PBOR: Acronym coined by MoD

New PBOR accn at CMM
It would be interesting to Know as to who coined the Abbreviation PBOR. I retired in 1985 till the then it was Officers, JCOs and Jawans . Even a NCO is an officer in military parlance. The term, though bringing brevity in speech and writing, is hurting the feelings of JCOs and equivalent ranks of Air force and Navy and it is high time that we reverted back to the old system of classifying the service personnel..
Brig Lakshman Singh

Comments
The acronym PBOR has been coined by MoD and AHQ who have classified JCOs and NCOs as Personnel Below Officer Rank probably after the 5th Central Pay Commission recommendations were implemented. This is extension of degradation of the Armed Forces by bureaucrats and the AHQ staff have fallen prey to actively participate in reducing the "Rank and Honour" of the Armed Forces. Other possible definitions of PBOR:
Partial Bladder Outlet Reconstruction
Patients Bill of Rights
Programmable Brown Out Reset
Personnel Below Officers Rank
Pagan Bill of Rights
PhpBB Backup Offline Reader
Pittsburg Board of Realtors

Army short of 11,387 officers: Antony

Posted: Monday , Jul 27, 2009 at 1503 hrs, New Delhi
The Indian Army is short of over 11,387 officers, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday. While the Navy was short of 1512 officers, the shortage in the Air Force was 1400, he said in a written reply. However, there is no significant shortage of Personnel Below Officer Ranks (PBORs) in the Armed Forces and nearly a lakh joined the army in that category in the last three years. As many as 5033 officers and 96,453 PBORs joined the Army in the last three years while 1209 officers and 6792 PBORs were enrolled by the Navy during the same period. As many as 1451 officers and 21,311 PBORs joined the Air Force in the last three years, Antony said.

During the last three years and in the current year, 3764 officers and 27,477 PBORs of Army, 842 officers and 126 PBORs of Navy and 893 officers and 3961 PBORs of Air Force have sought discharge/voluntary retirement, he said. Listing the steps taken to motivate the service personnel to continue in service and attract youth to join Armed Forces, Antony said all officers including those in Short Service Commission (SSC) were now eligible to hold substantive rank of Captain, Major and Lieutenant Colonel after two, six and 13 years of reckonable service respectively. The tenure of SSC officers has been increased from 10 years to 14 years, he said. Antony said 750 posts of Lt Colonel have been upgraded to Colonel after implementation of A V Singh Committee Report.
Army short of 11,387 officers: Antony

Comments
By: Major (Retd) Virendra Sharma, 28-Jul-2009
Today's army personnel (Officers and the personnel below officer's rank-PBOR) have much better service conditions. I am 1963 vintage ex-officer. At that time the Second Lieutenant started the basic salary at Rs.400/- pm. Today the rank of 2nd Lieutenant has been abolished and the starting basic salary is Rs 25,000/. Many other amenities have been increased, but the fact is that when in '60s there were very less avenues for young men like me, today is entirely different situation. Why to talk of other civilians, even the wards of the serving officers do not prefer to join the services because they are not very attractive. It is good that the service tenure of the SSCOs has been increased from 5 and 10 years to 14 years. I suggest that it should be increased to 20 years so that these officers are entitled to the pension. This will be a great step to attract people as the pension is seen as a secured future income.

Critical analysis of the Military after implementation of AV Singh Committee Recommendations
The quality is directly related to the quantity. While the world has flattened, the Indian Army has added to its hierarchical structure along with a significant increase in numbers. Protecting one’s fiefdom and enlarging its scope has been the hallmark of most government bodies and the army is no exception. The US army has been blindly aped by creating an Army Training Command more than 15 years ago, with no reduction in the training directorate at Delhi. South-western command and a new corps have been raised to ostensibly improve the operational effectiveness of the army. But many insiders believe that it is to create more avenues for promotions at the middle and higher levels. A new operational logistics and a public information directorate were also created in the recent past, adding to the existing layers of military bureaucratic structure. While all this has happened, there has been no talk of reduction in numbers ala the western armies. The US, UK and French military training schools are either outsourced or largely manned by civilian employees. No modern army worth its name runs its own logistics; their logistics is totally outsourced. The Indian army, on the other hand, still waxes eloquent about its teeth-to-tail ratio and takes pride in the large inventory of its ordnance corps – from a shoe nail to a tank.

