12 Jan 2009, 0217 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore : Colonel S S Rajan, 64, a veteran of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and convenor of the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), left Bangalore on January 11 for Himachal Pradesh to persuade young people to join the army, navy and air force. He'll travel by a van through Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Delhi.
"There is a growing sense of resentment among ex-servicemen in India due to years of neglect and apathy by the government. The issues relate to pension and resettlement problems," Rajan said. "Seeing ex-servicemen lead a life of neglect and penury, youths think a career in the armed forces is hopeless."
But in the backdrop of a sense of insecurity prevailing in the country, consequent to terrorist strikes, there is a need to motivate youths to join the force. Also, IESM has organized a relay hunger strike to support its long-standing demand for grant of `One Rank, One Pension' at Jantar Mantar, Delhi. The hunger strike entered the 25th day on Sunday.
"Our country belongs to a young generation. We require more youths to join the armed forces," Rajan said.
In November 2001, he had taken up a journey, accompanied by a van that had a TV set and VCD player. He visited villages, towns, marketplaces, and especially schools and colleges, where he showed video clips of army sky-divers to young people.
He narrated adventure stories that form the core of the lives of army personnel. "I received an overwhelming response from students."
Rajan will also undertake a `padayatra' of approximately 500 km in Himachal Pradesh in March to ask ex-servicemen to join IESM.
1971 Indo-Pak war veteran on the drive
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Disclaimer
The contents posted on these Blogs are personal reflections of the Bloggers and do not reflect the views of the "Report My Signal- Blog" Team.
Neither the "Report my Signal -Blogs" nor the individual authors of any material on these Blogs accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused (including through negligence), which anyone may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of use of or reliance on information contained in or accessed through these Blogs.
This is not an official Blog site. This forum is run by team of ex- Corps of Signals, Indian Army, Veterans for social networking of Indian Defence Veterans. It is not affiliated to or officially recognized by the MoD or the AHQ, Director General of Signals or Government/ State.
The Report My Signal Forum will endeavor to edit/ delete any material which is considered offensive, undesirable and or impinging on national security. The Blog Team is very conscious of potentially questionable content. However, where a content is posted and between posting and removal from the blog in such cases, the act does not reflect either the condoning or endorsing of said material by the Team.
Blog Moderator: Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)
Neither the "Report my Signal -Blogs" nor the individual authors of any material on these Blogs accept responsibility for any loss or damage caused (including through negligence), which anyone may directly or indirectly suffer arising out of use of or reliance on information contained in or accessed through these Blogs.
This is not an official Blog site. This forum is run by team of ex- Corps of Signals, Indian Army, Veterans for social networking of Indian Defence Veterans. It is not affiliated to or officially recognized by the MoD or the AHQ, Director General of Signals or Government/ State.
The Report My Signal Forum will endeavor to edit/ delete any material which is considered offensive, undesirable and or impinging on national security. The Blog Team is very conscious of potentially questionable content. However, where a content is posted and between posting and removal from the blog in such cases, the act does not reflect either the condoning or endorsing of said material by the Team.
Blog Moderator: Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)
No comments:
Post a Comment