OROP: जंतर मंतर पर विरोध रैली

"अन्याय के खिलाफ रक्षा दिग्गजों"
01 DEC 2012 प्रिय दिग्गजों पर जंतर मंतर नई दिल्ली में विशाल रैली
दिनांक: 28 सितम्बर +२०१२
1. सरकार न केवल और रक्षा अनसुलझे कार्मिक के वेतन और पेंशन में 39 गंभीर विसंगतियों को छोड़ दिया है, यह भी नहीं लागू किया गया है और सशस्त्र बलों ट्रिब्यूनल और सुप्रीम कोर्ट को रक्षा कार्मिकों के पक्ष में दिए गए फैसले हैं. राज्यसभा OROP दृढ़ता से की सिफारिश रक्षा कार्मिक OROP पर याचिका समिति की सिफारिशों को लागू नहीं किया गया है.
OROP मुद्दा है जो विधिवत संसद के सदस्यों द्वारा किया गया है पर 7 महीने के लिए विश्लेषण, जो पहले राज्यसभा समिति था OROP के अनुदान के खिलाफ सबूत दिया सचिवों की एक समिति को सौंपा गया था. उन से क्या उम्मीद की जा सकती है? PM, RM, और तीन प्रमुखों से अवगत कराया गया.
24 सितम्बर 2012 को (इवनिंग) सरकार सैनिकों और राष्ट्र को गुमराह किया जब वे घोषणा कि OROP अनुमोदित किया गया है. वास्तव में अनुमोदन कहीं नहीं OROP के करीब है.
सरकार ने न केवल 6 सीपीसी जहां नौकरशाही 6 सीपीसी यानी की सिफारिश चालाकी था "वेतन बैंड में रैंक के वेतन का न्यूनतम पे बैंड के न्यूनतम वेतन के लिए बदल गया था" एक गंभीर विसंगति हटा दिया गया है. हवलदार सिपाही के लिए इसके अलावा, वे दो साल के अतिरिक्त वेटेज दिया है जो केवल 400 रुपये प्रति माह की वृद्धि का मतलब है. तीन प्रमुखों द्वारा मांग करने के लिए समिति में सेवारत और सेवानिवृत्त रक्षा कर्मियों के सदस्यों से शामिल नहीं स्वीकार कर लिया गया.
2. हमारी न्याय इसलिए पाने के लिए संघर्ष, वृद्धि की तीव्रता के साथ जारी किया जाएगा. 1530hrs - मन में इसके बाद के संस्करण के साथ एक रैली जंतर मंतर नई दिल्ली में 01 दिसम्बर 2012 को 1030 से आयोजित किया गया है की योजना बनाई है. सभी ईएसएम जो अपने पदक नहीं जमा करने के लिए बड़ी संख्या में ऐसा करने का अनुरोध कर रहे हैं. पदक बुद्धिमान और रैली या व्यक्तिगत ईएसएम के लिए लाया क्षेत्र रैली स्थल पर उनके पदक जमा कर सकते हैं एकत्र किया जा सकता है.
3. कार्रवाई के भविष्य के पाठ्यक्रम और संकल्प सामूहिक रूप से रैली में पारित हो जाएगा करने के लिए सुनिश्चित करें कि हम अपने कारण न्याय मिलता है. दिल्ली में इस रैली के लिए सेना के लिए निरंतर उदासीनता और दुराचार meted प्रदर्शन और सरकार पर प्रभावित करने के लिए दीवार पर लेखन देख और शीघ्रता से रक्षा कर्मियों के सभी शिकायतों का समाधान करने के लिए तेजी से कार्य करने के लिए आयोजित किया जा रहा है.
4. पिछले दस वर्षों में रक्षा बलों सरकार के उदासीन रवैये के कारण ignominies और अपमान की एक बहुत कुछ सहा है. और नौकरशाही. सरकार अगर यह सोचता है कि छठे वेतन आयोग की सिफारिशों के साथ सशस्त्र बलों के असंतोष के मुद्दे पर अपने पैर खींच द्वारा यह कर सकते हैं कि इस मुद्दे को दूर जाना गलत है.
5. एक देश है कि अपने सशस्त्र बलों का सम्मान करने के लिए मना कर दिया है अंत में अंत बलों है कि 'देशों आकांक्षाओं का सम्मान नहीं होगा हो रही होगी. एक देश अपने सैनिकों के साथ एक पवित्र अनुबंध है कि जबकि वह / वह उसकी / उसके जीवन नीचे रखना जब आह्वान ऐसा करने के लिए, राष्ट्र हद तक अपने संसाधनों के लिए उसका / उसकी अच्छी तरह से देखभाल और उसकी / उसके परिवार की जरूरतों के ले जाएगा की अनुमति.
6. एक निर्दिष्ट मार्ग पर चार किलोमीटर रैली अनुसूची के अलावा, यह 3 के एक मार्च के लिए बाहर ले करने का प्रस्ताव है. यह भी एक वाहन मंच पर जो वीरता और विशिष्ट सेवा पदक संख्या लगभग दस हज़ार है जो पहले से ही स्वयंसेवक ईएसएम और एक बड़ी संख्या है जो रैली के दिन पर जमा हो जाएगा द्वारा किया गया है हमारे साथ जमा सम्मान में रखा जाएगा तैयार करने की योजना बनाई है "दिखाने के मामले अलग - अलग उद्देश्य के लिए बनाया है. इस रैली स्थल पर रखा जाएगा और अनुसूचित मार्च के साथ रैली के दौरान चला. 7 दिनों - बाद में, यह 5 की एक अवधि के लिए राष्ट्रीय राजधानी क्षेत्र में विभिन्न स्थानों पर "पदक मामलों दिखाएँ" के साथ वाहन ले जाने की योजना बनाई है. चार स्वयंसेवक ईएसएम हमेशा वाहन पर पदक ले जाएगा.
7. यानी हरियाणा, राजस्थान, पंजाब, हिमाचल, उत्तराखंड, उत्तर प्रदेश, जो अपने - अपने राज्यों में पदक के साथ परेड के लिए वाहन की इच्छा के पास राज्यों में IESM Conveners IESM मुख्यालय को लिखने के लिए, 543 सेक्टर 23, मेल आईडी पर गुड़गांव (हरियाणा) में हो सकता है: satbirsm ( ) जीमेल (डॉट) com पर वाहन को 3-4 दिनों की अवधि के लिए स्वयंसेवक राज्यों को भेजा जा नियोजित किया जाएगा.
8. अब योजना के लिए रखने के लिए 01 दिसम्बर 2012 अपने और परिवार के सदस्यों और यकीन है कि आप सभी को बड़ी संख्या में ऊपर रैली में भाग लेने के लिए मुक्त हैं. आपकी भागीदारी प्रकरण रक्षा दिग्गजों के सामूहिक शक्ति दिखाएँ हमारे कारण न्याय पाने के लिए आवश्यक है.
9. रैली में शामिल होने के लिए अन्याय के खिलाफ "यकीन है कि जीत" यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहिए.
सादर,
जय हिन्द
निष्ठा से तुम्हारा है,
मेजर जनरल (सेवानिवृत्त) सतबीर सिंह, एसएम
वाइस चेयरमैन भारतीय ईएसएम आंदोलन

