and justice." By the same token, what defines the state, Max Weber observed, is government's monopoly of the legitimate possession and use of force. The military is the principal embodiment of state-centered and -controlled violence. Thus, in a form of government where the people are supposed to rule, civilian supremacy over the military is essential; it is an ethical imperative. Where this relationship fails or falters, the very end of government--"the common benefit, protection, and security of the people," rights of citizens violated, massive and wide scale corruption and injustice--the Government stands in jeopardy. Further, Terrorism, Naxalism, Maoism and right wing fundamentalists are pointers and indicators of the degree of of failing/ falling governance.

Second, the three parties to the civil- military relationship--the military, its civilian masters, and the people themselves--are bound to one another by social contract. "The first principle of a civilized state," said Walter Lippmann, "is that power is legitimate only when it is under contract." A social contract is a mutually binding, though a tacit, set of expectations, obligations, and rights. Because it depends on the ability--and, more importantly, the willingness--of the parties involved to live up to their end of the unwritten bargain, it is, in every sense, an ethical compact- a bond.

What do civilian authorities and the people more generally expect of the military as part of this compact?
Operational Competence.
What Military Expects from the Civilian authorities?
Genuine welfare measures for the Jawans and Ex- Servicemen.

IESL: Joint Letter to PM to address the Pension Disparity created, muddled and sullied by Cabinet Secretary Committee

Joint Letter to The Prime Minister (click me)

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have received numerous mails from you all appreciating the joint effort put in by all the signatory ESM Orgs in drafting the letter (it was not a single person's effort!) and importantly, being willing to sign it. I regret to say that even though I tried my best to get the Air Force Assn on board with personal calls, mails & SMS's, there was no response. I would like to place on record Brig Gulia's help, despite our differences on many occasions, as he played a major part in this joint effort. It was his initiative to call all organisations for a meeting to discuss the Cabinet Secretary's report on 06 Aug 2009. It was IESL which provided staff support for printing the letters, repeatedly till we got it right. Some suggestions have come to tweak the letter further. Regret they can only be included in the next letter, if any.

I can also report that the letter has reached the COAS and it has been passed down for action. Thanks to Air Cmde Chandershekhar, who was here from Bangalore, we have got a copy of the letter delivered to the RM by hand. Interestingly it had not been put up to him over the last 15 days. We are also exploring ways to see that a copy reaches the PM, Leader of the Opposition and other MPs. After lapse of say 5 weeks we will go to the press. Ways of financing the advertisements are being considered.

Satish
Lt Gen SK Bahri (Retd) (1st JSW Course)

IESM: Veterans who have deposited medals with the President seeking Pension Parity

Thu, 29 October, 2009 5:08:06 PM
Subject: MEDAL RETURN LIST NAMES OF ESM

Click here for the latest list of ESM who have deposited their medals with the President of India for safe custody as a mark of protest for NON- GRANT of "One Rank One Pension". The list is upto date till 25 Oct 2009.
Gp Capt VK Gandhi VSM
Gen Sec IESM

IESM: Reducing the Pension Disparity is not Pension Parity

Dear Colleagues,
The announcement made by the Government in Jun/ Jul this year in the Parliament, on the enhancement in pension of PBOR, still remains a mere announcement. One sincerely hoped for the increased emoluments of pre 10.10.1997 PBOR to be released before Diwali. That did not happen. Nor is there any indication when the emoluments will be finally released. One may assume that these will come latest by 31 Mar 2010 i.e. within this financial year since a provision of Rs 2144 Crores has been made in this year’s budget. What will be the quantum of increase? This too remains a grey area. The expectation of those dealing with the issue is as under:

Rank (service) Likely new pension
Sep (19) Rs 5,800/-
Naik (24) Rs 6,500/-
Hav (26) Rs 6,500/-
Nb Sub (28) Rs 10,675/-
Sub (28) Rs 11,970/-
Sub Maj (28) Rs 12,285/-

It would be relevant to point out that the above figures as of now are only a deduction from what has been already accorded. Secondly, it is not the expected OROP since these figures do not match the post 1.1.2006 scales.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

IESM: OROP- A frevent appeal made by Warrant Officer

Dear Brig Kamboj,
The letters written to the President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Defence Minister, Cabinet Secretary, Defence Secretary, Secretary Dept. of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and Director of Pension during the month of October, 2009 by Warrant Officer P.R. Balathilakan (Retd.) are enclosed as attachment for information of all Ex-Servicemen in the country. The progress thereof is also being monitored on day to day basis by him.
With regards
Yours truly,
Kameshwar
Kameshwar Pandey
Sub/Maj Hony. Lt. (Veteran)

