EX SERVICEMEN RETURN MEDALS TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR THE THIRD TIME
Ex Servicemen across the country return their medals to the Supreme Commander for the third time today. The Govt has not shown any concern to their genuine demand of Pension Parity. By pension parity it is implied that a past defence pensioner must get the same pension as a new pensioner, irrespective of their individual dates of retirement, provided they both have rendered equal length of service and have retired from the same rank. This has been sloganised One Rank One Pension (OROP).
It is also imperative that the above principle and formula be adopted as a permanent measure and applied to pensioners of all ranks, from the lowest to the highest, in the future too.
This is an old demand. Several political parties have promised to grant it but all such promises remain unfulfilled. In their election manifesto in the last Parliamentary elections, the Congress Party had said, 'The long pending issue of one-rank one-pension will once again be re-examined and the satisfactory solution arrived at expeditiously'. Earlier, in November 2002, The Congress President Mrs Sonia Gandhi herself had 'endorsed the demand for one- rank-one pension', as reported in The Times of India, Chandigarh, 23 November 2002. However, the government has now rejected the demand citing administrative, financial and legal difficulties.
The first is possibly born out of a perceived apprehension that in case OROP was granted to the military pensioners, it could raise similar demand from other civilian employees. This amounts to ignoring the uniqueness of the military service. For one, it is only the military person who retires by rank, with nearly 85% being sent on pension between 35 and 42 years of age, whereas all other employees superannuate by age of 60 years.
The demand for OROP is neither unique nor extraordinary. This provision is already applicable to the President, the Vice President, the Governors, the judges, the Members of Parliament/Legislative Assemblies, Secretaries and Special Secretaries to the Government of India and several others. We are only demanding to be treated equal. Inequity hurts more than inadequacy.
On declassification of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, where the gap between the old and new pensions became even wider, we tried to seek redress from the political leadership, through representations and personal meetings. When these methods did not succeed, we were compelled to take our case to the public. It was not something we liked or like doing; it has been a compulsion. The Ex Servicemen have been observing a relay fast at Jantar Mantar since the 16th of December 2008. When even this failed to move the decision makers, we had to take the painful decision of depositing our medals with the
Supreme Commander. A soldier has a very emotional attachment to his medals and guards these jealously throughout his life. The fact that the Ex Servicemen have decided to deposit their most prized possession, shows the depth of despair and the degree of hUl1 they feel at being denied justice. The medals have already been deposited twice, on 8th and 21st February, and a repeat is scheduled for today 14th March 2009.
There may be possibility of an unfortunate fallout the continued rejection of the military veterans demand might have. In the prevailing milieu, it is mainly the wards of the Ex Servicemen themselves, who are joining the armed forces. Though we sincerely hope and wish it does not happen, but when a soldier sees his family elder being treated with such indifference by the authorities, then being a future pensioner himself, he may get adversely affected. One shudders to think of the consequences if that feeling took root.
We earnestly appeal to the Govt that the demand of OROP be sanctioned immediately. The term per se is not important. It may be called a 'military service pension' or 'military pension' or by any other appropriate name. What is important is to establish full parity between the old and new pensioners. And this should be done as a permanent arrangement so that in future the Ex Servicemen do not ever need to take recourse to such forms of protests.
With Kind Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM.
Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement
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