Full speech: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation

Full speech: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation
NDTV.com | Updated: September 21, 2012 20:47 IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today addressed the nation, defending the economic reforms which were introduced last week.
Click here for the Video link
Here is the full text of Dr Singh's speech:
My dear brothers and sisters,
I am speaking to you tonight to explain the reasons for some important economic policy decisions the government has recently taken. Some political parties have opposed them. You have a right to know the truth about why we have taken these decisions.
No government likes to impose burdens on the common man. Our Government has been voted to office twice to protect the interests of the aam admi.
At the same time, it is the responsibility of the government to defend the national interest, and protect the long term future of our people. This means that we must ensure that the economy grows rapidly, and that this generates enough productive jobs for the youth of our country. Rapid growth is also necessary to raise the revenues we need to finance our programmes in education, health care, housing and rural employment.
The challenge is that we have to do this at a time when the world economy is experiencing great difficulty. The United States and Europe are struggling to deal with an economic slowdown and financial crisis. Even China is slowing down.
We too have been affected, though I believe we have been able to limit the effect of the global crisis.
We are at a point where we can reverse the slowdown in our growth. We need a revival in investor confidence domestically and globally. The decisions we have taken recently are necessary for this purpose.
Let me begin with the rise in diesel prices and the cap on LPG cylinders.
We import almost 80% of our oil, and oil prices in the world market have increased sharply in the past four years. We did not pass on most of this price rise to you, so that we could protect you from hardship to the maximum extent possible.
As a result, the subsidy on petroleum products has grown enormously. It was Rs. 1 lakh 40 thousand crores last year. If we had not acted, it would have been over Rs. 200,000 crores this year.
Where would the money for this have come from? Money does not grow on trees. If we had not acted, it would have meant a higher fiscal deficit, that is, an unsustainable increase in government expenditure vis-a-vis government income. If unchecked, this would lead to a further steep rise in prices and a loss of confidence in our economy. The prices of essential commodities would rise faster. Both domestic as well as foreign investors would be reluctant to invest in our economy. Interest rates would rise. Our companies would not be able to borrow abroad. Unemployment would increase.
The last time we faced this problem was in 1991. Nobody was willing to lend us even small amounts of money then. We came out of that crisis by taking strong, resolute steps. You can see the positive results of those steps. We are not in that situation today, but we must act before people lose confidence in our economy.
I know what happened in 1991 and I would be failing in my duty as Prime Minister of this great country if I did not take strong preventive action.
The world is not kind to those who do not tackle their own problems. Many European countries are in this position today. They cannot pay their bills and are looking to others for help. They are having to cut wages or pensions to satisfy potential lenders.
I am determined to see that India will not be pushed into that situation. But I can succeed only if I can persuade you to understand why we had to act.
We raised the price of diesel by just Rs. 5 per litre instead of the Rs. 17 that was needed to cut all losses on diesel. Much of diesel is used by big cars and SUVs owned by the rich and by factories and businesses. Should government run large fiscal deficits to subsidise them?
We reduced taxes on petrol by Rs. 5 per litre to prevent a rise in petrol prices. We did this so that the crores of middle class people who drive scooters and motorcycles are not hit further.
On LPG, we put a cap of 6 subsidised cylinders per year. Almost half of our people, who need our help the most, actually use only 6 cylinders or less. We have ensured they are not affected. Others will still get 6 subsidised cylinders, but they must pay a higher price for more.
We did not touch the price of kerosene which is consumed by the poor.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
You should know that even after the price increase, the prices of diesel and LPG in India are lower than those in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The total subsidy on petroleum products will still be Rs. 160 thousand crores. This is more than what we spend on Health and Education together. We held back from raising prices further because I hoped that oil prices would decline.
Let me now turn to the decision to allow foreign investment in retail trade. Some think it will hurt small traders. This is not true.
Organised, modern retailing is already present in our country and is growing. All our major cities have large retail chains. Our national capital, Delhi, has many new shopping centres. But it has also seen a three-fold increase in small shops in recent years.
In a growing economy, there is enough space for big and small to grow. The fear that small retailers will be wiped out is completely baseless.
We should also remember that the opening of organised retail to foreign investment will benefit our farmers. According to the regulations we have introduced, those who bring FDI have to invest 50% of their money in building new warehouses, cold-storages, and modern transport systems. This will help to ensure that a third of our fruits and vegetables, which at present are wasted because of storage and transit losses, actually reach the consumer. Wastage will go down; prices paid to farmers will go up; and prices paid by consumers will go down.
The growth of organised retail will also create millions of good quality new jobs.
We recognise that some political parties are opposed to this step. That is why State governments have been allowed to decide whether foreign investment in retail can come into their state. But one state should not stop another state from seeking a better life for its farmers, for its youth and for its consumers.
In 1991, when we opened India to foreign investment in manufacturing, many were worried.
But today, Indian companies are competing effectively both at home and abroad, and they are investing around the world. More importantly, foreign companies are creating jobs for our youth -- in Information Technology, in steel, and in the auto industry. I am sure this will happen in retail trade as well.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The UPA Government is the government of the aam aadmi.
In the past 8 years our economy has grown at a record annual rate of 8.2 per cent. We have ensured that poverty has declined much faster, agriculture has grown faster, and rural consumption per person has also grown faster.
We need to do more, and we will do more. But to achieve inclusiveness we need more growth. And we must avoid high fiscal deficits which cause a loss of confidence in our economy.
I promise you that I will do everything necessary to put our country back on the path of high and inclusive growth. But I need your support. Please do not be misled by those who want to confuse you by spreading fear and false information. The same tactics were adopted in 1991. They did not succeed then. They will not succeed now. I have full faith in the wisdom of the people of India.
We have much to do to protect the interests of our nation, and we must do it now. At times, we need to say "No" to the easy option and say "Yes" to the more difficult one. This happens to be one such occasion. The time has come for hard decisions. For this I need your trust, your understanding, and your cooperation.
As Prime Minister of this great country, I appeal to each one of you to strengthen my hands so that we can take our country forward and build a better and more prosperous future for ourselves and for the generations to come.
Jai Hind.
Full speech: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation

Indian Air Force ahead with over 10 percent women officers

New Delhi, Aug 22, 2012, (IANS)
Women officers in the Indian army, navy and air force constitute only 3.3, 3.9 and 10.4 percent of the officer cadre respectively and these figures were achieved within 20 years from when they were first recruited, parliament was informed Wednesday.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha that the representation of women in the armed forces has been progressively increasing since their first recruitment in 1992-93.
"At present, the percentage of women officers in army, navy and air force, excluding medical streams, is 3.3 percent, 3.9 per cent and 10.04 percent respectively," Antony said.
"The representation of women officers in the armed forces has increased progressively over the years," the minister added.
To another query on the same subject, the minister said the number of women officers in the army is 1,214, in the navy 302 and the air force 1,079.
At present, the existing strength of the army is 36,788 officers, the navy 7,744 and the air force 10,747. There is a shortfall of 13,000 officers across the three services.
These figures are excluding the medical stream women officers.
Women officers are inducted in the branches open to them within the overall authorised strength of officers' cadre of respective service, based on merit on an all- India basis.
"There is no separate fixed sanctioned strength for women officers in the armed forces," he added.
Noting that a fresh policy on induction of women officers was laid down last November, Antony said it was issued after considering the paper submitted by a high-level tri-service committee with the approval of the chiefs of staff committee.
"There is an endeavour to fill up the vacancies of officers from amongst eligible candidates, which is a continuous and an ongoing process," Antony said.
Barring the medical stream, women officers are inducted on short service commissions in certain branches of the three armed forces.
In the army, women officers are recruited in the Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Army Air Defence, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, Intelligence Corps, Army Education Corps and Judge Advocate General branches.
In the navy, they are inducted into the Judge Advocate General, Logistics, Observer, Air Traffic Controller, Naval Constructor and Education branches.
In the air force, though, women officers are recruited in all branches and streams, except the fighter stream of the flying branch.
Indian Air Force ahead with over 10 percent women officers