Can we have a leaner army that is as effective an insurance for the nation’s future? Arguably, yes. General Malik reduced 50,000 in his tenure as the army chief, but it all went away in the aftermath of Kargil. The political willingness to correct this anomaly is distinctly lacking. After all, there is safety in numbers. The annual report of the ministry of defence (2006-07) puts forth this grandiose justification in buckram prose:
"India’s national security environment is determined by a complex interplay of its geographical attributes, historical legacy, and socio-economic circumstances as well as regional and global developments...bla bla..."
Extract from:
The Indian Army Part 3

Parity in Pensions: Applicable to PBORs only

Monday, July 6, 2009
A new regime of Parity in Pensions is to be brought into place and the same has been announced in the Union Budget. As signified in the indianmilitary blog earlier, and contrary to the many tables floating around, the new system would be made applicable to PBOR only.

The quantum of increase would be put into public domain soon. The same is expected to be based on a 'set amount' stipulation for each rank. The date of implementation may not be 1-1-06 but 1-7-2009.

Bridging the gap between retirees of varied vintage (especially pre and post 2006) was the aim of the government, which to an extent seems to have been addressed. Pensions of pre-97 and post-97 pensioners have also been rationalised. Disability / casualty pension awards are also being rationalised.

Complete authentic details would be uploaded on the blog only when officially released by the Government of India.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 1:49 PM

Question: What about Lt Gens have they been specially granted HAG higher pay band- Does it mean suo motto OROP?

Lt Gens get higher pay band
Giving in to a long-standing demand of the Armed Forces, the Government on Friday approved placing of Lt Gen and equivalent officers to the highest pay band of HAG-plus (Higher Administrative Grade). Acting on a demand of the Armed Forces, the Government passed orders placing 33% of Lt. Gene quivalent officers in the highest pay band, thus making them equivalent to Director General-level IPS officers.

With the new order, close to 50 of the senior-most officers of the three forces will now get salaries in the highest pay band (PB-4A). Earlier, the Armed Forces had objected to the pay structure that put Director General-level IPS officers in a higher pay-scale.

While details will be worked out, thes enior-most 33 per cent of all Lt Gen level officers will benefit from the order. This was one of the four major anomalies that had been pointed out by the Armed Forces in the Sixth Pay Commission.

Sources said the issue was taken up aggressively by the Ministry of Defence after it was put forward by the Armed Forces earlier this year. The forces had sent a letter to the Defence Secretary in January, requesting him to take up the matter with the Government.

They had argued that Lt Generals need to be placed in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG)Plus pay-scales to give them parity with DGl evel officers of the IPS. The logic given was that till the last pay commission, Lt Gen and DGP-level offices had the same status and by moving the IPS officer to HAG plus, the status of the Armed Forces has been lowered.

With this new order, the Prime Minister’s Office has accepted three of the four demands relating to the pay panel that had been put forward by the Defence Ministry. The demand for placing Lt Colonels in a higher pay band and increasing the pensionary weightage for jawans has already been accepted by the Government.
Lt Gens get higher pay band

