War disabled event at OTA Chennai on 20 Oct 2012

From: Vijay Oberoi
WAR DISABLED EVENT AT CHENNAI
As you may be aware, I head the War Wounded Foundation, an NGO that is working for the long term rehabilitation of war disabled personnel of the three services. We are now about 10 years old. Till now, our work covered only the northern states. In our first expansion, we have decided to expand our activities by covering the four southern states viz. Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in addition to our continuing efforts in the north.
With the above in view, our Foundation is scheduling an event at Chennai, as the ‘curtain raiser’ for our entry in to Southern India. The event has a number of aims, like giving visibility to the Foundation and the war disabled personnel; to honour the war disabled personnel of the four southern states; to apprise the war disabled about our future plans; and raise funds if possible. The event is scheduled on 20 October 2012 and the COAS has kindly consented to be the Chief Guest. The event would include collecting a cross-section of war disabled personnel from the four southern states and honouring them. There would also be a Karate Display by a local organization as part of the event. We would also note down any legitimate grievances of the war disabled and project them to the concerned authorities.
The venue for the event is the Auditorium of OTA at Chennai. The function will commence at 1130 hours on Saturday 20 October 2012 and will end at about 1315 hours. This includes a tea break of 30 minutes in which the war disabled and others will get a chance to interact with the COAS over a cup of tea. Attendance would be by invitation.
Our Foundation has already sent letters to the war disabled personnel residing in the four southern states, asking them to get in touch with us, to enable us to select personnel from all the four states to attend the event. However, our address lists may not be comprehensive or updated. We do need to mobilize sufficient war disabled personnel from the southern states for attending the event at Chennai on 20 Oct 12. The need is to get in touch with them and motivate them to come to Chennai on 19 Oct, attend the event on the forenoon of 20 Oct 2012 and return home the same evening or the next day. All war disabled personnel get concessions/no payment on buses and trains. The balance cost of fares, if any would be paid by us. We would also make arrangements for their stay at Chennai in a local unit.
I am now requesting Brig Chander Kamboj to put this on his very well read blog - REPORT MY SIGNAL, so that the message goes to everyone. I would like to request you to spread the word so that maximum war disabled personnel come to know about the event. They could be informed about the function and requested to get in touch with our office at Delhi and not only let us know whether they would be able to attend, but also to be in touch with our Foundation so that they can benefit by joining our future programmes. Details of our office are as under:

Address – War Wounded Foundation; Flat No. 313, Ground Floor (LIG); Pocket 1, Sector-23; Dwarka, New Delhi-110077.

Executive Officer – Lt Col Gulshan Kumar; Mobile – 9810989524. 011 45604116.

E-mail – warwounded(at)rediffmail(dot)com.
I would also request various veteran groups to circulate this amongst their groups, so that maximum personnel come to know about our Foundation as well as the proposed event.
Regards.
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi
President
War Wounded Foundation

LT Gen AS Narula Takes Over as New Commandant of Army Hospital (R&R)

LT Gen as Narula Takes Over as New Commandant of Army Hospital(R&R)
Lt. General AS Narula has taken over as the new Commandant of the prestigious Army Hospital(R&R), Delhi Cantt. A graduate from Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Gen Narula completed his MD (Medicine) from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and DM(Nephrology) from the prestigious PGI Chandigarh.
An eminent Nephrologist of National and International repute, Gen Narula has had a very illustrious career. He has been the head of Medicine department at Command Hospital (Central Command),Lucknow and Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune. As an able administrator, GeneralNarula has successfully commanded Base Hospital Delhi and has served as Additional DG in the office of DGAFMS.
Prior to taking over as Commandant, Gen Narula was MG (Med) at Chennai. Gen Narula is also an eminent teacher par excellence with many national and international publications to his credit. DM/NN (Release ID :87318)
LT Gen as Narula Takes Over as New Commandant of Army Hospital(R&R)

Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities

Shri Prasanna Kumar Pincha Appointed as Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities
The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Government of India has appointed Shri Prasanna Kumar Pincha as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. Shri Pincha has assumed charge w.e.f. 28th December, 2011 accordingly. It is for the first time ever that a person with disability has been appointed as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in the country.

The CCPD is appointed by the Government as per the Section 57 of the Persons with Disability Act, 1995. The appointment of Mr. Pincha comes at a very important time as the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment is also in the process of finalization of new Act for the Persons with Disability. In this regard Union Minister, Shri Mukul Wasnik, is taking keen interest in the proposed new Act for PwDs, which in many ways would be compliant with UNCRPD.

A Disability Rights Activist of caliber, Shri Pincha is Visually Disabled since his birth. Shri Pincha is a former Founder Principal of the Government Institute for the Blinds in Jorhat, Assam, Former Joint Director of Social Welfare of Government of Assam, Former Regional – Senior Manager of ActionAid (an international NGO) of the North-East of India and a Former Senior Manager-cum-Theme Leader looking after ActionAid’s work on the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He was also associated with the National Human Rights Commission as its Special Rapporteur (Persons with Disabilities) prior to assumption of charge by him as the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.

A Law Graduate and a Masters Degree holder in English, Shri Pincha is particularly known for his legal and judicial advocacy. He is also the recipient of a National Award of Best Employee (Visually Disabled) in the year 1999 instituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India and given away by erstwhile President of India. SKS/-
(Release ID :79575)
Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities

Major General Ian Cardozo : A war hero remembers

Gen Cardozo was the Chief of Staff 4 Corps when I was the Col GS ops.
A remarkably enthusiastic and hands on 'lead by example' person I would like to be with in any war.
Always spoke his mind out. Boldly too.
Has a way with children. The WHOLE lot of the Tezpur kids simply LOVED him. Swimming galas, sports, outings, camps....... you thought of it and the General made it possible.
What's more, he JOINED Them !! I particularly remember him splashing in the swimming pool, at times racing with guys years younger.
A couple of years ago, post retirement, he was invited by some organization to be Chief Guest for a swimming event for the disabled. He refused and opted to participate instead. AND WON in some events.
In the Rediffmail reportage below, a reader comments that he would make a good President. I agree. Would at least impart a no nonsense, optimistic, 'never say die' attitude to the country.
Here's to You Ian Sir, MY vote for YOU as Prez. I know you have a way with children, and out there you WOULD have to deal with a lot of 'grown up children'.
With Warm Regards,
Col RP Chaturvedi,

Dear Sirs,
Cardozo told me about it in passing a few years back when we got talking in USI. He was a course junior to me at NDA, A very polite, soft spoken and polished cadet with command over English Language. He went on to become Academy Cadet Captain [ACC] in his 4th Term. He was definitely healthy with baby chubby cheeks. He wrote book on PVC Recipients.
I could not at that point in time gauge that he would be so courageous with steely nerves and determined beyond human determination.
Later he told me that he had joined Ms Sonia Gandhi's NAC during UPA-1 for rehabilitation of war injured. I do not know how far he succeeded.
I applaud him fully.
With best regards,
Commander Prem P Batra Retired