With economy plummeting Planning Commission enhances its peeing ambiance

New Delhi: The Planning Commission has issued a statement in an attempt to explain why it spent 35 lakh rupees on renovating two toilets in its office.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Commission, avoided questions on Wednesday morning about the controversy. The expenditure was revealed by a Right to Information application filed by activist Subhash Agarwal who points out, "Cost of installation of Door Access Control System is Rs. 5,19,426 for two toilets. Cost of renovation of two toilets where door access control system is installed is Rs. 30,00,305."
Social activist Nikhil Dey links that controversial statement to the swanky toilet plan. "There is almost everything that is wrong with what was done and with the justification for it. The Planning Commission represents planning for whom, the poor of the country. And there has been a dispute with their figures because there has been a perception with everyone that within the planning commission they have one standard for the poor and another for the rich. They were placing smart cards for entry into those toilets. That privatizes, reduces the number of those who can use it...it's a huge amount of money and it's that same planning commission that not only decides what the poverty line is but also decides on how much money can be spent on a toilet across the country," he says.
Apart from the poverty line estimates issue, Mr Ahluwalia was also criticized recently after a newspaper reported, based on an RTI reply, that Rs. 2.02 lakh a day was spent by him on foreign travel between May and October, 2011. Another report said that he undertook 42 official trips (between June 2004-January 2011) of 274 days at a cost of Rs. 2.34 crore.
Planning Commission renovates its Rest Rooms for Rs 35 lakhs
Comment: What an irony? An American Bill Gates trying to build cheap toilets for Indian masses and sample Planning Commission's wasteful expenditure of Rs 35 lakhs on one single toilet...
Reinventing a toilet that has an operational cost of $0.05 per user, per day, that does not rely on water to flush waste and does not discharge pollutants is Bill Gates' latest mission. "One of my ultimate dreams now is to reinvent the toilet - find a cheaper alternative to the flush toilet that does not require running water, has smell characteristics better than the flush toilet and is cheap."
Reinventing the toilet is Bill Gates's new mission: click here

Permanent Commission to Women Officers

Armed Forces were requested to prepare a comprehensive coherent policy paper on induction of Women, which has been submitted to the Ministry in August 2011. The policy paper has been considered by the Ministry keeping in view the role and responsibility of the Armed Forces in defending the nation and protecting the territorial integrity of the-country. Based thereon, a Government letter has been issued on 11th November, 2011 inter-alia laying down policy on induction and employment of women in Armed Forces as under:
(i) Women Officers may continue to be inducted as Short Service Commission Officers` (SSCOs) in Branches/Cadres where they are being inducted presently in the three Service`s
(ii) Women SSCOs will be eligible for consideration for grant of permanent commission along with Men SSCOs in specific Branches in the three Services viz. Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Army Education Corps (AEC) of Army and their corresponding branches in Navy and Air Force; Naval constructor in Navy and Accounts branch in Air Force, as specified in Ministry`s letter No:12(i)/2004-D(AG)Pt.Il, dated 26th Septembet,2008;`
(iii) In addition to the above, in the Air Force, women SSCOs will be eligible alongwith men SSCOs, for consideration for grant of permanent commission in Technical, Administration, Logistics and Meteorology Branches.
The grant of permanent commission will be subject to willingness of the candidate and service specific requirements, availability of vacancies, suitability, merit of the candidate as decided by each Service.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri Balwinder Singh Bhunder in Rajya Sabha today. PK/NN
(Release ID :77410)
Permanent Commission to Women Officers

Army Nurses Rank, Status and Honour Degraded?

Army nurses not at par with officers’ by Vijay Mohan/ TNS
Chandigarh, May 12, 2011
Holding that the Military Nursing Service (MNS) is an auxiliary force, the Armed Forces Tribunal has ruled that MNS officers cannot be granted parity with Army officers.

Disposing of a bunch of petitions filed by MNS officers seeking a higher pay-band and associated benefits at par with Army officers of equivalent rank, the Tribunal observed that the recruitment process and nature of duties of the MNS and Army officers is different and simply because the MNS officers are being granted ranks and perks admissible to combatant soldiers and officers, the position of MNS officers cannot be elevated to that of regular troops.

The MNS officers contended that making a distinction on the basis of being a combat and non-combat force and thereby placing them in a lower pay-band was discriminatory. They also contended that some other branches like education, postal and JAG were also non-combatant, but were granted higher scales. Observing that it was clear from the Army ordinance that the MNS was an auxiliary force and not the main combat force, the Tribunal ruled that the difference between the two is right from the induction into service and this distinction has been kept in view by the government while fixing their pay-band.

Ruling that it was a “total misnomer” to say that the nursing staff are same in status as the regular combat force, the Tribunal also observed that there would be functional and command difficulties in hospitals. Nurses have to work under the directions of doctors and have to follow their command. Directions given by doctors to persons of the same rank and status may cause difficulty in functioning.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110513/nation.htm#8
Army nurses not at par with officers’
Vijay Mohan/ TNS
Related reading
New Delhi, May 12, 2011
The government is planning to recruit 20,000 more armed women personnel in paramilitary forces in the next three years. According to the new plan formulated by the Home Ministry, all paramilitary forces, the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB and the NSG, will essentially have 5 per cent of their total force strength as women personnel in three to five years and 10 per cent in the subsequent five years. These women will be hired and deployed for general guard duties, patrolling, frisking suspects and other normal policing activities undertaken by their male counterparts. The government also plans to enhance the facilities being offered to women security personnel
Plan to recruit 20,000 women in paramilitary

Defence Secretary A.V. Singh, who chaired the committee which submitted its report in March 2003 said, "The cumulative effect of its implementation will be, we hope, a younger force".
What we have in reality is a top heavy bloated ageing Army Command Chain enhancing and encouraging Corruption and diluting decision making- Ideal for a Defensive Military. Thanks to AV Singh's Vision!
Degradation of Rank and Honour- In footsteps of AV Singh Committee
A military nurse holds rank in his or her respective service the same as other officers. A brand new nurse is commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Military Nursing Service corps they are commissioned in. They work up through the ranks by completing career milestones and through a competitive process called a promotion board. Nurses have a long and remarkable history of serving and aiding the military from the Wars of early history to modern day conflicts. Nurses have served bravely and with great personal sacrifice in and out of uniform. Nursing has contributed to significant strides in improving medical care in the military and in civilian practice. Nurses participate in research, advanced medical care, and technology. But, the thing nurses are best known for is their caring compassionate expertise in treating sick and wounded military personnel.