SCPC: Promotion stagnation of PBORs

Copy of the letter IESL/13/2009 Dt. 18 May 2009 shot by this organization to Sh. S.M. Acharya, Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Affairs) & Chairman, High Powered Committee, Ministry of Defence, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi – 11 0011.
IESL/13/2009 Dt 18 May, 2009
To,
Sh. S.M. Acharya,
Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Affairs) & Chairman
High Powered Committee, Ministry of Defence
Sena Bhawan, New Delhi – 11 0011.
Sub: Post Sixth Central Pay Commission Demands.
Dear Sir,
Kindly allow the undersigned to add a supplement to our memorandum dated 12 May, 2009, submitted to you in above connection.
2. Inadequate promotion among the PBORs (Personnel below officers Rank), specially up to the rank of Havildhar (Hav) and equivalent in other forces, is one of the major factors causing frustration among the soldiers, during both pre and post retirement periods. 'Stress Management in Armed Forces' a report prepared and presented in the Parliament, recently by a Parliament Committee, appointed by the UPA Govt. prior to this election, has expressed its concern over the 635 suicide causes and 67 fratricidal killings in the ranks during the last 5 years. The major cause behind the mounting stress is inadequate promotion which must be checked by implementing the 'Assured Career Progression Scheme' among the ranks up to Havildar as recommended by Ajay Vikram Singh Committee and implemented by the govt. in case of Lt Cols. Presently most of the PBORs retire in the rank of Hav and below during the life span of 35 to 40 years. This must be corrected at the earliest.
3. Similarly additional conditions imposed on the post retirement canteen benefits of PBORs also be done away. At present, short service commissioned officers, with five or less years of services and no pension are allowed to purchase a car of any capacity from CSD after every two years where as PBORs, who have been doled this benefit recently, can purchase the car up to 1300CC only and that too after a gap of 7 years only if they have served for 15 years and draw service pension, after producing valid Driving License. Officers are not required to fulfill the above conditions.
These irritants, if removed, will go a long way in removing the basic cause leading the frustration among the PBORs. Hoping a favourable response from your end.
Yours Sincerely,
Sd/-
Sgt Prabhjot Singh Chhatwal PLS Retd
President.

Women PBORs in Indian Military

The earliest corps/ service allowed women in Indian Army (or Armed Forces) was Nursing Service. It all started with the formation of Indian Army Nursing Service (IANS) in 1888 [Imperial Nursing Service for India ] The Military Nursing Service (MNS) traces its origins from this IANS. The MNS was constituted in 1943 as an auxiliary force of Army from the elements of Nursing Services then existed, has only Commissioned Ranks (Officers).

Why not to re-designate MNS in to a full-fledged corps of regular army and allow women PBORs as Nurses and Nursing Assistants. Almost every army (US, UK, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand etc.) has Army Nursing Corps part of its army. Men are also permitted in such Corps as Commissioned Officer Nurses and PBORs. [ Commissioned Officer Nurses and PBORs ]

By maintaining the present promotion policy of MNS Officers (Capt-5 yrs, Maj-12 yrs, Lt Col-20 yrs) or even any higher period; every doctor will be a Lt Col or above (senior in rank to any nurse in wards), by the time he/ she does a specialization and gets posted to a Military Hospital. A possible solution, for our AMC doctors reluctance to serve with or accept equal ranking nurses.

As the Nursing Service was the oldest force to allow women, the Government should reorganize it along lines in which changes had taken place in other Nations and form an Army Nursing Corps. Let the first women PBOR be enrolled in such Army Nursing Corps.
Jasbeer Kaur

SCPC: Plight of PBOR Pensioners

PLIGHT OF PBOR PENSIONER: POST 01 JAN 2006
There is a general impression throughout the nation that all demands of Defense Services pertaining to 6 CPC have been accepted by the Government. The services have raised 4 core issues as anomaly in the recommendation of 6th CPC. Three pertains to Officers and one related to pension of PBOR. Two demands of Officers, granting HAG+ to Lt Gens and placing Lt Col in PB 4 have been accepted and necessary notification issued. However, there is no news about pension of PBOR and this issue is to be understood in totality.

6th CPC recommended that as PBOR retire at an early age, hence they be provided alternate job and be absorbed in para military forces or other such civilian defence organizations. Commission further recommended that since they will be provided job after retirement, hence, their pension be reduced and extant pensionary benefits which they were enjoying due to early retirement and truncated career be withdrawn.

Government did not accept the demand to provide them job after retirement but accepted the demand of reduction in pension. Prudent decision on the part of Govt to reduce the pension burden on Govt exchequer. But PBOR lost on both counts. They will have to retire at an early age, no guarantee of job after retirement and reduction of pension.

As per the news reports when the Defence Minister as well as Defence HQ raised the issue with Cabinet Secretary during the month of Sep 2008, the Govt agreed in principal to restore the reduced pension. Then news came the formation of GOM. News agencies further reported during last week of Dec 09 that PMO has issued instructions to MOD accepting three demands of the services including restoration of pensionary benefits to Jawans.

Five months have passed since then, notification pertaining to the issues of Officers have been issued during Apr 09 but no news about the pension of PBOR. Pension of these personnel, who retired after 01 Jan 06 and currently retiring has been fixed on the old rates i.e. As per 5th CPC. Further, as their pension is still to be decided, no DA has been granted to them as announced on 01 Jan 08 and 01 Jan 09. As a result, their pension which is on old scale is static for the last one year.