'I cut my leg off and ordered: 'Go and bury it'
Last updated on: December 8, 2011 15:54 IST
Claude Arpi

Image: Major General Ian Cardozo served the Indian Army with distinction and was the first disabled officer to command a battalion and a brigade.
Major General Ian Cardozo was a young major in the 5 Gorkha Rifles in the 1971 war with Pakistan. In a swift military offensive, India defeated Pakistan within 13 days, liberated a region and led to the creation of Bangladesh.
In the war, the then Major Cardozo stepped on a landmine and had to cut off his badly wounded leg with his own khukri.
Yet, through sheer will power and determination, he did not let his disability come in the way of his duty as a soldier and went on to become the first disabled officer in the Indian Army to command an infantry battalion and a brigade.
Awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry, General Cardozo spoke to Claude Arpi about the historic war and how he conquered his disability in the second part of a fascinating interview.

Part I of the interview: 1971, A War Hero Remembers
Tell us about your wound.
At that time, I was still not wounded.
There was a BSF commander who got panicky when he saw all these fellows (prisoners) and asked: "Please send someone here." I told the CO that I would go. I did not know that I was walking on a minefield. I stepped on a mine and my leg blew off.

A Bangladeshi saw this happening, he picked me up and took me to the battalion headquarters. They were feeling bad. I told the doctor, 'Give me some morphine.' They had none- it had been destroyed during the operations. 'Do you have any Pethidine?' 'No'
I told him: 'Could you cut this off?'
He said: 'I don't have any instrument.'
I asked my batman: 'Where is my khukri?'
He said: 'Here it is, Sir.'
I told him: 'Cut it off.'
He answered in Gorkhali: 'Sir, I can't do it.'
I told him: 'Give it to me.' I cut my leg off and ordered: 'Now go and bury it.'
You tell people that you are embarrassed to tell the story because it was nothing at all. What was your first thought?
My first thought was for her (pointing to his wife, Priscilla). I thought, 'What a stupid thing happened to me. It was beyond my control, it just happened.'
Then the doctor came and tied it up. My CO also came: 'Ian, you are very lucky, we have captured a Pakistani surgeon. He will operate on you.'
'Nothing doing, Sir, I don't want to be operated by a Pakistani doctor. Just get me back to India,' I answered.
By that time Dhaka had fallen and there was no chopper available.
I then told the CO: 'Two conditions.' He immediately said: 'You are not in position to put conditions.'
I told him: 'OK, two requests. One, I don't want Pakistani blood.'
He retorted: 'You are a fool.' I said: 'I am prepared to die a fool. My second request, Sir, I want you to be present when they operate on me.' The CO asked: 'Why?' I answered: 'You know why.' (There had been cases of torture). So, he agreed.
Anyway, the Pakistani surgeon did a good job. His name was Major Mohamed Basheer. I have never been able to say, 'Thank you.' I owe him a thank you, but it is not easy (to find someone in Pakistan].

Image: The War Memorial in Jammu
'I wanted to prove that a person with a wooden leg could do as well, if not better'
What did you feel when you cut your own leg?
People are giving more credit than I do. Actually I just felt deeply embarrassed because my leg was in a terrible state. I did not want to look at it and others to look at it. I wanted to get rid of it. Nobody wanted to do it, so I did it.
You have said that you always dream that you have two legs.
Yes, in my dreams, I have two legs, no artificial leg.
How did you manage to get a promotion after being disabled?
One has to accept that the army puts a great amount of emphasis on physical fitness. One has to be fit to be a commander at any level.
From my side, I felt that the doctors were unfair to me to say that I could not perform as well as anybody else.
With my wooden leg, I was determined to prove to the army as well as to the world in general, that a person with a wooden leg could do as well, if not better, than a two-legged person. I resolved to keep myself physically fit.
I woke early morning, did some exercises and went for a run. I did the battle physical test. I had a problem with the officer in charge of the test who refused to allow me to pass the test. He said he would not let me go through that test because a year earlier someone physically unfit had gone through the test and died.
I told him I was fit, but he answered that he would arrest me if I do the test. I told him: 'You can put me under arrest only after I commit the offense. So let me do the test and you can arrest me after.'
So I did the test and left seven officers with two legs behind me. The officer was a good man, he said, putting his arm around my shoulder: 'Well done, Sir, good job.'
I later went to the vice-chief and asked him, what else should I do? He said: 'Come with me to J&K.'
He came by helicopter to a place at 6,000 feet. I climbed from the road to the helipad. When he arrived, he asked me: 'How did you come here?' thinking I had used my contacts to fly with a chopper. I told him: 'Sir, I climbed from the road.'
He was surprised: 'You can climb!' I told him: 'What I can or can't do is the minds of my senior officers.'
He said 'Alright' and put up my case to the army chief (General T N Raina) who asked me to accompany him to Ladakh. I walked in mountains in snow and ice. General Raina saw this and when he returned to Delhi, he asked for my file and wrote: 'Yes, give him a battalion and to all other officers who are not taking shelter behind their wounds.'
For me, it only meant that one has to do what is required by one's job. I was the first disabled officer to be approved to command a battalion.
The same thing happened when I was to take command of a brigade. The bureaucracy said: 'No, you can't command a brigade.' I wrote to the army chief that I had proven that I could command a battalion; there was no reason why I should be demoted in a staff job.
The chief said: 'Why do you harass this man, give him the command of a brigade.'
Later three disabled officers became army commanders. One even became vice-chief: he had earlier had both his legs amputated.
What would you tell the youth of this country?
I have many things to say: You have only one life to live, live it to the full.
You have 24 hours in a day: Pack it up.
The other thing is 'Never give up.'
If you believe in something, do it in a right way at the right time.
I must say I had always the support of my wife for whatever I did in my life.
'I wanted to prove that a person with a wooden leg could do as well, if not better'
Click here to read more

