SCPC: In defence of our defence forces

There is no contesting reality that in a democracy, the authority of the elected government is supreme and that is how it should be.

Our defence forces have an impeccable record on that score, but no civil authority can sustain itself if the pillars on which it stands are corroded, as it has happened in the case of our defence forces. The position of Chiefs of Staff with rank equivalent to a full General has, over a period of time, been down graded to the twelfth position. Today the Chiefs of Staffs, the chief defenders of our nation, rank behind the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Delhi, about seven notches down.

The very nomenclature ‘para-military’ means organisations that are there to assist the regular forces and work under their command and control of the Field Commander in case of war. In the current scenario, unless the situation is addressed quickly, the chiefs of para-military forces stand taller than their counterparts both in terms of ranking and remuneration and perks.

It is common knowledge that all the three services are woefully short of officers and those in service are seeking premature retirement, for the salaries on civvy street are heavily skewed against the services. Just one example will do to illustrate the disparity. An Air Force pilot who captains a Boeing aircraft on a VIP flight, gets one fourth the salary of his counterpart, in civil aviation who flies the same type of aircraft.

The defence forces have been requesting the government to correct the situation but the recent Pay Commission has further distorted the position particularly in the middling ranks of the forces of Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels and their equivalent in the other two services.

The result of it all is that it is the first time in the history of India that a chief had to communicate and explain to his sailors, that he was withholding the revised pay from being distributed, because he was not happy with what had been given to them. It is again the first time in the history of India that the military pensioners took out a protest march to Rajghat, went on fast and wanted to return their medals, because their case for a better pension had fallen on deaf ears.

In a recent report, the CAG states that the Army forces deployed on the Siachen glaciers have been receiving torn clothing to kit themselves in sub-40 temperatures. Ask a serving Air Force officer and he will tell you that the LCA fighter being thrust upon him is outdated and behind the times. Ask a sailor and he would say the same about the submarines that he is supposed to dive in and defend the nation’s waters.

The political leadership needs to realise that everything else being the same, the morale of the defence forces is the single most important factor that counts between victory and defeat.

I have read somewhere that a nation that does not respect its soldiers is doomed. I think this is an important thought for our political leadership.

By Dinesh Kumar
In defence of our defence forces