Indian Women Atheletes create history

India winning Gold Medal in Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 - 4 x 400m relay FINAL



AtreyGotram @olebaj
Yes.. very true and sad that not many know the names of the GEMS of India. BTW I found her name: It is Ashwini. Here in Order - Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur

AtreyGotram RockStarV1
11 hours ago It is awesome....i mean this is hands down awesome ....what can be more awesome...girls you rocked...beat the opponents...keep this coming...

Indian Athletes and Volunteers have saved the Face of India when it almost got lost due to Kalmadi and Sheila Dickshit's corrupt ways...

Woman Officers: Bullet knows no gender

Armed forces need to accept the fact that more women officers will join their ranks and gender equality will occupy the centre stage. This requires attitudinal change in the predominantly male environ. A new set of directives and ground rules need to be worked out for women officers to pursue a credible career.
Bullet knows no gender
Lt Gen (Dr) S.B.S. Kochar (Retd)

Dawn of the new millennium has ushered in fresh hopes and challenges. The established order, where women took a back seat is in the process of imminent fade-out. Many exclusive male bastions and preserves are now extinct. Women have emerged as powerful portents of a new social order and are set to match men, stride for stride. Armed Forces are no exception.

No doubt the demands on national security and military cannot be swayed by attitudes and assumptions. All specialties should be open on a gender neutral standard to those who are qualified, capable and competent to undertake them. Major issues confronted by militaries the world over in so far as employment of women concerned, are social, behavioral and psychological. This is not to say that they must not be trained in the art of soldiering — they must

The strength of women officers in the army is just over a thousand (excluding medical stream) The present policy is to them grant short service commission for five years extendable to 14 years with identical benefits as available to similarly placed male officers. Permanent commission has been granted to women in Judge Advocate General’s Department and Army Education Corps. They are not assigned to the combat Arms. The strength of women officers in the air force who have served so far is 570 and in the navy, 250.
Bullet knows no gender by Lt Gen (Dr) S.B.S. Kochar (Retd)
The writer is a former Commandant of the National Defence Academy

High time army sheds retrograde outlook
Why not a permanent commission? This is the question that arises in the mind of each woman soldier, which is very much her right at par with gentleman officers who are granted permanent commission. When Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees right to equality, then why and how this gender bias set in, that too in one of the nation’s most robust system, the Indian Army? Click link below to read more...
High time army sheds retrograde outlook by Maj Seema Dagar- The writer served with the Army from 1997—2007 and is Manager, Delhi International Airport Ltd.

IAF officer gets boot for lewd remarks

TNN, Jun 11, 2010, 03.32am IST
NEW DELHI: Even as Army conducts a formal court of inquiry against its engineer-in-chief Lt-Gen A K Nanda after a colonel's wife complained against him, an IAF court martial has ordered a wing commander's dismissal after finding him guilty of "outraging the modesty" of a junior woman officer.

Wing Commander H S Virk, posted in Agra, was tried by the GCM (general court martial) in Bareilly last month, after the woman officer alleged he had passed objectionable comments against her.

While a confirmation of the court-martial sentence by the Allahabad-based Central Air Command chief is awaited, Virk has approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), contending he is being kept in "illegal detention" by IAF.

Appearing before the AFT on Virk's behalf, his counsel Rajiv Manglik said the GCM had recommended the wing commander's dismissal but IAF had kept him in confinement even though there was no sentence of imprisonment.

IAF, in turn, contended Virk could not be released as the sentence recommended by the GCM was yet to be confirmed by higher authorities. The AFT, however, directed IAF to release the officer on bail and to send him on leave for two weeks.
IAF officer gets boot for lewd remarks
Col, Lt Col face court martial for Rs 10-crore milk scam: Powder purchased despite adequate stock in store by Vijay Mohan Tribune News Service

Pension of Majors and Equivalents

Regarding Case of Majors Pension.
Dear Chander,
Since I was not in touch with the blog for about 3 months due to some personal problems, I did not know what was happening on the blog. More than 350 e-mails had piled up in my Inbox. I have lately been reading these and saw this one to-day.

Brig NB Subramanian's S of C/ comments are very thorough and if the case includes these, I am sure it would succeed. It is very gracious of him to have taken pains to explain all aspects in detail. Also Col TN Raman deserves appreciation for his views.

May I request you to let me know if any case has been filed or is being filed by any group of Majs or IESM or any Naval or AF ESM org in respect of Pension Disparity of Pre-96/86 Majors? If so, may I request you to let me the contact details.
With warm regards,
Maj Bhupal Singh, Veteran