Hospital for ex-servicemen to come up at Manarcad

Hospital for ex-servicemen to come up at Manarcad
Staff Reporter The Hindu
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has reiterated his government's commitment to the cause of ex-servicemen and their dependents.
Speaking at the ex-servicemen meet organised by the State Ex-Servicemen Welfare Department here on Sunday, the Chief Minister said his government would take the issues concerning war widows, dependents of servicemen who laid their lives in the service of the nation, physically challenged ex-servicemen and their dependents, in all its seriousness.
Assistance for widows
Already, the government has doubled the financial assistance to WWII veterans from Rs.500 to Rs.1,000. A new scheme of providing monthly assistance of Rs.500 to their widows has been initiated.
The Chief Minister announced that a rest house-cum-hospital complex for ex-servicemen and their dependents would be constructed at Manarcad. The government has identified 50 cents of land for the purpose and has earmarked Rs.2.5 crore for the project, he said.
The work on the rest house at Ernakulam is nearing completion and that at Malappuram would commence immediately, he said.
Aid doubled
The financial assistance to the dependents of jawans who lay their lives in war or war-like situations, has been doubled to Rs.10 lakh.
The income ceiling for availing of financial assistance has been increased from Rs.75,000 to Rs.1.5 lakh, he said.
The government is seriously thinking of introducing a new scheme which would extend financial support to those who have received bravery awards, the Chief Minister said.
The government has also decided to extend financial assistance to ex-servicemen and their dependents who undergo dialysis. Total financial assistance of Rs.10,000 at the rate of Rs.1,000 per dialysis will be provided to the eligible.
The government also provides a monthly financial assistance of Rs.200 to poor, aged ex-servicemen who are staying at old age homes.
Speaking on the occasion Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Minister for Revenue, said the interests of those who have served in the services and their dependents would be protected by the State.
Brig (Rtd) MJ Prakadan, District Panchayat President Radha V Nair and others spoke.
Hospital for ex-servicemen to come up at Manarcad

Financial aid to non-pensioner ex-servicemen and widows

TODAY - Thursday, Dec 08, 2011
Financial aid to non-pensioner ex-servicemen/widows
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, December 02 2011: The Office of the Rajya Sainik Board, Lamphelpat, Government of Manipur has announced that the following Financial Assistance for the Ex-Servicemen and widows of the state are available.
Penury Grant (above 65 years Non-pensioner upto Hav rank) @ Rs 1000/- pm for life time, Education Grant @ Rs 1000/- per month, Officer Cadet Grant @ Rs 1000/- per month, Disabled Children Grant @ Rs 1000/- per month, House Repair Grant @ Rs 20,000/-, Marriage Grant @ Rs 16000/-, Funeral Grant @ Rs 5000/-, Medical Grant @ Rs 30000/-, Orphan Grant @ Rs 1000/- per month, Vocational Training Grant for Widows @ Rs 20000/-, and for serious diseases like Cancer, Open Heart Surgery etc @ 75% to 90% for Officer Ranks and Below Officer Rank @ Rs 75,000/- per financial year, according to a press release of PRO (Defence) Further details can be obtained from the office of Rajya Sainik Board, Lamphel, Imphal between 1100 hrs to 1300 hrs during office hours.
Financial aid to non-pensioner ex-servicemen/widows

Rehabilitation of Disabled War Veterans

REHABILITATION DISABLED WAR VETERANS AND OTHER DISABLED PERSONNEL
We had a meeting with the Executive Director of Punjab National Bank yesterday to consider the useful employment of Disabled Veterans in Villages and urban areas to enable them to earn whilst doing other jobs as well. They were very receptive to the idea and immediately asked us to initiate persons willing to undertake to help themselves. The scheme is as below.
The areas that the PNB is presently interested in is Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, UP, Madya pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan. Please give this wide publicity because through this scheme persons whilst at home in Villages could earn more than Rs 3000/- per month. SEED, PNB tie up to roll out micro MFs By Ritwik Mukherjee Oct 06 2010, Kolkata SEED, one of the largest business correspondents in the country working with a number of public sector and private banks, is now well set to get into micro mutual funds across Punjab, Hariyana, Bihar and Rajasthan in association with Punjab National Bank.
SEED- PNB will target people who have already been benefited from SEED’s financial inclusion programmes and other people who don’t have any bank account or access to any banking services.
“We will guide people with the help of banking correspondents about mutual funds and other banking products. Unlike regular mutual funds, micro mutual fund is available in smaller lots like Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. Secondly, the criteria such as possessing a pan number as well the 3 years lock-in period will also have certain relaxations in this case. This is because the target in this case is the unbanked/ underbanked population,” Anirban Roy, founder & managing director of SEED, told FC.
SEED is also one of the leading providers of consultancy and implementation services in areas of resettlement & rehabilitation, CSR implementation, microfinance, financial inclusion, infrastructure development, social impact assessment, environment impact assessment and skill development.
SEED, which has so has so far created 1.5 million no frill accounts for various banks and is working towards a mandate size of more than 15 million accounts, is also introducing some microcredit schemes to offer finance to rural people to establish themselves and earn their basic requirements on their own. With the help of skill development classes and other vocational training modules, SEED is aiming at a pan-India microfinance project with several banks and companies, Roy said.
Col H N Handa
President Diwave

