IESM: Gratitude to our Torch Bearers

Dear Colleagues,
Now that we have reached some conclusion by the Group of Ministers, I'm sure we must be partly relieved although there must be some more anomalies remaining to be redressed. This also goes to show that we must agitate and make known our problems at the right time to the right people and not stay goody-goody tight lipped as certain sections of the society would like us to believe (sorry Mr. Shekhar Gupta).

Now that we have reached somewhere, do you think all this would have been possible without the support of some particular people. So besides the Army, Naval and Air HQ pay cells members who continue performing their thankless jobs for all of us, we must thank some torch bearers who actually got our dues for us. We must thank them personally through emails and letters to show our gratitude in the following order :

Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta: Email: oic-irfc@nic.in (official address)
Where would we be without him? Without his support and demand of izzat, our Lt Col rank would still have drawn PB-3 grades. His openness on pay commission disparities was criticised by the media but we would have reached nowhere without his stand. A salute to you Sir.

Major Navdeep Singh, Advocate in Punjab High Court: Email: navdeepsingh.india@gmail.com
His logic and historical viewpoint could not even be denied by the ministers who finally saw reason. His frank and free views which he did not mind sharing with all of us and big powers ultimately made all the difference. Most agree he is the single brain behind whatever we have got.

Shri Vijay Mohan from the Tribune. Email: vijaymohan1@gmail.com
His articles were the most thought provoking and went a long way in educating the public on issues of pay commission. He thoroughly supported the services in every effort and we are thankful to him and his newspaper for standing by all of us in times of need.

Shri Nitin Gokhale from NDTV Email: niting@ndtv.com
He is the one from the electronic media who stood by us. Even if Barkha Dutt was a little cross with us, he still made sure that our problems were brought out in the correct perspective– this also shows the democratic set up of NDTV. A thank you to Shiv Aroor from Headlines today too (email address unknown to me).

So dears, I request you to thank them all at least via emails so that they know that the jobs that they have done did not go unnoticed and we are not that thankless as we are perceived. I would request friends running blogsites and websites to place this appeal of mine online. Let us make our happiness known to them.

Thank you very much and Happy 2009
Brig C Bhanot

We remain indebted to the ESM fraternity represented by IESM and galvanised by "Report My Signal" team. A Happy New Year to all readers and a big thank you for your support and contribution to the growth and success of our national movement for the welfare of our serving and retired brethern. Our movement's thrust and aim should be restore a Jawan's image, stature, dignity and respect amidst our society. "Jai Jawan" a refrain in true spirit forever!
Blog Team