Brig TN Subramanian Only. I appreciate the pains taken by you for the research on the subject. It is indeed very gracious and magnanimous of you for doing so and shows your deep concern for the dis-advantaged brother veterans of all hues. My regards & best wishes,
Bhupal Singh, Veteran
Related postings
A case for increasing Pension of Majors and equivalents by TN Subramanian
RMS Blog Postings in respect of Majors Pension

gconnect discussion
Pay anomalies arising out of revised pay fixation under 6CPC
Originally Posted by cmde mmsingh
Sir,
I wish to seek your opinion on fixation of Pensions for Defence service offrs (Majors) retired prior to 2006. As per Annex 11(rev) to MoD letter no.17(4)2008(1)D (Pen/Pol) dated 20.01.09, pension of Majors, is Rs 14100/ & Lt Col 14600(old scale) now revised to Rs 25700/. Earlier difference in pension was Rs. 500/- which has now increased to 11,600/-, whereas for a major increase is only Rs. 1,700/-. Majors were drawing prior to 6th CPC Rs. 12,384/- as on 01 Jul 2006. It is apparent that the base for calculation has been taken as Rs. 6,400/- instead of Rs. 9,600/- (revised w.e.f. 01 Jul 2002 after merging 50% of DA i.e. Rs. 6,400/- + Rs. 3,200/-). Has there been any wrong base taken i.e. Rs. 6,400/- instead of Rs. 9,600/-?
There seems to be a lapse in fixing of factor of 2.26 and calculation thereafter resulting in wide gap in pensions of Major and Lt Col. Is is not a violation of article 14 of Constitution of India?
Benefit of Military Service Pay has been given to Lt Col and above ranks but denied to Majors. Has 6th CPC applied different set of rules to different rank of officers?

Dear Sir,
The base applied is correct. The large difference is due to revision of pay band of Lt Col to PB-4 instead PB-3. The minimum pension is 50% of minimum of pay band + grade pay + MSP for Majors also which comes to 14100. i.e, (15600+6600+6000). Though I am not an uniformed service personnel. On perusal of the defence orders on the subject, I have given my opinion.

Degradation of MNS Officers muted by Armed Forces Tribunal

MNS Officers entitled to service privileges of regular officers : AFT
In a well reasoned decision, the Hon’ble Principal Bench of the AFT has held that MNS officers are also commissioned officers and are authorised to the privileges of their respective ranks.

The decision comes in the backdrop of the refusal of authorities to allow a Major General of the MNS from sporting stars and flying a flag on her official car.

The order has settled the controversy once and for all, but the issue makes one wonder as to why were stars and flags refused to such officers in the first place ? When an officer is holding a particular military rank, then it makes no sense to deny the ceremonial ancillaries of the same. It is the rank that is entitled to such privileges and not the service or the person who is wearing that uniform. When there is no bar on sporting the ‘stars’ on the collars, then in my humble opinion there should be no reason as to why a bar should exist on sporting the same very stars on the car !.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh

Self Inflicted Injury
How the Armed Forces degrades itself is evident from the AHQ, COAS letter to Defence Secretary who is responsible for CoS and Anomaly Committee being convoluted and negated! Click link below.
Degrade Basic Pay, Grade Pay and Status of Nurses in Armed Forces

Some suggested measures to redeem the damage inflicted on the MNS Cadre:

Add a web page for the Military Nursing Service under the arms/ services in the official web site.

Re-commence the Officers training at AMC Centre and School for the Newly Commissioned Officers of the Military Nursing Service.

Re-commence the arms training to Nursing Officers (stopped in the early Nineties). To fulfill the Articles of the Geneva Convention MNS are required to be trained in arms/ weapon handling. Incidentally, the Army still has Golding Medal for Shooting championship for the Nursing Officers from the British era.

Bring the Military Nursing Service fully under the Army Act (remove the auxiliary force tag).

We are talking about allowing women in all arms and services of the Army. However still we do not allow eligible men to become Commissioned Nursing Officers! Therefore, remove the restriction on men to join the Nursing Services as Commissioned Officers.

Women Officers: More facts delineated- an apt rebuttal

Reference: Women in the Armed Forces: Fiction and Facts: click here to read the article

Dear General Mrinal Suman, AVSM, VSM, PhD,
Good Morning,
It was a pleasure reading the article written by you. More so is that you also publicizing the article by circulating the same through E-mails. Please accept my congratulations to you for your writing skills. You did spend sometime other then your regular jobs to get it completed and published.

I would have felt proud ( which unfortunately I am not after reading your point of view), if only you would have mentioned constructive points and measures to be taken then to abandon the whole idea of keeping women in Defence forces.

What you have written is already known to everyone since they are born to a lady only and they know what differences are there between a male and female.

I am so sorry to take a major offence to your certain points where you have felt sorry, mentioning only few here,

1. That how many women fail in physical standards.
You must mean that no man fail in physical standard tests.
2. Women ask for compassionate postings.
You must not be aware of number of men who have taken compassionate postings and are enjoying peace tenures for many years all together.
3. Women become pregnant (It’s a news to all of us) after joining Army and they put more burden on military hospitals.
Only lady officers get pregnant and no officer’s wife get pregnant. Great to know this. Such an experience of delivering a child itself is so strenuous and after that also they manage their home along with office without complaint.
4. I have much more to say but refraining myself to write an article in reply of an article.
5. Your article only got published because this is a male dominated society else it would have been thrown in trash for posing your own thoughts as the correct facts and figures. (I am very sorry for being honest with you.)
6. You should have spoken to right people who commanded the lady officers, for then only you would have got correct picture. Lady officers do perform many duties which you feel they don’t including night duty officers.
7. God has created Men and women with many biological, physical and mental differences. A women has mental strength more than any men on this earth to with stand pressure and then also performing multitasking.

Please read your own article again and think again whether you have conveyed your point or degraded the whole lady officers lot by posing them as burden on Indian Army. If we have some restraints then we must look for ways to solve them and we must not run away from the challenges of problems and also should not even recommend stopping the current commissioning. Your article is only to please male counterparts and discourage females from joining army. Its better to look at positives first and then negatives and find a solution.