Facilities for Physically Challenged Veterans

CSD Canteens, Polyclinics, Sainik Boards, Sainik Aramgarh's and other welfare buildings need to have special friendly features incorporated. Few aspects that need attention are highlighted as under:
Access Path/ Walk Way
Access path from the entry and surface parking to Building entrance shall be minimum of 1.8M wide having even surface without any steps. Slope if any. shall not have gradient greater than 5:1. Selection of floor material shall be made suitably to attract or to guide visually impaired persons (limited to coloured floor material whose colour and brightness is conspicuously different from that of the surrounding floor material or the material that emit different sound to guide visually impaired persons here in after referred to as " guiding floor material". Finishes shall have a non slip surface with a texture traversable by a wheel chair Curbs wherever provided should blend to a common level.
Parking
For parking of vehicles of handicapped people the following provisions shall be made.
a) Surface parking for two car Spaces shall be provided near entrance for the physically handicapped persons with maximum travel distance of 30M from building.
b) The width of parking bay shall be minimum 3.60M.
c) The information stating that the space is reserved for wheel chair users shall be conspicuously displayed.
d) Guiding floor materials shall be provided or a device which guides visually impaired persons with audible signals or other devices which serves the same purpose shall be provided.
BUILDING REQUIREMENTS
The specified facilities for the building for physically handicapped persons shall be as follows.
1. Approach to plinth level
2. Corridor connecting the entrance exit for the handicapped.
3. Stair-ways.
4. Lift.
5. Toilet.
6. Drinking water.
Approach to plinth level
Every building should have at least one entrance accessible to the handicapped and shall be indicated by proper signage. This entrance shall be approached through a ramp together with the stepped entry.
Ramped Approach
Ramp shall be finished with non slip material to enter the building minimum width of ramp shall be 1.8M with maximum gradient 1:12. Length of ramp shall not exceed 9.0M. having 0.8M high hand rail on both sides extending 0.3M beyond top and bottom of the ramp. Minimum gap from the adjacent wall to the hand rail shall be 5cms.
Stepped Approach
For stepped approach size of tread shall not be less than 0.3M. and maximum riser shall be 15cm. Provision of 0.8M high hand rail on both sides of the stepped approach similar to the ramped approach.
Exit Entrance Door
Minimum clear opening of the entrance door shall be 0.9M and it shall not be provided with step that obstructs the passage of a wheel chair and user threshold shall not be raised more than 1.2cm.
Entrance Landing
Entrance landing shall be providing adjacent to ramp with the minimum dimension 1.8Mx2M. The entrance landing that adjoin the top end of a slope shall be provided with floor materials to atract the attention of visually impaired persons (limited to coloured floor material whose colour and brightness is conspicuously different from that of the surrounding floor material or the material that emit different sound to guide visually impaired persons hereinafter referred to as "guiding floor material".
Finishes shall have a non slip surface with a texture travarsable by a wheel chair. Curbs wherever provided should to a common level.
Corridor connecting the entrance/ exit for the handicapped
The corridor connecting the entrance exit for handicapped leading directly outdoors to a place where information concerning the overall use of the specified building can be provided to visually impaired persons either by a person or by signs shall be provided as follows.
a) "Guiding floor materials" shall be provided or devices that emit sound guide to visually impaired persons.
b) The minimum width shall be 1.5M.
c) in case there is a difference of level slope ways shall be provided with a slope of 1: 12
d) Hand rails shall be provided for ramps slope ways.
Stair ways
On of the stair - ways near the entrance exist for the handicapped shall have the following provisions:
a) The minimum width shall be 1.350M.
b) Height of the riser shall not be more than 15cm. and width of the tread 30cm. The steps shall not have abrupt (square) nosing.
c) Maximum number of risers on a flight shall limited to 12.
d) Hand rails shall be provided on both sides and shall extend 30cm on the top and bottom of each flight on steps.
Lifts
wherever lift is required as per bye-laws. provision of at least one lift shall be made for the wheel chair user with the following cage dimensions of lift recommended for passenger lift of 13 persons capacity.
Clear internal depth 1100mm.
Clear internal width 2000mm.
Entrance door width 900mm.
a) A hand rail not less than 60cm long at 100cm above floor level shall be fixed adjacent to the control panel.
b) The lift lobby shall be of an inside measurement of 1800x1800 mm or more.
c) The time of an automatically closing door should be minimum 5 seconds and the closing speed should not exceed 0.25 sec.
d) The interior of the cage shall be provided with a device that audibly indicates the floor the cage has reached and indicates that the door of the cage for entrance exit is either open or closed.
Toilets
One special W.C. in a set of toilet shall be provided for the use of handicapped with essential provision of wash basin near the entrance for the handicapped.
a) The minimum size shall be 1000x1750 mm.
b) Minimum clear opening of the door shall be 900 mm. and the door shall be swing out
c) Suitable arrangement of vertical horizontal hand rails with 50 mm clearance from wall shall be made in the toilet.
d) The W.C. seat shall be 500 mm from the floor.
Drinking Water
Suitable provision of drinking water shall be made for the handicapped near the special toilet provided for them.
Designing for Children
In the buildings meant for the predominant use of the children. it will be necessary to suitably alter the height of the hand-rail and other fittings & fixtures.
Related reading
QMG lays down priority for Physically Challenged Veterans

Disabled War Veterans are now listed

Message from President Disabled War Veterans (India)
A few years ago, when we, representing the Disabled War Veterans, requested for certain measures both in regards Pay & Allowances and the initiating of welfare measures for such categories of personnel, to the Parliamentary Committee, we were rather surprised at MoD & Services HQ indicating to them that they were totally unaware of the number of Battle / War Casualties since no such records were maintained.

You are aware that proper statistics and data would help greatly, especially in calculating the expense to the exchequer to enable any measures getting past the MoD (Finance) and the decision making process.

With the assistance of the Adjutant General Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal and Lt Gen B V Nair, DG DCW, we undertook this gigantic task of obtaining and collating data of such personnel. We are thankful to all the Colonels of Regiments, Centre Commandants and Record Officers to have delved into their past records and produced the desired data. This Data, duly compiled in 4 Volumes has been handed over to the DG DCW, MD ECHS and Secretary (ESW) for future planning purposes.

However, our task does not end here. The Data of officers is not fully available especially of those serving, those voluntarily retired from service and others.

This is an appeal to all officers who are known to you or who see this mail that they should send me the data regarding themselves to diwave1(at)gmail.com
DATA FORM
1. No Rank Name
2. Unit Date of Birth Age
3. Theatre of War Where injured.
4. Exact nature of Disability
5. Percentage Disability
6. Prosthesis/Other
7. Whether Invalided out or retired
8. Other Health issues
9. Address-Temporary aand Prmanent
10. Dependant Family members with Age
11. Contact Details: Tele: Mobile: E Mail:
13. ECHS Card No
14. Dependent ECHS Clinic Name
Message from President Disabled War Veterans (India)
Comment: Commendable work. We need to have an online database which can be updated by concerned Officers, JCO's and NCO's.
Finance Budget 2011
A lump-sum ex-gratia compensation of Rs.9 lakh for 100 per cent disability to be granted for personnel of Defence and Para Military forces discharged from service on medical ground on account of disability attributable to government service.
FM Tax Proposals 2011