PBOR pension case is not of any enhancement but only restoration of reduced pension. Still so much delay. Nobody knows how much time it will take. No word either from service HQs or MOD. But, surely, these PBOR have been treated badly.
Sub Sharawat (Retd)
--
Posted By Muthukrishnan to indianexserviceman at 5/31/2009 06:00:00 AM

IESM: Ex- Servicemen Employment Issues

Our Government asks the Armed Forces personnel to make immense sacrifices for preserving the security of our nation. They man the hostile China and Pakistan Borders and daily fight insurgents in J&K and NE. They have been asked to leave their families and risk their lives, and many of them have made or making the ultimate sacrifice. They have put National Security first and the nation owes them an immense debt of gratitude. When these hero's return home, we owe them more than kind words or prayers. We must do whatever we can to help them make the transition back to civil life.

The Personnel below Officer rank (PBORs) need to quickly get a second career to support their families. Our laws have neither provision for speedy transition or to reemploy our nation's Ex Servicemen (ESM) so that they do not lose out at work because they answered the call of duty.

However, we see that about 60,000 PBORs who are released annually from the Armed Forces (after an average of 20 year stint) are faced with the harsh reality that the service to the Nation has cost them the salary they deserve, their health care, their pension and other benefits.

Even more disturbing, the PBORs who seek help from Zilla Sainik Boards- like nightmare- a system that is crumbling and failing to serve them when they need it most. They have to negotiate a maze of bureaucracy. They are shuffled among multiple agencies of the respective State Governments- only to find after all the bureaucratic run around that they still may have to pay a bribe or hire a lawyer to file their case in court.

Our laws require that Government defends the ESM rights, but those who seek help must wait months, even years, just to get a simple answer from multiple agencies of the Government!
Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)

Officers to become Colonel after 15 yrs of service

2 May 2009, 0322 hrs IST, TNN
NEW DELHI: In a major decision impacting the age profile of Army, Navy and Air Force commanding officers, the government on Friday fixed 15 years of commissioned service for substantive promotion to the rank of colonel, instead of the existing 20 years.

"The government today fixed 15 years of commissioned service as the minimum qualifying service for substantive promotion to the rank of colonel in the Army, captain in the Navy and group captain in the Air Force. The decision of the government has been received at the Service headquarters," sources said here.

Until now, lieutenant colonels in the Army, commanders in the Navy and wing commanders in the Air Force had to put in a cumulative qualifying service of 20 years after commissioning for promotion to substantive colonel and equivalent ranks. However, they became unit commanding officers even with just 16 years of service, as per the cadre management policies of the tri-services, but had to wait for another four years to be confirmed as substantive colonels and to receive the salary of a colonel. In effect, it would mean that there would be no more ‘‘acting’’ ranks of colonel, captain and group captain in the services.
Officers to become Col after 15 yrs of service

PBORs left out of the loop- No Lateral Employment after limited career in Armed Forces
Date: Saturday, 2 May, 2009, 4:28 PM
dear col
can someone think of our jawans/sailors/airmen who do not even become of havildar/ petty officer/ sergeant even after putting in 15 yrs colour service in our defence forces and they remove uniforms in pay band 1 only?
for NAVAL ASSOCIATION
V A THEVAR
MCMECH(P) Retd
SECRETARY

IESM: The vital role of Record Offices

THE RECORD OFFICES FOR THE PBORs
The Record Offices plays a vital role in the life of the Ex-servicemen and their families. Therefore, it is necessary that every Ex-Serviceman should know the address of their record office.
Normally, these record offices are located geographically far away places from each other. It is not practically possible for a Sepoy of Gorkha Rifles from Kanyakumari to go to his record office which is situated at Ghoom, Darjeeling.
Then comes the language used for correspondence, which must be in English or in Hindi. Most of the Ex-Servicemen from non Hindi speaking states can speak Hindi, but they cannot write in Hindi. But, they can get it written in English with the help of someone else.
All the Ex-servicemen must bear in mind that whatever letter written to their record office, must be neatly typed preferably in computer and sent by registered post only.
Also, all the Ex-servicemen must intimate any change in their permanent address, any change in their family events, such as marriage, child birth, death etc., to their record offices, without fail. This is very important.
I take this opportunity, to request the Army Headquarters (MOD) to provide at least one computer with broadband facility to all the record offices with E-mail addresses. So that, the communication can be improved and better service can be provided to the Ex-servicemen and their families.
Posted by Sgt Muthukrishnan (Veteran)
Addresses of Record Offices: click me

