Rally at Jantar Mantar on November 28, 2010 New Delhi

Dated : 20 Nov 2010
Dear Veterans
1. The Govt continues to deny us our legitimate demands. The manner in which the Govt is contesting the Judgements given by Supreme Court and other courts in the country in favour of Defence Personnel, defies all logic. Even, in the last hearing in the Supreme Court on 14 Nov 2010, the Govt Attorney suggested to the court that the Govt would refer the case of recall of earlier order of the court about the rank pay to the proposed commission. The Hon’ble Judge Sh.Markandey Katju had to strongly tell the Govt Attorney that the final judgement on the rank pay case has already been given. The petition of the Govt to recall the decision of the court would be referred to the Chief Justice to be referred to another bench.
2. The Supreme Court has taken a positive step to constitute Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission; where, besides two retired judges of the Supreme Court, two senior retired Defence Officers (Gen Ved Malik, Former COAS and Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi, Former VCOAS) have been included. As you are aware that the commission is only recommendatory body and not Adjucatory body. Hence, it is open to the Govt to accept or not to accept its recommendations. However the Court has directed that since such recommendations will be coming from a high powered body, the Govt must give due weightage to the same. It is here the doubts arise in our minds that since the recommendations of the commission will be reviewed by the bureaucrats in the Govt whose track record for the post six decades has been negative towards the Defence Forces, it is yet to be seen if any positive outcome will be achieved.
3. The recommendations of very high powered committees ie All Party Parliamentary Standing Committees on Defence which had strongly recommended the grant of OROP have not been accepted. Even the Defence Minister recently ,in the Parliament quoted committee of secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary to reject the demand of OROP and paid no heed to the higher Committee of Parliament. If this is the attitude of the Govt towards the Defence Force, the recommendations of the commission may also be treated in the same manner as the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence. In real sense, it is not the Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission but only a Recommendatory Commission for Redressal of Armed Forces Grievances.
4. So, friends where do we go from here? Under the circumstances while we will prepare and project our cases to the commission strongly, we need to continue our struggle to get all our demand accepted by the Govt. The need of the hour is to further step up our events and activities across the country to get our due Justice.
5. Our next event a Big Rally is being held at Jantar Mantar New Delhi on 28 Nov 2010 from 10 AM to 3 PM. During the Rally, the ESM from across the country would voluntarily deposit their medals and sign memorandum in Blood which will be submitted to the Supreme Commander, the President at 3 PM the same day by a delegation of ESM. The President has been requested by Gen Raj Kadyan Chairman IESM to accept the medals and the Memorandum herself in person otherwise as per the decisions of ESM, we will bring back the medals. The IESM already has in its possession 6000 medals voluntarily deposited by the ESM which were brought back on 22 Aug 2010 since the President did not herself receive these medals.
6. Maximum attendance is requested please. Representatives from various states are requested to collect maximum medals and signatures in blood on the Memorandum and bring these along on 28 Nov 2010 or send to IESM HQ at 543 Sector 23 Gurgaon (Hr) 122017. Please circulate this mail to the maximum ESM organizations and ESM. Conveners at all levels are requested to translate this mail in local languages and circulate to the maximum ESM. The information may please be given through local news paper, TVs Channels, leaflets Cable TV, by word of mouth etc.
7. Logistic arrangements as hitherto are being made for the event on 28 Nov 2010 at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.
8. Pass the word to all “DILLI CHALO ON 28 NOV 2010”
9. ESM in and around NCR have onerous Duty to attend the event at Jantar Mantar on 28 Nov 2010. Please keep the day free and take part a large numbers in the combined efforts to get Justice to the Defence Forces. Please give your self no execuse to miss the event. Your presence is a MUST. The Govt will have to pay heed to our genuine demand and grant us the OROP without any further delay.
10. We will continue to execute the Movement with dignity and respect and with in the norms of discipline.
Let us all join to get our due Justice.
With Regards,
Jai Hind
Yours Sincerely,
Maj Gen (Retd) Satbir Singh, SM
Vice Chairman Indian ESM Movement

PM echoes Veteran sentiments
PM said it is on the foundation of a better educated, more healthy and more skilled people that India must build its edifice of a more entrepreneurial society and leverage capacity for innovation.
"The greatest battles of our times are not ones in which humans will win over humans, or a nation over a nation. The greatest tests of our times are ones in which humanity as a whole will have to fight and win together -- these will be our collective fight against hunger, poverty, terrorism, disease, tyranny, corruption, bigotry and extremism," he said

Will the ghost of 1962 dragon continue to haunt the South Block?

Ref: The amateurs in charge
In 1962, Intelligence Chief B.N. Mullick ruled the roost. These days it is the mandarins of External Affairs Ministry and Babus in the MOD. There is no single point military advice.
Things are not good at all.
Lt Gen Harbhajan Singh (Retd)

Extract
indian express oped
Posted: Sat Nov 20 2010, 03:34 hrs
Blaming Pandit Nehru for everything wrong with India has grown from a fashion to a rage, so the letters he addressed to American President John F. Kennedy on November 19, 1962, will be used as another stick with which to beat him. Destructive denigration serves him as ill as the idolatry in which he could do no wrong. Of course he made mistakes, who doesn’t, and to pretend they really were not mistakes worse, to conceal facts only feeds his detractors. What our country owes him becomes ever more apparent, time and our travails keep confirming its value. Viewing so great a man whole, faults and all, cannot diminish his stature, or our debt. What we need is to learn from the mistakes, his and ours which we stubbornly refuse to do.

November 1962 was a national disaster, all the more painful for being so self-inflicted: blinding ourselves to it is to invite repeats. Panditji must bear his share of responsibility, but the totality of our failure extends far beyond individuals. India failed to function as an organised state, alive to its challenges and opportunities, appropriately prepared to deal with them. Have we used our experience to become such a state now?
People today cannot realise the horrific pressures of those weeks. Despite our foolishness in imagining that suppressing facts can change them, plentiful evidence has been published by important actors of the time, inter alia recording the frightening situation Delhi saw itself facing that November 19 morning. Key positions had been left to the enemy, Sela and Bomdila augured horrendous dangers, civil officers had started being withdrawn and a complete evacuation from Assam was being considered, the DIB even starting to plan a resistance movement. An outstanding soldier, Major-General Monty Palit wrote 20 years ago that he was shown the draft letter seeking 12 fighter and two bomber squadrons; as DMO, at a desperate stage of a war that seemed to be moving along a course of escalating disasters, [he] could only welcome the proposal of obtaining military help, whatever its source, though confessing he had not for a moment imagined that... the architect of India's non-alignment policy, would ask for actual intervention by US forces. (War in the High Himalayas pp 342-343)
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Life Certificate

Dear Friends,
Jai Hind.
It is just to remind you and your ESM friends, that it is time to prove to your pension bank, that you are alive.
You must do so before 25 Nov – or no pension this month.
Do carry a passport size photograph with you. Some of the banks are demanding it this time.
Also note down your bank account number – or else you will be searching for it after reaching the bank.
If you have not made your pension account a joint account with your spouse – you must do so now.
In service of Indian Military Veterans
Chander Kamboj.