Two Pronged Resettlement Strategy for the Ex Servicemen

Transcripts of the Interview
Col P N Khera, Editor-in-Chief Asia Defence News: Resettlementof ex-Servicemen who retire at a very young age, is a major HRD problem being faced by the Indian Army. What steps are being taken for empowerment of ex- Servicemen in educational and vocational fields to lead a respectable life after retirement?
Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal, Adjutant General: The Service personnel, especially JCOs /OR retire between 35 to 45 years of age depending on the rank at which they retire. At this stage, a soldier is confronted with numerous domestic liabilities and commitments. The pension of the solders is not enough to meet his basic requirements and hence, he has to take up a second career to sustain himself and his family. With the land holdings reducing steadily, agriculture which was hithertofore an option with most veterans, is not viable any more. The retired soldier is thus forced to seek an avenue in the civil stream, commensurate with his status and needs. Although, the Army has vast reserves of trained, physically fit and disciplined manpower, they lack the skills which the environment seeks. Close to 50,000 trained soldiers retire every year, majority of whom can be gainfully employed in the industry, if they are provided some vocational skills. The vocational training and widelyacceptable certification will make these disciplined soldiers eligible to seek second employment, which they need to meet their domestic commitments after retirement from Service. We have embarked on a two- pronged strategy, which involves, firstly; to recognize the institutionalised training that a soldier undergoes in his Service by awarding a university degree and secondly; to provide Vocational Training though a network of Vocational Training Centres which are being set up in collaboration with various industries. An Army Welfare Placement Organisation has been established that not only provides second career option to retiring and retired Army personnel but to Veer Naris and disabled soldiers also. It has pan-India presence through its network of 13 placement nodes and 48 placement cells.
MAJOR EMPOWERMENT PROJECTS
PNK: What are the major projects taken up for empowerment of Army personnel to ensure them a secure life after farewell to arms?
AG: Empowerment initiative of our soldiers called Samarth, is a major step undertaken by the Indian Army. Under this project we have three broad categories of programmes.
Gyandeep: Gyandeep is an initiative to empower our soldiers by according recognition to the ‘in service’ training done by soldiers and make them eligible for award of Certificate/Diploma/Associate Degree through Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Subsequently, Associate Degree holders can get degrees like BA, B.Com, B.Sc and BTS from IGNOU by clearing elective subjects as per IGNOU curriculum in the third year of the degree course. On the similar lines, an officer can get regular MBA degree. So far 2,30,000 soldiers have registered for Associate Degree with IGNOU.
Kshamta: Kshamta aims at enhancing the capabilities of our JCOs/OR by imparting them two set of skills viz IT or Digital Literacy andSpoken English and Soft Skills. In this regard an MoU has been signed between Army and Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Limited. First round of Kshamta for training of Master Trainers has been completed successfully at all our Regiment Training Centres and we have so far trained around 3000 Master Trainers, who will further train the soldiers in their respective units/centres.
Kaushal: The unique concept of setting up Vocational Training Centres (VTC) at selected Regiment Training Centres/Defence establishments in collaboration with various Public/PrivateSector industries with an aim to impart vocational skills to the soldiers before their retirement and to empower and enhance their scope of securing an assured career post retirement. So far we have set up VTC for IT and Mobility Equipment repair for the disabled.
Higher Studies Programme: This programme involves selected Army officers undergoing full Post Graduate and Research Programme in various fields like Basic Sciences, Engineering, Social Studies, Strategic Affairs, South Asian Studies and MBA. The aim is to allow selected officers to attend courses in universities and institutions with a collaborative agreement and facilitate their placement /employment. We have signed MoU with IGNOU for MBA, with Pondicherry University for varied subjects and with BITS, Pilani for Technology related subjects. All thismhas happened in the last one year and the efforts of the Vice Chancellors concerned is laudable. Prof Rajasekharan Pillai of IGNOU is actively helping us identify other areas of cooperation.

Col P N Khera, Editor-in-Chief Asia Defence News interviews Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal, Adjutant General

Indian National Congress promises Department for Ex Servicemen Welfare

The Congress Agenda Promises Defence
Safeguarding India’s territorial integrity and unity against overt or covert external aggression is the supreme responsibility of the Government. Fashioning clear defense policies with precise consensus in priorities is required for the purpose. Keeping the nation’s armed forces fully prepared, backed up by necessary resources is important.
The Congress, if elected to power, will:
1. Speedily implement the recommendations made for the reforms and reconstructing of defense organizations and the armed forces of the country.
2. Congress will integrate the Defense Military with the Headquarters of the three services (Army, Navy, and the Air Force) with uniformed officers being given a participatory role in the formulation of defence policies and the higher management of national defence.
3. The Congress will allocate necessary financial resources for the defence of the country. Including special allocations for research and development and modernization of defence technology for the country. The functioning of the DRDO will be reviewed so as to impart a new element of dynamism.
4. The Congress will take steps to develop and deploy human resources for national defence.
5. The Congress will take necessary steps to fine tune the higher command for India’s nuclear and missile capacities.
6. The Congress will safeguard and maintain these capacities at appropriate level in the context of changing security environments, particularly in the Asian region.
7. The Congress will improve the terms of service and serving conditions of the armed forces personnel.
8. The Congress will also give special attention to the re-settlement and welfare of retired personnel from the armed forces of the country and their families. A separate Department of Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare will be established in the Ministry of Defence and cooperatives of ex-servicemen will be mobilized extensively in tasks of nation-building like afforestation, literacy, management of ration shops, etc.
9. The Congress will attend to organizational problems, which have for long affected the armed forces, and will take purposive action to resolve these problems in terms of recruitment, ensuring of appropriate levels in the armed forces establishments.
10. The Congress will rationalize the salary and pension payments to the armed forces with the objective of maximum benefit to armed forces personnel, responsive to the higher responsibilities of national defence which they discharge.
Indian National Congress Agenda- Defence

Status of the Department of Ex Servicemen's Welfare (with Ref ser 8 click links below)

When the Government Becomes an Adversary of its Ex-servicemen

ESW Department becomes a Cosmetic Bureaucratic Appendage

Punjab enhances welfare funds for Veterans

3-fold hike in Sainik welfare Budget- Non-plan expenses up 11 pc by Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 14
Though no new welfare schemes have been announced, a three-fold increase in the planned expenditure by the Department of Defence Services Welfare has been proposed in the state Budget for 2011-12, while the department’s non-planned Budget is earmarked to rise by about 11 per cent.

The non-planned Budget, which relates to establishment-oriented expenditure and recurring expenses, has been pegged at Rs 23.5 crore for the coming fiscal as compared to Rs 21.1 crore for 2010-11.

Similarly, the planned expenditure, which relates to various welfare schemes and other projects introduced or approved by the state government from time to time, is set to rise to Rs 13 crore from Rs 4.1 crore.

The combined expenditure for this department for 2011-12 is pegged at Rs 36.5 crore vis-à-vis Rs 25.2 crore for 2010-11, representing an overall increase of over Rs 11 crore or close to 45 per cent. Punjab has 2.87 lakh ex-servicemen and 53,000 widows.

For the next fiscal, Rs 2 crore has been proposed to meet the expenditure relating to grant of Rs 5 lakh to next of kin of battle casualties in lieu of a plot. Last year the Budget on this account was Rs 4 crore. Departmental sources said that as of now there were no pending cases in the state on this account and payments would be made as and when fresh cases came in. However, the cases for grant of land to 28 war widows of the 1971 Indo-Pak war have still not been resolved.

The planned segment proposed today also includes Rs 6 crore for the construction of Sainik Rest House and Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum at Ludhiana. Coaching classes for entry into service academies, training of wards of ex-servicemen, grant to Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre and ex-gratia to families of martyrs are among schemes falling in this segment. The increase in the Budget also caters to 40 per cent hike in the allowances of gallantry award winners introduced in December 2010 and grant of Rs 1 lakh announced last year to every candidate who enters a service academy for training as an officer.
3-fold hike in Sainik welfare Budget

The army officer who has risen above odds and crippling injury

Outlook India The Spine Is Intact
The army officer who has risen above odds and crippling injury by Shreevatsa Nevatia on S.K. Razdan

Maj Gen Razdan in the lawns of his house in New Delhi

In March this year, when Outlook caught up with Brigadier Sunil Kumar Razdan, he was sitting in his garden patch, absorbed in tugging and releasing makeshift weights tied to the bark of a tree. “It’s a small pulley,” he explained, “with stones at one end, and a stupid chap at the other.” Even as you chuckled your way past his self-deprecating humour, it was clear this was a demonstration not just of an exercise routine, but of an extraordinary tenacity, worn like a humble matter of routine. It helped to explain why this brigadier had recently been approved for the rank of a major-general, making him the first wheelchair-bound officer to serve at this level in the history of the Indian army.