इस रिकार्ड कार्यालयों के पूर्व के जीवन में एक महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका सैनिकों और उनके परिवारों निभाता है. इसलिए, यह है कि हर Ex-serviceman उनके रिकार्ड कार्यालय का पता जानना चाहिए आवश्यक है.
आम तौर पर, इन अभिलेख कार्यालय स्थित हैं भौगोलिक दृष्टि से दूर एक दूसरे से स्थानों. यह व्यावहारिक रूप से एक देशी सिपाही गोरखा राइफल्स के कन्याकुमारी से अपने अभिलेख कार्यालय में जो Ghoom, दार्जिलिंग पर स्थित है जाने के लिए संभव नहीं है.
तब भाषा पत्राचार के लिए है, जो अंग्रेजी या हिन्दी में होना चाहिए प्रयोग किया जाता है. के पूर्व से अधिकांश-कर्मियों हिन्दी भाषी राज्यों हिन्दी गैर से बात कर सकता हूँ, लेकिन वे हिन्दी में नहीं लिख सकते हैं. लेकिन, वे इसे अंग्रेजी में किसी और की मदद से लिखा मिल सकता है.
सभी पूर्व सैनिकों को ध्यान कि जो पत्र उनके अभिलेख कार्यालय को लिखित में, बड़े करीने से अधिमानतः कंप्यूटर में टाइप किया जाना चाहिए बर्दाश्त करना होगा और पंजीकृत डाक से ही भेज दिया.
इसके अलावा, सभी पूर्व सैनिकों असफल बिना अपने स्थायी पते में कोई परिवर्तन, उनके रिकार्ड कार्यालयों के लिए शादी जैसे उनके परिवार की घटनाओं,, बच्चे के जन्म, मृत्यु आदि में कोई परिवर्तन, अंतरंग चाहिए. यह बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है.
मैं, ई मेल पतों के साथ सभी रिकार्ड कार्यालयों के लिए ब्रॉडबैंड की सुविधा के साथ कम से कम एक कंप्यूटर उपलब्ध कराने के लिए सेना मुख्यालय (mod) का अनुरोध करने के लिए इस अवसर पर ले. ताकि, संचार और बेहतर सेवा में सुधार किया जा सकता है कि पूर्व करने के लिए प्रदान की जा सकती है सैनिकों और उनके परिवारों.
सार्जेंट Muthukrishnan (वयोवृद्ध) द्वारा पोस्ट
रिकार्ड कार्यालयों के पते: मेरे क्लिक करें

Veterans’ protest

The Tribune Thursday, April 16, 2009, Chandigarh, India
It is true that the defence forces have their conduct rules and are known to those who intend to join the services (Letters to the Editor, “Veterans’ agitation” by Neeraj Kishore Sharma, April 7). But does it mean that the armed forces have to be mute spectators to their continuous degradation in status and pay vis-a-vis other government employees as has been happening in India over the past decades? The Sixth Pay Commission was the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back.
Serving in defence forces may not be mandatory but so is the case in other departments of the government. If the civilian employees can indulge in agitations on flimsy grounds, why can’t the retired defence personnel take recourse to peaceful protests to highlight the injustice and humiliation being routinely heaped on them? Are they bonded slaves or lumpen elements to be shooed and snubbed at will?
“One rank, one pension”, the main demand of the veterans, is a sensitive issue because of the specific ethos of the defence personnel and the very early age at which most of them are edged out and made to retire as compared to the civilians.
Frankly, a nation that ignores and insults its soldiers, sooner or later comes to grief. Do we want this to happen to India?
WG-CDR S C KAPOOR (retd), Noida
Veterans’ protest
Realted reading
Defending India: No Compromise, No Concession by NS Malik

