Dear Honourable Minister,
I am shocked by your statement to the Press that the Army needs to have a re look at the institution of sahayaks and the alleged undignified treatment of PBORs.
It looks like you have been briefed by your IAS advisors to make this statement just to put the officer cadre in poor light and also to create a rift in the Army between the PBORs and the Officer class. This is also to dilute the sting of widespread disenchantment with the Pay Commission and the disgust of having it reviewed by the same class of Govt servants that have created it.
It seems that you do not realise that by making the statement you are treading on dangerous ground by which you are undermining the very foundation of the Army viz. discipline. This can have disastrous consequences to the Country's stability. If ever you politicians and the IAS lobby succeed in creating instability in the Army the price the country will have to pay will be horrific. You might like to read the history of mutinies that have taken place around the world and the effect they have had on the country's stability .
Despite the serious blunders made by politicians in the past the Army and other Defence Services have stood firm in combating external and internal threats. By creating dissonance in the Defence Forces you are jeopardising the future of the country and the very jobs that politicians and the IAS have today.
We are aware that you are a relatively honest man. However if you look around your own establishment you will find that some of your personal administration is being handled by Govt employees which you are not entitled to. The other ministers are even bigger culprits in misusing Govt machinery for their own purposes and to line their pockets.
As far as the IAS is concerned you will find that the misuse of low level Govt employees by them is rampant. All you need to do is to visit the homes of DCs, district magistrates, even tehsildars: the higher the officer's status the worse is the misuse. You need to clean the Govt's Augean stables before you point a finger at the Army. We are far far cleaner, less corrupt and more dedicated in our work.
I have personally served in the private sector on infrastructure projects and have witnessed the rampant corruption and misuse of Govt machinery. The list is too huge to put down on paper. When you were the Chief Minister in Kerala you did not succeed in eliminating corruption or removing corrupt officials.
Please do not play politics with the Defence Forces, which is the last bastion of discipline, integrity and stability. As die hard patriots none of us service and ex servicemen would like India go the Pakistan way.
If your reputation for honesty and fairness is correct please display the courage to retract your statements. If your IAS advisers have the same courage they should put this and all other mails from ex- servicemen up to you.
These mails, statements in the press, the first ever protest rallies by ex- servicemen, media assessments should make you understand the dangers of implementing the Pay Commission recommendations that do not meet the aspirations of the over worked, underpaid, disciplined and self- sacrificing Defence Forces.
Jai Hind!
Col Vivek Bopiah (Retd)
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