At the time of that meeting, seven months ago, Razdan’s fate still hung in the balance, even though he had been approved for the two-star rank. His eventual promotion depended on whether or not a vacancy arose for a major-general’s post before he retired. Unsentimentally, he explained, “I am supposed to superannuate in October 2010. If a vacancy comes before then, well and good, otherwise I just go home.” As it happened, a vacancy did open up, and the brigadier is now a major-general, but with as stoic a manner, as even a tone, as before. He says, “Any new task demands dedication and a greater excellence. If you stop looking to better yourself, you stop growing. You still need the fire in your belly.” And of that, he has always had plenty. Literally.

Razdan was born on October 8, sharing his birthday, he laconically informs you, with Liz Taylor and the Indian Air Force. But this date also has a deeper significance for the paraplegic officer. It was on this day that he found himself engaged in an operation that would change his life irrevocably.

Wife Manju recalls Razdan as an avid biker who once did Delhi to Agra on a Bullet in just two hours.

Razdan, who belongs to the 7th Parachute Battalion, was posted in Jammu and Kashmir during the early 1990s, a time when cross-border infiltration was seeing a steady rise. On October 8, 1994, came the news that nine militants had abducted 14 women, aged between 14 and 30, and were holding them captive in Damal Kunzipur. It found Razdan heading towards the area with a unit of 20 soldiers, where a 12-hour hike later, he found the women incarcerated in a four-storey house. He managed to evacuate them safely through a kitchen window, but was unable to save himself from the attack of a militant, who emptied a rifle into his stomach at point-blank range, the bullets going right through his gut to his spine.

Mr Greyhound One from the family album
Somehow, he still found the energy to be part of the 16-hour gun battle that followed, and only after the nine militants were killed was he finally airlifted from the spot. As he lifts his shirt to reveal the most brutal of scars, his voice surprisingly remains steady. “I was operated on thrice over,” he says, “and was in hospital for a year. During the time I spent there, it dawned on me that I would never be able to walk, and that I had to come to terms with my reality.”

A devastating thought for anyone. For Razdan, for whom physical activity was integral to his life on and off duty, it must have been something akin to death. A long-distance runner since his adolescence, he had been nicknamed ‘Greyhound’ by peers. He was also an almost obsessive biker, his wife Manju recalls. “I remember him going from Delhi to Agra on a Bullet motorcycle. The journey only took him some two hours.” How did he cope with disability? “If one door shuts on you, many windows open up,” he says simply.

The year 1996 brought Razdan a Kirti Chakra, the country’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award. Meanwhile, what Razdan, with characteristic humour, calls his “bad habit of reading” stood him in good stead, enabling him to bring academic rigour to his now desk-based duties. A few years down the road, he found himself posted to the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) headquarters, where he was tasked with making the operations, logistics and administration of the armed forces more efficient and effective. General Vijay Kumar (retd) of the 45th Cavalry Regiment, who worked in an office right opposite Razdan’s at the IDS headquarters, says, “When his posting order came in all those years ago, the general reaction was: why are we getting a guy in a wheelchair? Today, the overwhelming reaction is that Major-General Razdan should not go anywhere, he must stay with the IDS. That’s how tremendous his work here has been.” Sure enough, that is where he will stay, until he retires two years from now, focusing on issues such as insurgency and welfare.

As we chat with him, 19-year-old Paarth Razdan listens attentively, and then breaks his silence to say, “Whenever I feel that something cannot be done, I just think of the pain and struggle my father has overcome, on a daily basis.” Paarth’s 22-year-old brother Ishan will start training to become an air force pilot on January 1 next year, while Paarth himself would like to join the army after completing his medical education. In a voice strikingly free of bitterness and regret for what his father has been through, he says: “The kind of respect you are able to command as a member of the armed forces is unparalleled.”
The Spine Is Intact
He deserves the best wheel chair like the one below and not the low technology one provided by the Army as in picture above!


National Award will be given to a Website having the best accessibility features for persons with disabilities. Will any Military Websites Qualify?
PIB: International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December

Manning Shortage another viewpoint

Lately, the media has been awash with reports of just 86 cadets joining the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun against a course strength of 250. And, instead of 300 applicants, just 197 boys turned up at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, at Pune.
These media reports also highlighted the staggering number of officers who have sought premature release. Worse, this knell has rung at a time when the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force combined are already crippled by a shortage of 14,060 young officers. This should worry not just the ministry of defence but the nation, too, for like nation-building or statecraft, the war machine too depends on mettlesome leadership to deliver results. And young officers are the sword-arm of any force.
This plight has been blamed on the usual welter of reasons: unattractive salaries, tough working environment, limited growth opportunities, dimming respect for the Armed Forces in the society and a green civvy street.
Also, there were reports of the army chief hinting at conscription as a way out if the trend snowballs into a crisis. Given that conscription is an unworkable doctrine in India, I believe the allusion was the army chief's oblique attempt to remind the Sixth Pay Commission of the desperate straits he is in. Earlier, Defence Minister A K Antony had urged the Pay Commission to issue bumper pay-packets so as to help in retaining those itching to leave and to entice bright youngsters into signing up.
In short, both the defence minister and the army chief have apparently exhausted other options and have pinned their hopes on the Sixth Pay Commission to stem the peacetime attrition. What if the Pay Commission misfires? After all, Pay Commissions are a typical governmental exercise in jugglery, so it's foolhardy to be bullish about its sixth avatar being Santa Claus.
Let me be less sceptical and assume that the Sixth Pay Commission will shower manna on the services. Let's also assume that the brightest lads, unable to resist the alluring emoluments, flock to the armed forces' training academies. What if they lack the hardiness to endure the physically exacting regimen of military life? My point is: You need certain attributes to be an officer and a warrior, and many bright sparks need not have it in them to be service officers. The right recruits are those with an innate desire for soldiering and the capacity to endure hardships.
Though the intake to the corps of officers has been on the wane, the UPSC and the SSB (Services Selection Board) have not compromised on their standards; they continue to pick the right material. Had it not been the case, our army would have begun crumbling in the nineties under the onslaught of the inimical elements in J&K and the Northeast.
No doubt, the men and women serving in the forces need to be remunerated handsomely. But to zero in on paltry salaries as the sole reason for the jam is like mistaking the trees for the forest. I believe the solution lies in catching them young and priming them up to become the 'right material'.

