WHY DO POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS DESPISE THE INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES SO MUCH??

By  Wg Cdr Vinod Nebb (Retd) VrC Bar

WHY DO POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS DESPISE THE INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES SO MUCH??

Dear People Of India,

1 We are Indian Army Soldiers. Countries like USA and UK and most other advanced democracies, having Armies facing conflict situations, venerate the men and women who serve in the Defence Forces. The UK parliament has even passed a law called Armed Forces Covenant, which is an expression of the moral obligation that Government and the nation owe to the defence forces community. The covenant acknowledges that members of the defence forces sacrifice most of the freedoms guaranteed to an ordinary citizen, and often face dangerous, life threatening situations. It recognises that soldiers' families play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of their men. The are indeed given sovereign rights - even a Member of Parliament gives right of way to a soldier. It is only in India where our men and women of the forces have to suffer the humiliation of being compared and brought lower than the discredited bureaucracy, nay even lower than paramilitary forces.

In the United States, 15 presidents have served in the Army/Army Reserve , 9 in State Militias, 6 in the Navy/Naval Reserve, with 2 presidents having serving in the Continental Army. In addition, eight presidents served during World War II, while seven served in the military during the American Civil War. That was the kind of military service they did before becoming the President and Commander in Chief of the US of America. No wonder they respect their Defence Forces and their Veterans. Compare this with our pot bellied, pampered politicians and bureaucrats who have never seen even the back of a street fight. They feed off the govt treausury, without a moments thought for the starving farmers, deprived average citizens & soldiers who unquestioningly lay down their life for the nation.

2.     Your Defence Forces  cannot be compared with the IAS,  IPS, BSF, CRPF, ITBP,  CISF , NSG,  Railway Protection Force, Rapid Deployment Force or the State Armed Police Forces. A Nation can have only one Military. The renowned sociologist Morris Janowitz had famously said: “The intimate social solidarity of the military profession is both envied and resented by civilians.” A bureaucrat is in no way comparable to a man or woman who serves in the Defence Forces. Nowhere is this comparison even attempted, not in the United States, nor United Kingdom nor China. It’s laughable, and making that comparison is ludicrous. Neither can the Defence Forces be compared or equated to other police forces of a Country. So why are we, who are as patriotically Indian as you, discriminated against? It is because we bring order where there is chaos, and we seriously question the corruption rampant in bureaucracy & polity!

3.   WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU AND TO NO ONE ELSE BECAUSE :

        (a)  WE  HAVE PLEDGED TO PROTECT YOU, AND WE ALWAYS KEEP OUR WORD !

        (b) WE  ARE SURE THAT YOU LOVE US & WE KNOW THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT THE INDIAN MILITARY IS THE LAST BASTION OF HOPE FOR INDIA, WHEN THE GOVT MACHINERY, IAS,  IPS, BSF, CRPF, ITBP,  CISF , NSG,  Railway Protection Force ALWAYS FAIL----- AND IF WE ARE EMASCULATED & FINALLY THE DEFENCE FORCES FAIL; INDIA WILL BE LOST.      

PLEASE KNOW ABOVE FACTS.

4. THE GOVT, FINANCE MINISTRY AND THE IAS/IPS LOBBY IS DENYING YOUR SOLDIERS "OROP" UNDER THE PLEA OF FINANCIAL SCARCITY. FOLLOWING EXPOSE THIS LIE AND WILL TELL YOU HOW THE BUREAUCRACY HAS ALREADY SECURED ITSELF DESPITE THIS 'SCARCITY':

        (a)  OROP ALREADY EXISTS FOR 100% OF THE BUREAUCRATS, JUDICIARY & ALL PARLIAMENTARIANS.

     (b) ON OTHER HAND, IN 1973, PENSION OF DEFENCE FORCES WAS DEVIOUSLY BROUGHT DOWN  FROM 70% to 50%, WHILE THEIRS WAS RAISED  FROM 30% TO 50% IN THE 3rd PAY COMMISSION.

        (c) IN THE 6th PAY COMMISSION THEY CLEVERLY INTRODUCED NON FUNCTIONAL UPGRADATION (NFU) - A SYSTEM BY WHICH ALL IAS, IPS OFFICERS & GROUP A SERVICES  (LESS DEFENCE FORCES) WOULD RETIRE AT THE HIGHEST PAY SCALE -THEREBY GIVING THEM HIGHEST PENSION, OF A SECRETARY TO GOVT, PLUS OROP. THEY COMPLETELY LEFT THE DEFENCE FORCES OUT OF IT.

