Why Ex Servicemen should be heard

The Tribune Thursday, April 16, 2009, Chandigarh, IndiaIt is true that the defence forces have their conduct rules and are known to those who intend to join the services (Letters to the Editor, “Veterans’ agitation” by Neeraj Kishore Sharma, April 7). But does it mean that the armed forces have to be mute spectators to their continuous degradation in status and pay vis-a-vis other government employees as has been happening in India over the past decades? The Sixth Pay Commission was the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. Serving in defence forces may not be mandatory but so is the case in other departments of the government. If the civilian employees can indulge in agitations on flimsy grounds, why can’t the retired defence personnel take recourse to peaceful protests to highlight the injustice and humiliation being routinely heaped on them? Are they bonded slaves or lumpen elements to be shooed and snubbed at will? “One rank, one pension”, the main demand of the veterans, is a sensitive issue because of the specific ethos of the defence personnel and the very early age at which most of them are edged out and made to retire as compared to the civilians. Frankly, a nation that ignores and insults its soldiers, sooner or later comes to grief. Do we want this to happen to India? WG-CDR S C KAPOOR (retd), Noida