Sainik Schools
The make-up of the officer cadre of the Indian armed forces a decade after Independence was disquieting for a Republic still writhing from the throes of its birth. It was a monopoly of the patrician, blue-blooded alumni of public schools and the so-called martial races -- the 'more-than-equal' gentry who had little in common with the men they led.
The officer cadre patently lacked the grassroots character and ethos of the newborn nation and needed to be 'Indianised'. The infrastructure to nurture the essential levels of physical, mental and intellectual calibre for induction into the officer cadre was found wanting in common schools. Since public schools were beyond all but the affluent, in 1960, then defence minister VK Krishna Menon envisioned Sainik schools -- at least one in each state -- to select boys from across the spectrum through an open entrance examination and to rear them for leadership in the armed forces.
The Sainik schools were modelled on public schools minus the elitism and snobbery. The syllabus-examination approach- the bane of our education system- was cast aside. These schools would aim at all-round development to enhance competitive and survival skills, and to foster personality development subliminally. To ensure mainly smart boys from the economically backward bracket joined these schools, the states were mandated to provide merit-cum-means scholarships. The campus life would be free from communal and social bias, and insulated from the rumpus that bedevil student life outside.
Given their background and grooming, they would identify themselves with the men they command. Sainik schools would thus serve as feeders to the National Defence Academy and the three service academies.
Did it work? Of course. The Sainik school cubs had their baptism of fire in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and emerged with flying colours. Remember how the young officers led their troops upfront, uphill, undauntedly through the cannonade to recapture the Kargil massifs? And last year, General Deepak Kapoor, a Sainik school product, took over as the army chief.

Some More History
The call to establish an Indian military college to raise an army officer cadre on the lines of the Royal Military Academy (Woolwich, later Sandhurst) and the United States Military Academy (West Point) was made in a Congress resolution way back in 1887. This demand was renewed subsequently at the Indian National Congress session of 1917. These ultimately led to the institution of the Indian Military Academy in 1932. This is a testimony to the vision and quality of leadership during the freedom struggle. Madan Mohan Malaviya confirmed this when he argued in the legislative assembly in 1928: 'The question whether a military academy shall or shall not be established is a question of life and death to the people of this country. The whole question of future government in this country hangs upon that question.'
This shows our leaders of yesteryear -- including the much-maligned Krishna Menon -- were tall visionaries compared to the present lot. Our unconcerned polity and their vision deficit are responsible for nudging the three services to the precipice, perhaps the consequence of defence ministers being appointed for reasons of narrow politics than their grasp of matters defence.

Solutions and Suggestions
1. In the past two decades, the profile of those joining the officer cadre and the students entering the Sainik schools has changed. Earlier, sons of officers followed their fathers' footsteps into the officer cadre. No more. Now boys from a lower pecking order are the ones joining the service academies, a sign of social mobility up the ladder.
As for Sainik schools, initially boys from indigent and not-so-rich background made it, but gradually they were replaced by those from the better-off stratum. Two reasons: one, in quest for sound education; two, given the steep rise in the fees, only the well-heeled could afford education in Sainik schools. Thus, Sainik schools, once acclaimed as the poor man's public schools, became unaffordable to the poor man!
Since the economic boom in the nineties opened several avenues, since their parents were paying up the fees, their wards were not motivated enough to see the armed forces as their profession. Naturally, the tally from Sainik schools dipped. Setting this right is a solution to the intake-deficit ailing the services.
The need to nurture and maintain the talent pool and its cost are an important dimension of overall defence planning. If the government is canny, it would regard the 22 Sainik schools (plus the five Military schools and the Rashtriya Indian Military College at Dehradun) as the catchment area-cum-nursery of the 'right material' not only to overcome the present shortfall of officers but also as an inexhaustible wellhead for future officers. The annual overhead of the 22 Sainik schools is nearly Rs 80 crores. That is less than 0.1 percent of the defence budget (Rs 96,000 crores for the year 2007-2008). The ministry of defence should pick up this tab as grant-in aid, not as largesse but as sagacious investment.
With aspirations booming proportional to the GDP growth, defence planners need to target the section of society likely to see becoming service officers as upward mobility and select boys from this segment to the Sainik schools. If 20 to 25 percent make it to the academies, the services will never face a shortage of officers. As for the rest, they will serve the country in other capacities. This will also accomplish the upliftment of those languishing on the margins of our society. Hence, the Centre footing the bill will provide a fresh lease of life to the Sainik schools currently fighting a battle for survival, with phenomenal returns on this investment. A win-win scenario. In brief, rediscover the Sainik school to bridge the shortfall.

2. The National Cadet Corps needs to be made universal and mandatory for two or three years at the school level. NCC, besides doing the students a world of good, should inspire a few to join the services.

3. Because of an article penned by this writer that appears in the Standard X English textbook in Maharashtra, I have had the opportunity to interact with thousands of students in the past 12 years. Many boys and girls had expressed their desire to don the uniform but, shockingly, most of them did not know how to go about it. Hardly anyone had heard about the various service academies. At a time when the services have to compete fiercely with the rest to attract talent, not hardselling the defence forces surely earns a C minus. As they say, if the mountain will not come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain.

4. As retention of officers is getting difficult by the day, it's time to rewrite the manpower policies so as to swell the cadre of short service officers. Many out there may be willing to serve the forces for five years.

5. Lastly, many officers have sought premature release for reasons other than lucre. Like elsewhere, corruption has been corroding the vitals of the services, and the skeletons tumbling out apace have severely dented its image. Few will be tempted to prefer a career in the forces if the slide downhill is not undone. It's time for the top brass to set the house in order. Besides, the services need to frame a modern appraisal system to ensure that only the deserving ascend the totem pole.

Flt Lt M P Anil Kumar (Retd)
A Former Indian Air Force Pilot
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Flt Lt Anil is a quadriplegic staying in the paralegic home at Kirkee, near Pune. He is one of the oldest inmates. This officer became a quadripligic in an accident ( Not plane accident). The only mobilty he has of the neck and hence he operates a computer with the help of a small stick, held in the mouth. He is a genius and writes well. His lessons in English is prescribed for x std students of Maharashtra. This young officer in his thirties is an inspiration to all living beings. All those dejected of life should learn from him, how to cope with adversity in real life.

PT Gangadharan
Brig (Retd)

Retired Officers Serving a Noble Cause

Over the past 60 years of Independence, India has fought five major battles and survived numerous skirmishes to keep its borders intact and free of insurgents. The experiences of 1948, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1999 all have shown that the armed forces of India are our first and last line of defence against any enemy.