Appeal by Warrant Officer
Submission of letters, memoranda and presentations to various High Dignitaries have been initiated by Warrant Officer P.R. Balathilakan (Retd.). With his vigorous efforts he has achieved extraordinary rapport on the subject of ONE RANK ONE PENSION with many High Dignitaries icluding all MPs from Kerala, present and past Chief Ministers of Kerala, all Central Ministers from Kerala including Shri AK Antony, Defence Ministers, Private Secretaries of the Hon’ble the President of India and Bureaucrats accessible to him in various Ministries on the above subject.
Click here to read all the Letters addressed to PM and Ministries to quickly resolve the Pension Disparity muddle created by Bureaucrats

IESL: Pension Disparity for War Disabled Jawans

Dear Avtar Singh Ji,
My approach has been to bring about parity among on pensioners of all categories based purely on the rank and total qualifying service. Any pensioner is entitled for the same pension if the conditions happen to be the same irrespecitve of the date or retirenment. We must win this first before studying anomalies in the application of the principle. We must concentrate on winning our princile of the demand on pension.
Regards RN Radakrishnan (Veteran)

Dear General,
1.Please refer to your "Analysis of CS Report on OROP" click me. It is an excellent analysis but,sadly,you have omitted to comment on the issue of disparity in Disability Pension(DP) rates of Pre-2006 disabled vetern retirees.
2. The CS & Secys have just brushed aside the demand (refer Para 7.1 ser 4 ) for DP at % basis instead of slab basis for pre2006 disabled veterns by stating that "it is a new dispensation ONLY for those disabled after 1.1.2006".However,mercifully,they go on to state that it "needs further exam with Dept of ESW to assess the financial implications". (What can one interpret from this ?)
3. It is evident that just like in the case of main OROP issue the preconcieved aim of the CS was to somehow deny DP on % basis to
the pre-2006 disabled veterns.
4. Consider the following:-
(a) The 6CPC in its Report/Recommendations(approved by GOI resolution) has not stated/implied anywhere that DP on % basis is "only for those disabled after 1.1.2006" .Infact it accepted the demand vide Para 5.1.68 to correct injustice being done to Armed forces disabled for a
long time vis a vis civilians.
(b) Is'nt Grade pay & MSP also a "New Dispensation" which is taken into calcutating the pension of all pre 2006 retirees?
(c) The CS report repeatedly talks about parity with civilians(paras 2.15,5.4ii,6.4 etc).Then why this disparity in DP rates between Armed forces disabled & similarly placed civilian diabled? All disabled civlians of ALL vintage (including Pre1.1.2006 retirees) have been & are getting DP on % basis.So why have the pre2006 disabled of Armed Forces been discriminated?
(d)It is apparent that the issue was not seriously deliberated by the CS & Secys before arriving at the pre-concieved recommendation at Para7.2(Ser 4).Asking the D o ESW to asses the "financial implications" is redicoulously points to that, as this would/should have been an input for arriving at the recommendation.
5.It is a clear case of anti Armed Forces stance of the top bureuocrats( including,unfortunatly,the Secy MOD) of the Nation.In one go
they have deprived all pre2006 disabled veterns,including those disabled(&still alive) in 1948,1962,1965,1971 Wars & IPKF operations , of their legitimate disability pension dues.
6.Considering that it is a clear case of discrimination we hope you will this resolved as well.
With Regards & Best Wishes
Brig AS Kahlon (Retd)

SCPC: Maj Gens- Pre/ Post- 2006 Pension Disparity

My Dear Brig Kamboj,
Letter addressed to all veteran Maj Gens/AVMs/Rear Admirals is given as link below.
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM

Maj Gens' Case Pre & Post 2006 Pension Disparity
Dear Veterans,
1. AVM JK Pathania, a veteran who is also a practising Advocate of Delhi High Court and Supreme Court has taken an initiative to file a court case on behalf of Maj Gens/AVMs/Rear Admirals to ask for removal of disparity in Pension of Pre and Post 2006 retirees.
2. He had issued a legal notice to the Defence Secretary and the three Chiefs on 13 Aug 2009 (copy enclosed).While no reply has been received from the Defence Secretary, he has received reply from Lt Gen V K Chaturvedi, AVSM, SM on behalf of Chairman COSC dated 14 Sep 2009 (copy linked below). He had also sought information under the RTI from PIO, Min of Def vide RTI application dated 13 Aug 09 (copy linked below). The information is yet to be received.

3. AVM JK Pathania has proposed to file the joint case of a group of Maj Gens/ AVMs/ Rear Admirals in High Court/ Supreme Court. For proper preparation of case, he needs to assess the number of veterans who are willing to be part of the group. All veterans of ranks of Maj Gen/ AVM/ Rear Admiral who want to be part of the group may send their particulars to AVM Pathania with copy to me at the earliest.
With Kind Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM

Click on pages to read content
page 1
page 2
page 3
page 4
page 5
page 6
page 7
page 8
page 9
page 10
page 11
page 12
page 13
page 14