May god bless you.
Our country is truly blessed with many people encouraging you and giving you a pat at your back.
With warm regards
Major Archana Lokeshwar (Ex Indian Army)

Comments
I totally agree with Maj Archna Lokeshwar.
The article by Gen Sen (Mrinal Suman) was an insult to humanity as a whole. The deep-rooted bias is evident, and has to change. While deployment in combat oriented roles remains a controversial issue all over the world, better accept the fact that women are here to stay for good, and they are doing a good job at that. The supposed comment ascribed to a JCO regarding overburdening of maternity wards makes me want to hang my head in shame, and coming from a retired General of the Sappers!!?!!
These are teething troubles and let us help every stakeholder in making a smoother transition rather than cribbing on the basis of ingrained prejudice.
Maj Navdeep Singh
Advocate High Court

Women in the Armed Forces: Fiction and Facts

It should never be forgotten that the raison d’être for the constitution of the armed forces is to ensure security of the country. Decisions which have a far reaching effect on the defence potential of the armed forces must be taken with due diligence. Instead of replicating a model, India must chart its own policy. It has an experience of 18 years. Honest feedback must be sought to appreciate the true ground situation and initiate corrective measures. Most importantly, the military brass must show moral courage to admit that the present mess demands a holistic review of the policy, protestations of self-styled champions of gender-parity not withstanding. Decisions taken as a matter of political and populist expediency can prove disastrous for the nation in the long run. Defence matters cannot be treated as publicity gimmick to flaunt sexual equality.

Maj Gen Mrinal Suman is India’s foremost expert in defence procurement procedures and offsets. He heads Defence Technical Assessment and Advisory Services Group of CII.

Read the full and related articles:
Women in the Armed Forces: misconceptions and facts By Maj Gen Mrinal Suman (IDR Issue: Vol 25.1 Jan-Mar 2010)
Women in the Armed Forces
Women in the Armed Forces: Part 2
Women in the Armed Forces: Part 3
Women in the Armed Forces: Part 4
Women in the Armed Forces: Part 5
WOMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES
Why won’t US allow women in combat

Readers Comments
Mrinal Suman has written excellent article on women Service and factually so very correct. I compliment him for this effort and his fothright and candid views.
Lt Gen DP Sehgal (Former SO-in-C)

The write up was interesting.
I was told by someone that the ACRs of the lady officers are so good that the Govt cannot by any stretch of imagination stop inducting the ladies. After all they would go by the records they have and not what a soldier perceives.
Thanks and regards
Govindarajan

IESM: Reducing the Pension Disparity is not Pension Parity

Dear Colleagues,
The announcement made by the Government in Jun/ Jul this year in the Parliament, on the enhancement in pension of PBOR, still remains a mere announcement. One sincerely hoped for the increased emoluments of pre 10.10.1997 PBOR to be released before Diwali. That did not happen. Nor is there any indication when the emoluments will be finally released. One may assume that these will come latest by 31 Mar 2010 i.e. within this financial year since a provision of Rs 2144 Crores has been made in this year’s budget. What will be the quantum of increase? This too remains a grey area. The expectation of those dealing with the issue is as under:

Rank (service) Likely new pension
Sep (19) Rs 5,800/-
Naik (24) Rs 6,500/-
Hav (26) Rs 6,500/-
Nb Sub (28) Rs 10,675/-
Sub (28) Rs 11,970/-
Sub Maj (28) Rs 12,285/-

It would be relevant to point out that the above figures as of now are only a deduction from what has been already accorded. Secondly, it is not the expected OROP since these figures do not match the post 1.1.2006 scales.
Best regards,
Lt Gen (Emeritus) Raj Kadyan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM
Chairman IESM

IESM: Media Coverage- OROP Campaign

It is with immense joy that I write to you regarding the outstanding work accomplished by WO Bala regarding the MEDIA COVERAGE for yesterday's Medal Deposition campaign.

WO Bala carried out tremendous ground work by repeatedly communicating and liaising with the South Indian media persons ensuring coverage for our event in those regions.

Reports from ESM from the southern parts of the country have come saying that the event was given ample media coverage. Certain news channels, including but not limited to, Sun TV, Surya TV, AsiaNet, have been carrying this news for two days in a row! Some newspapers have also carried the same news. We must all congratulate WO Bala on this achievement.

Also, I strongly recommend his name as our Media Manager based on his outstanding media coverage lining up capabilities. I am certain that he can handle the northern parts of the country as deftly as he handles the southern parts right now.
Once again congratulations to WO Bala.
Kameshwar Pandey
Sub/ Maj Hony Lt (Veteran)

Heartiest congratulations Bala. Keep up the good work – Chander Kamboj

Admiral Mehta to be Ambassador to New Zealand

Official announcement soon. If you remember what I said back in the day on this blog: click me - the rift between our ex-Naval Chief and the Government was a creation of a (very small) section of the media and an imaginary yield of some very fertile minds. This and this would remind us of the time.

Now is the time to put all rumours to rest, because Admiral Sureesh Mehta is going to be the next Ambassador to Kiwiland. An official announcement would most probably be made very soon.