They have consistently proven their mettle since the First World War, when they fought with the British forces, as well as in recent wars and whenever the UN requested for assistance from the Indian government. The long list of medals, gallantry awards, VCs, PVSM, AVSM, VSM etc. underline this courage and leadership.

But the gallantry awards and victories did not come without a price. The armed forces of India have had to face human losses in battle, soldiers missing in action and wounded soldiers – those who could never go back to the forces again. These wounded were part of the fighting team, till injury separated them from the forces, leaving many of them to face their future alone.

Recently, veteran cricketer Kapil Dev agreed to be the goodwill ambassador of War Wounded Foundation. On August 15, 2004, he relaunched the book Paramveer - Our Heroes In Battle by Major General Ian Cardozo.

There are over 30,000 disabled soldiers in our country without proper rehabilitation. War Wounded Foundation is the only NGO working towards this cause. Founded by Lt. Gen (Retd) Vijay Oberoi and Maj. Gen Ian Cardozo, both of whom are war-disabled, the foundation has been able to make significant advances despite paucity of funds.

They have come up with a small website about these unsung war heroes. Donations to the War Wounded Foundation are exempt from tax under Sec. 80 G of income tax act. Corporates which are already contributors to the War Wounded Foundation include Apollo Tyres, IOC, MICO, Kinetic, Pepsi, Piaggio, Ambuja Cement and Hindustan Lever.

Website: http://www.warwounded.org/

The people behind this organisation.

Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VSM, President of this organisation. He lost his leg in a 1965 skirmish with the Pakistani infiltrators. An officer of Maratha Light Infantry, he continued to serve in the army for 40 years, retiring from the post of Vice Chief of the Indian Army. He was selected as the International Fellow from India at the US Army War College. He continues to be active in intellectual/ Social work.

Maj Gen Ian Cardozo (Retd), AVSM, SM; Vice President of this organisation. An officer of the 5th Gorkha Rifles, he lost his leg as a Major in the war of 1971. He became the first war-disabled officer to Command a Battalion and a Brigade and retired as Chief of Staff of a Corps in the eastern sector. He is now a social activist, an author and a military historian.

Mr. Mukesh Anand, is the Executive Director of this organisation. Son of an Army officer, he devoted himself to serving the cause of retired/ disabled soldiers after the Kargil war. He has been instrumental in rehabilitating a large number of retired/ disabled soldiers.

HARPREET KAUR
War Wounded Foundation, 2 Balbir Saxena Marg, Hauz Khas, New Delhi
Credit: http://www.dancewithshadows.com/society/war-wounded-foundation1.asp

Colonel Virendra Swarup

Known as Viru Swarup, a former Commandant of the Roaring Fours’, the 44 Armored Regiment, former Director Planning, QMG’s (Quartermaster General’s) Branch, Army Headquarters, former Colonel Administration, Mountain Corps and Colonel Military Secretary of a desert Corps, of the great Indian Army, India is leading an active retired life traveling between India and the United States of America.
The sudden outbreak of the Sino-Indian war in 1962 fired the patriotic zeal in many young men to volunteer to serve in the armed forces. Viru to his friends opted for a commission in the Indian Army. He was selected and sent to the most prestigious Indian Military Academy. From here he passed out as a Second Lieutenant and posted to the country’s most highly decorated tank regiment – the Poona Horse in August, 1964. He participated in both the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars. In the 1965 war, he was a tank troop leader. In one of the fiercest tank engagements in Phillaura, Pakistan, his tank was hit. His operator-cum-loader was killed on the spot and he himself was severely wounded losing his right eye and had earned apart from many war medals, a wound medal (Purple Heart). Notwithstanding this serious disability he followed his profession with resilience, grit, positive attitude he never looked back and forged ahead fighting all the odds for a good twenty eight years and risen to the rank of Colonel. He was not destined to command the regiment into which he was first posted (a cherished desire of all officers).

He, however, commanded a new outfit – 44 Armored Regiment – with the raising of which he was associated as its Second-in-Command. In 1992, he lost the other eye while still in harness in one of the freak accident and, was rendered blind, thus, medically boarded out of military service.

Viru was not the one to sit idle in his retirement, the loss of sights has propelled him to fight his severe disabilities to incorporate an ex-servicemen Coal Transport Company undertaking transportation of coal from coal mine face to the railway siding in one of the collieries in India braving through different kind of experience. This experience, however, proved to be a gross disappointment as people took undue advantage of his disability. This led him to involve his wife Sabita to join him as one of the active Director in the company, the only women perhaps in the industry. Together, they worked hard to bail themselves out of the loosing venture honorably.

He traveled extensively both in India and abroad including the Republic of South Africa and with his keen eye (the inner one), savored the culture of this beautiful world.

He has two children, daughter and the son, both physicians and five grand children, Nikhita, 10 years’ old, Somya, Shray, both 4 years’, Ayush and Akshay, both just 20 months’ old.

He is author of a unique true story "The Memoir of a War Veteran Across Seven Seas", and is currently busy writing yet another book, this time a fiction, about “A Mysterious Woman”. He stays with his family most of his time in Arizona, USA.

This is the amazing life story of a remarkable man, who despite the loss of one eye in battle still rose to the rank of Colonel in the Indian Army before becoming totally blinded with the loss of his second eye. His story is told against the historic backdrop of the partition of India, the creation of Pakistan, the Indo-Pakistan Wars of 1965 and 1971 that created new countries out of pre-independence India. Colonel Virendra Swarup, fondly known as Viru to his friends and family, won the Wound Medal (equivalent to the US Purple Heart), commanded two saber squadrons of most famous regiment the Poona Horse (17th Queen Victoria’s Own Cavalry) and the Roaring Fours (The Forty-Four Armored Regiment), and witnessed the creation of a new world. His is a poignant and courageous story and a celebration of life. This is not just a book for those interested in military history, the history of India and of the British role abroad but for anyone who applauds survival against the odds.

Melissa Lumley, London, UK

First, let me say what an incredible life you’ve led. Sounds like a blockbuster movie with love, tragedy, war, passion, and overcoming obstacles.” Encouraging indeed...

Debbie, USA

I am excited by your book; you have a natural talent for telling a story and you have many to tell in here.

Ed Munson, Canada

This is the story of a down-to-earth soldier of the Indian Army, who on learning of the outbreak of war, cuts short his leave and hotfoots it to join his regiment; barely escaping death in action loses an eye; attains professional competence to command an armored regiment; while still in service loses his second eye. How with a never-say-die attitude, he tackled life’s problems and even indulged in playing golf. He traveled all over the world and finally reached the US; his exposure to the American way of life is interesting. - Worth reading by active and enterprising persons.

Colonel (Retired) Devinder Singh Grewal

Chandigarh, India

To Order Copy of the Book: http://www.colonelviruswarup.com/index.html