Disparity and Despair: Kabul Bomb Blast

Letter Addressed to Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister Shri AK Anthony)
My Dear Sir,

1. It was indeed a noble gesture by the PM. As per news paper reports, the PM was so impressed by the devotion to duty of late Mr Rao, the IFS officer who died in the Kabul bomb blast, that he announced several benefits for his next of kin. These include, full salary and government accommodation till the officer would have retired in 2023. It is undisputable that every possible succour must be provided to the bereaved family under such circumstances. Yet, without prejudice to this thought or to the sacred memory of the deceased, certain politically incorrect questions arise?

2. What separates the case of Mr Rao from that of Brig RD Mehta, or for that matter Col V Vasanth and scores of other army personnel who lay down their lives in the line of duty, actively combating terrorism almost every day? Why has no one ever thought of such benefits for their families? Is there any doubt about their devotion to duty? Are their lives any less precious to their families, or to the nation? Or is it 'no big deal' because it is part of the professional hazards for services personnel, to lay down their lives? The violent death of a diplomat or bureaucrat, on the other hand , is a rare occurrence thus evoking greater sympathy?

3. All along, we are being told that that the armed forces are supposed to be at par with other services when it comes to fixing pay and allowances. This is the standard argument forwarded ,for denying a separate pay commission for the Armed Forces. By the same logic, the death benefits for other services should be the same as those applicable to the armed forces. The reason for these double standards is therefore hard to fathom. Irrespective of the reasons or sentiments behind such random acts of kindness, it must be understood that it undermines the supreme sacrifice made by others, and is liable to affect the morale of their comrades.

4.It is time that the government decided once and for all whether the armed forces are at par with other central services or not, and act responsibly rather than arbitrarily.

Brigadier PT Gangadharan (Guards) Retd
Manmohan Singh visits families of Kabul blast victims

ESM Challenges and Finding Officers for the Armed Forces

Retirement Blues
A service officer leads an active life and is generally in good physical health even at retirement. Time hangs on him when he does not take up employment/re-employment after retirement. That apart, mundane matters take their toll, such as – drop in income, he goes out of circulation, a dent to his already diluted service status and dignity etc. Needless to say every officer cannot find employment. He, therefore, needs to self-employ himself. Govt must recognize the need to utilize this trained and disciplined reservoir of human resource and rehabilitate them. Among many possibilities, I have listed a few with a brief on them. In some of these cases it will be complementing the existing resources. Existing laws may have to be amended in some cases or new laws made in others. All these will add to public confidence as well as public convenience without imposing any capital cost to the Govt. In addition, some of these will add to the status and dignity of a retired officer. Click link for the complete article.
Self Employment and Rehabilitation of retired Armed Forces officers

The Problem in Recruitment of Officers
An aspiring young man wanting to join the Armed Forces today will consider the trial and tribulations he will face during his entire life span before he joins the same. Armed Forces personnel retire early and more often his post retirement years will be longer than his service career. If you improve the salary and service condition of the serving officers alone it will not meet his aspirations and his apprehensions of post-retirement rehabilitation will remain. Only a holistic approach can change this. It is of concern that young India has relegated a career in the Armed Forces to a very low priority these days affecting recruitment of required numbers and quality manpower. This has happened because of inadequate compensation, loss of status and treating the retired officers as deadwood by the Govt. Rehabilitation of these ‘veterans’, along with other corrective measures, will have a profound effect on the future intake of the Armed Forces officers. Read complete article.
Recruitment of Officers in the Armed Forces

Col B Bhattacharya (Retd)

ESM: Let us be more Proactive

I have been getting a lot of emails, some directly from some veterans and some, forwarded by my close friends. I was not disheartened by the acrimonious sentiments expressed by some colleagues. For, I found the healthy current of concern for the Veterans, the Services and the Nation flowing deep within the heart of everyone. I found that our veteran colleagues are disagreeing on the approach and two different approaches perhaps are preferred for solving our problems. I am confident that we will build on the strength of this concern and work towards progressing ‘Common Maximum Points’ through the process of ‘Concentrating on Minimum Points’ at any one time.

I have tried in a humble way to analyze the issue of the services being marginalized by the government through two case studies pertaining to the functioning of two organizations one the ECHS under command to the AHQ and the other IESL created by visionary generals of the past. The analysis is in the subsequent paragraphs. I request the veterans who happen to come across this paper to pause a while to estimate the time I have spent in preparing this paper before passing judgment. Well, you might say it is not the effort that counts, and what counts is the content, if you happen to be the ardent follower of Bonaparte Napoleon. Please click on links below:

Functioning of ECHS
Functioning of IESL
Brochure of Tamilnadu Ex Services League

Summing Up: The suggestion I would project for the consideration of all is as follows:

The Directorate of Rehabilitation must involve itself with the affairs of Indian Ex-Services League (IESL) instituted way back in the early nineteen sixties with the farsighted visionary wisdom of two of the greats, Gen KS Thimayya DSO and Field Marshal KM Cariappa OBE.

A Regional Governing Council (RGC) must be constituted at every strategic location of the country with member from the affiliated local ESLs and the nearby Station HQs/ Sub Area/ Area HQs. The scope of responsibility of the RGC must include all establishments dealing with the welfare of the veterans and are funded by the Government. The main charter of duty for this RGC, along with other activities that shall improve the functioning of the organization concerned, should be ‘Periodic Performance Audit’ (PPA) of all aspects of the concerned organization. When we pay due attention to the word ‘reasonable’ we will agree that there is also a need to involve the concept of test audit of both the service and auditing organizations.

It is absolutely necessary that RGC comprises members from the local affiliated ESL and any other association that has the recognition of both the Government of India and Defense Service Head Quarters. The RGC concept can be extended to cover functioning of the CSD retail outlets and even the ‘Flag Day Collections’.

The usefulness and functioning of Medical Review Boards for the purpose conflict resolution, if constituted, has already been discussed above, in brief of course.

Introduction of reimbursement of medicine bills at an appropriate rate in the case of prolonged illness will be a boon for both the patients and the clinic staff.

Reintroduction of the medical allowance towards private treatment of minor ailment and annual medical checkup is a must.

It is every veteran’s moral duty to get involved in all ventures of the government to the extent possible. To quote an example, we are capable of constituting an effective study team to analyze the controversy of even the ‘Nuclear Deal’ and calling a spade a spade. But we shy away; but let us not shy away from doing our bit towards the welfare of our soldiers who are thrown out in the wilderness of the civilian domination.

Unite we must and it is better we unite under the banner of IESL and make the vision of our illustrious veterans of the past come true.

A brochure as (linked above) under circulation to all district level and other Ex-Services Leagues and association, in Tamilnadu. It is my attempt to unite all – I mean all – the defense veterans of Tamilnadu under the single banner of Tamilnadu Ex-Services League (TANESL).

Maj Gen RN Radhakrishnan (Retd)