‘Salute the Soldier’. :-)
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 4:53 PM
Admiral Mehta to be Ambassador to New Zealand

Is the mission for equality accomplished?
Is the Naval chief being really rewarded or is he being kept out of the country so that the the Sixth Central Pay Commission inequalities and anomalies of 'Services Salaries' remains bugged/ buried forever? :'-)
Remember remarks of Naval Chief at a Territorial Army day parade last year (Oct 2008) where Defence Minister A K Antony, Army chief General Deepak Kapoor and Air Chief F H Major were present. The other two service chiefs were walking alongside Mehta when the reporters talked to him but they did not make any comments."Our fight is for equality"- click me

Mahatma is Obama’s hero

Power Profiles showcase successful people who you can learn from. If there is any golden rule to follow, take advice from people who are already there.
The Hindu: Thursday, Sep 10, 2009
WASHINGTON: United States President Barack Obama has said if given a chance he would like to have a meal with his “real hero” Mahatma Gandhi, although the apostle of peace did not eat a lot.

Mr. Obama’s response came to a question from a ninth grade student at the Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, who asked him if he could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who it would be.

“Dinner with anyone dead or alive? Well, you know, dead or alive, that’s a pretty big list,” he said amidst laughter. “You know, I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine,” Mr. Obama said. “Now, it would probably be a really small meal because he didn’t eat a lot.”

He said Gandhiji was someone who has inspired people across the world for the past several generations. “He [Gandhiji] is somebody whom I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr. King [Martin Luther], so if it hadn’t been for the non-violent movement in India, you might not have seen the same non-violent movement for civil rights here in the United States,” he said. — PTI
Mahatma is Obama's hero

Women officers grieviences addressed

The Government has decided to grant Permanent Commission prospectively to Short Service Commission officers, both men and women, in branches and cadres of the three services, which do not entail direct combat or possibility of physical contact with enemy.

The branches where permanent commission would be granted include Judge advocate General, Army Education Corps and its corresponding branches in Navy and Air Force, Accounts branch of the Air Force and Naval Constructor of the Navy.

The selection will be based on a common merit and eligibility criteria, which would be decided by each Service Headquarters. A tri-service study carried out in 2006 on all aspects of employment of women officers in the Services recommended that women officers would be excluded from induction in close combat arms where chances of physical contact with enemy were high.

Women officers have been in the Armed Forces for about 80 years and served with competence and distinction. They were inducted in the Military Nursing Service in 1927 and in the Medical Officers Cadre since 1943. Following Cabinet approval, induction of women officers in other branches in the three services started in 1992.

• 1072 women officers in Army (excluding medical services)
• 793 women officers in IAF including medical officers.
• 63 women officers in IAF in Flying Branch.
• 126 women officers in Medical & Dental in IAF.
• 258 women officers in Navy.
• 752 Women Medical Officers in AMC
• 490 Women Medical Permanent Commission Officers.
• 2834 Women officers in MNS.

The decision of the Government is a great break through in leveling the gender discrimination. When a nation can have women P.M and President (The Supreme Commander) why not a COAS ? The day is not far off for India to have woman Marshal of the Air Force.

The First Women General in the Indian Army Maj Gen (Miss)GA Ram (Director MNS) was appointed on Aug 27, 1976.

Mother Theresa and Mahatma Gandhi cannot be compared. Millions admire Mahatma, but billions love Mother Theresa. A Mother is always loved more than a Father. (The women officers in the Armed Forces should keep this in mind and be Proud of being Mother first and Officer next).

Posted By Muthukrishnan to indianexserviceman at 5/06/2009 09:53:00 PM

Recruit more women: Reduce sexual harassment

PTI Photo
Captain Poonam Kaur’s allegations of sexual harassment have clouded the Indian army’s reputation, the fact remains that as long as women are barely tolerated in the military and unable to wield real power, such instances will recur. The Indian army has been recruiting women for the last 15 years, initially to fill up junior slots that were falling vacant. In their 10 years of work, women officers can rise only up to the level of a major, so their male colleagues have no fear of reprisal.

Antony orders inquiry into woman officer's allegations
Recruit more women: Else, power differentials in the army are bound to be abused

Women in the Armed Forces

Military Nursing Service
In 1994 there were 200 women in the armed forces. In the army, which employs women as physicians and nurses, the participation of women is small but growing. The Indian Military Nursing Service was formed in 1926 and has eight nursing schools (five army, two navy, and one air force) and one nursing college in Pune. Bachelor of science graduates are commissioned as lieutenants in the Medical Nursing Service and attached to the various components of the armed forces. Ranks as Brig can be attained by career officers. In the mid 1990s, a small but increasing number of women officers were being assigned to non medical services.

Inter Service Report
15 years later, Indian Army finds women officers soft since they first entered the Indian armed forces as officers on a limited tenure. The forces have now concluded that they are distinctly uncomfortable with the female presence. An inter services report has concluded that female officers don’t quite fit into the military ethos. Women stand accused of routinely seeking preferential treatment like soft postings and frequent leave.

Soft Duties
India's one million strong army has only 1,000 women officers. The government began commissioning women officers just 16 years ago, until then, women were only allowed into the army's medical corps. The first batch of 50 women officers was inducted into the force in 1992. A total of 150 officers are inducted every year and given short service commission, initially for a five-year term which can be extended up to 14 years. Women Officers are assigned to Artillery, Signals, Engineering and Intelligence but they are neither allowed in close combat duties nor to man forward posts.

Pension
Short Service Women Officers Once retired after 14 years are not entitled to a pension. Other benefits remain at par with regular ESM (retirees). Total number of retired woman officers as on date is not known but fair to assume that the numbers are insignificant.

Comments
Woman Officers ideally should command women soldiers. An all- woman Battalion or a Brigade will prove more effective in dealing with Internal Insurgency like in J&K, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland. Why is there no recruitment of women soldiers (PBOR)? Why are women discriminated?