IESM: Chairman Report and Readers Responses

April 16, 2009
Dear Colleagues,
Membership
List of new members: click me
Misc
The inflow of complimentary telephone calls from the PBOR continues. The most touching was from veteran Mohammad Toshi from Kashmir expressing gratitude of his colleagues for the noble work undertaken by the IESM. He expressed his somewhat helpless inability to organise an ESM gathering in that area due to the prevailing disturbed conditions.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

IESM Directive for Voting for the Lok Sabha Election- Appeal.
Some of the members have been sending emails saying that IESM should not have issued an advisory for voting in favour of BJP or its allies, but all most all of them have failed to give any constructive advice as to what should have been done by IESM, when ESM from village after village were asking a directive as to what should they do when voting for the forthcoming elections for the Lok Sabha.

It is very easy to criticise what others do- giving a workable suggestion/ alternative is not that easy. Most of the veterans who are sending the emails criticising the IESM Advisory are taking the easy course only. While all most all the PBOR have highly appreciated the advisory issued IESM about Lok Sabha elections, it is some of the veteran officers who continue to harp on 'we should remain apolitical'.

The reason for this point of difference between some officers and all the PBOR is very simple- the officer cadre is least affected by the misdeeds of 6 CPC. It is the PBOR who are the worst affected. The PBOR want a definite advice that can give them some hope of justice.

I often meet officers in Noida who say "Oh Chhado yar- kuch nahin hona. Oh kafi chhangi pension aandi hai. Hor ki chaida he tanoo". (Forget friend. Nothing will happen. We are getting good pension, what else you want). It is such self-centered officers who are the main cause of all our troubles. I get about 15 to 20 telephone calls a day - which are almost 100 percent from officers; the duration of these calls ranges from 5 minutes to 20 minutes each. Most of the calls pertain to Lt Cols being granted PB4 status, some pertain to " I have not received correct arrears amount what should I do?"

Not one of these callers ever asked or knows how badly are the PBOR affected by 6 CPC. What a shame? Those of you who talk of Military ethos- was this the ethos in Services that we only bother about our own self and forget the Jawans? You should either give positive suggestions what IESM should have done when PBOR were asking about voting advisory on Lok Sabha elections or do not repeat those dogmatic views about being apolitical. It is these dogmatic views which have landed the Defence Services, in particular the ESM, in this pathetic condition. Yes, we must maintain the basic ethos of the Defence Services and must remain disciplined but do not remain "Lakir ke Fakir".

We must adapt to the changing times and changing situations. Unless we learn to use the power of politics- we can keep crying for justice- no one will give it to us.
Some of you are wrongly accusing IESM for having invited Shree LK Advani to Jantar Mantar. It is Shree Advani who sent a request to visit Jantar Mantar and meet the ESM present there. What did you expect IESM should have done? Should we have said "No Mr Advani you cannot meet ESM?"

Yes before Mr Advani visited Jantar Mantar, IESM leaders were invited to the BJP office, which was refused by IESM. So please do not pass comments when you do not know facts; and facts you cannot know by sitting at your home- come out and attend IESM rallies, visit the ESM in villages to know what they want. The ESM in villages are not interested in your and my emails; they want justice. Your emails and dogmatic views cannot fetch justice for them.

On 12 Apr 09, Shree VK Malhotra and few other BJP leaders came to Jantar Mantar while the IESM rally was on. They were categorically denied permission to come on to the stage or even in front of the stage. I am a witness to it. Another observation I have about the officers who are not happy about the IESM advisory regarding the voting for Lok Sabha- most of them never attended a single IESM rally (there are few exceptions) and have never interacted with PBOR; a few of them not even bothered to become members of IESM. Then what knowledge or right those ESM have to comment on the advisory issued by IESM?

My humble appeal to all those who are not happy with the IESM advisory on Lok Sabha elections is:
SIRs you have said enough against the advisory issued, but now please support IESM in its efforts. UNLESS WE ALL STAND SHOULDER TO SHOULDER SUCCESS WILL EVADE US. SO LET US CLOSE THIS DISCUSSION AND VOTE FOR THE PERSON YOU THINK BEST. BUT VOTE YOU MUST.
In Service of Indian Military Veterans
Chander Kamboj

Readers Mail and Responses
Date: Thursday, 16 April, 2009, 11:18 PM
Dear Raj,
I had written to you (via Indian Veterans) that we should approach other parties, big and small, to put forth our reasonong and get them to endorse our stand. No doubt some may agreed, some would have been ambivalent and some totally non committal. We are putting all our eggs in one shaky basket who have already stated that in the eventuality of a coalition Govt they will try and convince other partners to support their stand.