     (d) THE IAS ,IPS  and the CENTRAL SERVICES  also gave themselves ASSURED CAREER PROGRESSION (ACP) - BUT AGAIN LEFT FORCES OUT OF IT . BY DOING THIS , THEY BROUGHT US DOWN SEVERELY AND HAVE MADE THE FORCES LEAST LUCRATIVE AND LEAST HONOURABLE JOB. Without doubt the aim was to downgrade & denigrate the Defence Forces of India. OUR ENEMIES ARE HAPPY AND WATCHING THIS GREAT DRAMA, WITH GLEE ! Do you know that till date  a DIG was an appointment between a Lt Col and a Colonel. Now a Colonel (who commands 1000 soldiers) has been equated with Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG). The rank of a DIG (who has never commanded more than 50-100 men in his entire service) is now officially equal to a Brigadier. Both are now on a Grade Pay of Rs 8900. Because of the machinations of the Govt and the Central Services to run down the Military.

         (e)   THEY CAN  "DONATE"  $ 1 BILLION TO MONGOLIA, DONATE 1.25 LAC CRORE TO A STATE VOTE BANK, LET SCAMS OF LACS OF CRORE IN GOVT , IPL AND BCCI, give bailouts of hundreds of LAKHS to AIR INDIA, have subsidised food in Parliament Canteen, free travel, free calls, free jaunts abroad, BUT feel poor when it comes to Rs. 8,300 crores for the Defence Forces personnel who are "FORCED" TO RETIRE YOUNG SO THAT THE NATION CAN SLEEP EASY.

      
         
5.  It is not just Modi's promise but a four decade old promise; AN APPROVED PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE (KOSHIARY ) REPORT, A FAVOURABLE SC JUDGMENT (Maj Gen Vains ) and a promise by all Govts since 1984. So why this turn about?

6.  YOU, AS A CITIZEN, CANNOT REMAIN INSULATED  AND SEE VETERANS AND WIDOWS IGNORED AND THE STATUS AND PARITY OF THE INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES vis-a- vis  OTHER GOVT SERVANTS DISTORTED. AND THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE 1947 !!

7.  GOD FORBID IF YOUR OWN SON or DAUGHTER or RELATIVE IS IN THE FORCES ~~ WOULD YOU STILL FEEL THE SAME ?? WILL YOU SEND YOUR NEXT GENERATION TO THE DEFENCE FORCES NOW??

8.  IN EXCHANGE OF GUARANTEED SOVEREIGN PROTECTION, MOST FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS UNDER ARTICLE 14 OF THE CONSTITUTION ARE DENIED TO ONLY THE DEFENCE FORCES. SERVING SOLDIERS ARE BARRED FROM FORMING UNIONS, ORGANISING STRIKES, PROTESTS ETC - FOR REASONS OF DISCIPLINE , BUT REST OF THE COUNTRY CAN GET WHAT THEY WANT ANY TIME BY RESORTING TO RIOTING, RAIL-ROKO etc!

9.   HAVE WE EVER FAILED YOU IN PEACE,  WAR OR TERRORISM, RIOTS, FLOODS, EARTHQUAKE IN BHUJ, KEDARNATH ETC?? JUST  LAST WEEK, EVEN THE SMALL SCALE  RIOTS IN GUJARAT COULD NOT BE CONTROLLED BY THE POLICE OR THE PARA MIL FORCES ( !! ) AND THE ARMY DID THE JOB !!

CAN THIS  NATION SURVIVE WITHOUT ITS DEFENCE FORCES  ??

REMEMBER SALARY MAKES US DO OUR JOB - WE HAVE FAMILIES & PARENTS TO TAKE CARE OF, AND CHILDREN TO EDUCATE -BUT ITS HONOUR AND RECOGNITION THAT IMPELS US TO EMBRACE DEATH WILLINGLY WHILE EXECUTING OUR JOBS. THE POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS HAVE DISHONOURED US.

Please circulate to your friends & family, so that we rise as one nation to stop this discrimination, and politico - bureaucratic rot & loot, that is eating our great nation.