It is a foregone conclusion that there will be a coalition Govt. It would have been possible to get a few of its partners to support our stand in the parliament, which would have added muscle to our 25 year long standing demand. All these years we really had no one to espouse our cause relentlessly. Even now, notwithstanding the advisory, the IESM should try and approach other parties too and try and convince them to take a positive stand. This would be playing politics apolitically.
Warm regards,
Vivek Bopiah

Dear Brig Kamboj,
I have read the IESM advisory requesting veterans to vote for BJP. I was under the impression that IESM was apolitical in the electoral sense but evidently I was mistaken. My view is that IESM should remain apolitical because political parties will use veterans and IESM for their ends (and why not?!). But since IESM has already "tipped" in favour of BJP, there is little that can be done. However, I am giving (click on link), a short article titled "Thinking Through Support for BJP"- click me that I request you to post on REPORT MY SIGNALS because it gives a word of caution.
With best wishes,
Sudhir Vombatkere

Dear Vombatkere,
I appreciate your views. Do allow me to offer a few clarifications:
1. The IESM has nothing to do with demanding IT exemption, nor is the ESM a beneficiary. As known it applies only to the serving.
2. The IESM did not 'welcome' Advani in the manner your message seems to suggest. He came of his own volition; we merely agreed to meet him.
3. You have raised valid points against our advisory to vote for BJP. However, you have not suggested any alternative course we could have adopted in pursuit of OROP.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM

Dear Brig Kamboj Sir,
I am in full agreement with every word keyed in by Sudhir Vombatkere.
At an election rally in Chandigarh, the president of the Congress, Ms Sonia Gandhi endorsed the ex-servicemens' quest for OROP , before the last election. Amongst the dignitaries present on the dais were Capt Amarinder Singh and a veteran who is now a Governor.
The manifesto was watered down in stages. First, the UPA did not agree with what the Congress had said. So the Common Minimum Programme was diluted. Then when the government was formed, there were other pressures on the polity. By the time it came down to the first parliament session, and the President's address, all we heard was, "The government will address the problems of the ex-servicemen"
To do that a Deptt of ESM Welfare was created with a Bureaucrat at its helm and one more Principle Secretary was appointed to 'assist' him. If there is any improvement in the well being of the veterans, it is not visible... In fact this is the first time in the history of India, that soldiers have been forced to come on the streets.
I suspect there is a need to introspect.
Regards,
Maj Gen Surjit Singh (Retd)

Dear James Kanagaraj,
I am forwarding one sample of many emails being circulated by Raj Kadyan and P Renjen to the readers of the 'REPORT MY SIGNAL' blog. They are actively using the blog to canvass for the BJP and its allies. Its a gross abuse of the blog which is meant to be apolitical. Do you still claim the blog to be apolitical? I think we must stop such abuse of the blog forthwith.
MG Kapoor
Advocate

Dear Kapoor,
You can be rest assured that our stance is apolitcal. We are publishing views of all veteran organisations. The voting advisory is only to project the IESM case for OROP. None of the veteran organisations are Political. It is because of the anti defence attitude of the present set up of bureaucrats and the medly of governance which is belittling the Soldiers at Large that we are publishing different views/ articles. We have also brought out the BJP let down when they were in power (and surely they are not going to keep their promises- NDA too is a Hotch Potch). We are publishing mixed reactions. Certainly "Report My Signal" is not canvassing for BJP. However, voices of various veteran organisations are being projected in the blog which does not mean that the forum has become POLITICAL.
Thanks, we will ensure the blog remains for all Veterans and their Voices- and at times speak of their frustration!
With regards,
Lt Col James Kanagaraj (Retd)

SCPC: Respect and Honour the Armed Forces

The government must understand that the whole nation is watching the developments and it must realise that the people regard the Armed Forces in high esteem, more than that of the other services. The Khabrein Info. writes “The people have already witnessed the Veterans hitting the streets and also the government’s insult heaped on India’s greatest soldier Sam Manekshaw during his funeral and further handling of the issue in a squalid manner would send a wrong signal as though an unholy politician- bureaucrat nexus has been playing dirty games against the Armed Forces. It is high time the Forces are respected and honoured and given their due.

Ever since the Sixth Central Pay Commission submitted its recommendations to the government, the Armed Forces and Military Veterans have been conveying their grievances to the government through all possible ways. As the UPA government has not been listening to their grievances showing scant regard, the Military Veterans took the unprecedented step of hitting the streets, while the Armed forces remained disciplined and focused on their job. The Indian Ex- Servicemen Movement (IESM) conducted nationwide protest demonstrations, sit- in fasts and protest marches, which were widely covered & reported by the media.

The Armed Forces and the Veterans have had some genuine demands like One Rank One Pension, Resettlement of Veterans, Representation of soldiers on Premier Committees, Inequities in the sixth Pay Commission, Formation of separate commission for defence forces, Addressing all anomalies with respect to the sixth pay commission, Compensation for war disabled and compensation for early retirement, etc.

Despite several representations and meetings with the Chiefs of the three services, the Finance Minister has been unrelenting and prevailing upon even the Prime Minister. The Defence Minister, who has been directly dealing with the Forces, understood the seriousness of the situation, sought the intervention of the Prime Minister conveying to him the discontent brewing in the three services, apart from writing letters to the Finance Minister. In his letter to the finance minister, the defence minister has raised the issues of Personnel Below the Officer Rank (PBOR) and the ‘extant pensionary weightage’.

Under the Sixth CPC proposal, the PBORs are to be given an opportunity for lateral entry into the paramilitary and central police forces, but they would forgo 50 per cent of their pension calculated on the basis of their last drawn pay at retirement. As the government has refused to approve the proposal for their lateral entry into the paramilitary forces, the PBORs are in a precarious situation of losing out both on re- employment and pension fronts.

Compared with the civil & paramilitary services, the military services have been blatantly discriminated against with regards to service recognition as well as pay packages. The Military establishment has objected on the grounds of ‘Disparity in Pay Bands’ as the civil officers have been moved to Pay Band 4, while the officers from the services are kept stagnant at Pay Band 3; ‘Disparity in Grade Pay’ as there is a disparity in the grade pay between the middle-rank officers comparatively ‘Restricting the Elite List’ as the DGs and DGPS from the civil & paramilitary services have been included in the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG), their equal ranks of Lt Generals have not been included.

Even while the government announced the acceptance of the recommendations of the Sixth pay commission on the Independence Day saying that the new packages would be issued to 50 lakh government employees on October 1, it failed to realise the resentment flowing through the three services. Though a 13 member committee of secretaries assured the services of taking care of their grievances, the real picture after the announcement has not changed much resulting in the outrage of the Armed Forces.

The Armed Forces in an unprecedented manner refused to accept the revised pay- packages, but the government remained adamant. Again in an unprecedented move, the three Chiefs submitted their salary bills as per the old pay structures, taking the government by shock & surprise. Only then the government realised the gravity of the situation and the Prime minister, who has been concentrating only on the N-Deal for the last three and a half years, ordered for a constitution of a special panel headed by External Affairs Minister and the finance minister and the defence minister would also be included in the panel, to look into the disparities & anomalies with regards to the sixth pay commission. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces, known for their patriotism & discipline, have agreed to accept the ad hoc payment, while resting their hopes on the newly constituted panel.
SCPC: Respect & honour the Forces

Comment: It is shameful that the political system has systematically been taken hostage by the IAS bureaucracy with attendant red- tape and manipulation of rules to benefit their own fraternity. Do Politicans have the time to unravel the Game plan of IAS bureaucrats?
The PBORs are still being given a raw deal. It is the Jawans like pawns in a chess game prove vital for victory in combat. The PBORs (which includes JCOs and NCOs) MSP should be at least 50% of Rs 6000/ that the officers are entitled. The Defence Forces salaries need to be tailored so that the ratio of lowest to highest paid is not less than 1:5.
The ESM have been the hardest hit. With ever increasing pension anomalies created by every Central Pay Commission, one needs to ponder why the Government is averse to sanction "One Rank One Pension"? Why Court rulings are not being implemented by the Bureaucrats!