Attack on Indian Army-Enemy Within

Tamil Secessionists' attack on Army Convoy - Beginning of AnarchyB R Haran7 May 2009In a shocking incident on the evening of Saturday, 2 May, several hundred hooligans belonging to the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK) attacked an Army convoy on the Nilambur Bypass Road near Coimbatore . Around 300 army personnel were returning from Hyderabad after completing a three-month training camp, to their headquarters at Madukkarai in Coimbatore via Salem . Early in the morning, when the convoy of over fifty trucks was passing through Salem, the MDMK and PDK cadres along with goons of Tamil-chauvinist and pro-LTTE outfits like Tamil Desiya Iyakkam and Thamizhaga Ilaignar Iyakkam, attempted to block the bypass, charging that the tanks, weapons, arms and ammunition were being transported to Sri Lanka to aid the Sri Lankan army in its war against the LTTE. Only the timely intervention of the Salem police thwarted attempts to attack the convoy; the police convinced the PDK and MDMK hooligans that the army personnel were returning with only their personal belongings after completing training in Hyderabad . The unruly mob then spread the word about the travelling army convoy to their cadre in Coimbatore , who now lay in wait for the convoy to reach Coimbatore . In this well-planned plot to attack the army, hundreds of cadres belonging to these parties assembled on the Nilambur bypass road pretending to stage a demonstration. The media, with prior information about the impending clash, gathered to cover the so-called protest demonstration, but did not bother to caution the police. Despite an alert from the Salem police, the Coimbatore police were not adequately prepared to deal with what followed. The first five trucks were stopped, attacked, tyres deflated, personal belongings like bedrolls, trunk boxes, tents and clothing thrown on the ground and set on fire in wanton destruction. One driver was grievously assaulted. The army personnel ran away to inform the trucks following behind. Other army personnel, who came rushing on hearing about the attack, took safe custody of the weapons, according per eye-witnesses. The witnesses reported retaliation in defense by the army personnel.Senior police officers arrived with the Rapid Action Force and Armed Reserve Police to control the situation and pacify the army personnel. Some media persons and civilians were allegedly hurt in the melee. Coimbatore police arrested 18 cadres belonging to MDMK, PDK and PUCL and registered cases against them under Sections 147 (unlawful assembly), 148 (unlawful assembly with deadly weapons), 324 (causing grievous hurt) and 294 (b) (using obscene language) of IPC. Members of various media organisations demonstrated against the army personnel for allegedly attacking some of them. They demanded the case be investigated by local police and not referred to Army authorities; hence police registered cases against twenty army personnel as well. Clearly, as in the case of the lawyers’ attack against the police, a section of the media is allied with Tamil secessionists and has positioned itself against our men in uniform - the Army and the Police. A scrutiny of the events clearly indicates a pre-conceived and well-executed attack. As the convoy was allowed to continue its journey through Salem and Erode without incident, the police did not expect trouble in Coimbatore . Anticipating lowered defenses of the Coimbatore police, the anti-national forces came well-prepared to attack the convoy in the guise of a protest demonstration. They clearly outnumbered the police and by the time additional forces were summoned, enough damage had been done. There are reports that the mob even attempted to set fire to the fuel tanks of the army trucks. Initial investigations and interrogation of the apprehended hooligans have confirmed a huge conspiracy behind this daring act. The Sulur Police have registered cases against 250 persons and 19 persons, including Ramakrishnan, general secretary of PDK, Ponchandran of PUCL, and Sivapriyan of Tamil Nationalist Movement. Many hooligans have allegedly escaped to Chennai and Madurai and crossed over to Kerala. The police were able to identify the culprits and gather evidence against them from complete video recordings collected from media personnel. The police strongly suspect that many culprits could have crossed over to Kerala as pro-LTTE elements have a safe refuge there in the coastal areas. PDK leader Ramakrishnan reputedly has close connections with LTTE boss Prabhakaran, and according to police records, even visited North Lanka to meet him in the 1980s; he reportedly conducted photo-exhibitions on the war-front and sufferings of Lankan Tamils. Besides the pro-LTTE and Tamil-chauvinist elements, the involvement of PUCL members gives a different dimension to the issue. The Chennai edition of The Times of India (4 May 2009) reported that PUCL members were involved in the attack. In the past two decades, PUCL is known to have become a front for Naxalites, Maoists and Jihadis, and its sustained campaign against the army in Kashmir and in support of secessionists and militants in the name of human rights, is characteristic of its anti-establishment functioning. It has acted against the governments in Gujarat and Orissa (Kandhamal) in the aftermath of communal riots. It must be noted that Binayak Sen, PUCL vice president, has been incarcerated in Chattisgarh for allegedly helping Maoists. It has been reported that Kavita Srivastava, secretary PUCL and Rajasthan unit’s general secretary, attended the ‘National Political Conference’ in February 2009 in Calicut, organized by the ‘Popular Front of India,’ an amalgamation of Islamic fundamentalist outfits. Most PUCL office-bearers are involved in activities helping militant and separatist forces in the name of ‘human rights;’ a majority are ‘advocates.’ K.G. Kannabiran, President PUCL, and celebrities like Suzanne Arundhati Roy, have advocated ‘clemency’ for terrorists like Afzal Guru. The organization gave a tough time to the government and men in uniform in support of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins and sandalwood brigand Veerappan’s aides. Maoists and Naxalites have a typical style of executing operations. They normally storm police stations, prisons, attack CRPF vehicles and police camps; of late they have started to hijack trains. The recent incident of hijacking a suburban train in Chennai, resulting in the death of four people and injuries to over a dozen, must be seen in this context. Within days, the attack on the army convoy followed. This is a clear indication of increasing infiltration by Maoists into Tamil Nadu and their sprouting new fronts in pro-LTTE parties and Tamil-chauvinist outfits. Initial investigations in Coimbatore reveal a clandestine connection between the arrested persons and the LTTE. Some have been involved in smuggling arms, ammunition and spare parts for land mines to the LTTE during the 1980s. The Maoist-Naxal menace is not new to Tamil Nadu, and in fact it has a history spanning more than three decades. The districts of Salem , Dharmapuri, Theni, Dindigul and Madurai were notorious for Maoist activities and the Maoist-LTTE nexus is known. The LTTE has been training Maoist and Tamil separatist elements and their nexus with sandalwood brigand Veerappan is a violent chapter in Tamil Nadu’s history of ‘Law and Order’. The ‘Communist Party of India (Maoist)’ was actually formed in September 2004 with the merger of two banned Naxalite parties, namely the ‘Communist Party of India (Marxist- Leninist)’ and ‘Maoist Communist Centre of India’. As this new formation was given to violent anti-national and anti-social activities, the Tamil Nadu government banned it in July 2005. With the advent of the DMK government in 2006, there has been an alarming increase in LTTE and Maoist activities, and the Chief Minister had to appoint the immensely popular ADGP K. Vijayakumar, former chief of the STF who finally nabbed and killed Veerappan, once again as the Chief of STF, this time to neutralise the Maoists. ADGP Vijayakumar, considered Jayalalithaa’s blue-eyed boy, was relegated to an insignificant department earlier. As expected, Vijayakumar’s STF and the ‘Q’ branch swung into action and results started to show almost immediately. A dozen Maoists, clandestinely engaged in recruitment of cadres, were captured along with some of their more notorious leaders who had managed to escape police dragnet for years. Among the captured, one was an engineering student (Muthuselvam) and the other a law student (Velmurugan). When questioned by the police, all those apprehended confessed that they had been recruited by the PWG (People’s War Group) to create a ‘liberated zone’ in the Western Ghats and that they had links with Maoists in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal . Maps of Chennai and Madurai , along with blueprints of vital civilian installations, were seized from them. As the Tamil Nadu police tightened its grip, LTTE sought safe refuge in north Andhra Pradesh. Both LTTE and Maoists have been covertly using many industrial units without the knowledge of the proprietors to make key components for rockets, grenades and mortars and many such consignments have been seized by police in both states. Maoist and LTTE activities, which rose in 2006 and 2007, started to slump in 2008.But with the imminent decimation of the LTTE in Sri Lanka , the politics of Tamil Eelam, combining dangerously with Lok Sabha elections in India , gathered momentum and the DMK government, caught in a dilemma, could not employ demonstrable force against pro-LTTE groups and their violent acts. Church backing for pro-LTTE activities was also a reason for the DMK’s weak response. This emboldened the pro-LTTE elements to flaunt their affiliations and indulge in blatantly treacherous activities, starting from the lawyers’ unrest, which prevailed for over five months from November 2008 to March 2009. Indeed, the disorder caused by a section of the legal fraternity started with the celebration of LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s birthday in November 2008 inside the Court premises, and culminated with the physical assault on Janata Party president Dr. Subramanian Swamy on 27 February and violent clash between lawyers and police on 29 February 2009. The lawyers’ unrest exposed the deep infiltration of Maoist and pro-LTTE elements into the legal fraternity of the state and the clandestine support they get from the Church. As the pro-LTTE parties failed to induce the student community to rise in support of the LTTE, and as they could not create a massive uprising in support of the LTTE even after stage-managing the self-immolation of a dozen individuals and the lawyers’ unrest, they are frustrated and desperate. The hijacking of the suburban train in Chennai and the attack on the army convoy in Coimbatore is a sign of that desperation. The extraordinary restraint shown by the Army in the face of this outrageous provocation has averted what may have turned into yet another opportunity for the human rights industry, which by definition is fast acquiring the nomenclature of a front for terrorists to castigate our armed forces.The Army agreed to treat the attack on its convoy as an ‘aberration,’ but warned that troops would retaliate in self-defence as per law if such incidents recurred. Maj-Gen. E.J. Kochekkan, General Officer in Commanding, Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala area, said the troops had “practiced restraint” when the pro-LTTE elements attacked the convoy on May 2. He warned, “The incident is an aberration and not a threat per se. It should not be repeated. If such incidents became a pattern, active measures will have to be adopted and when it gets adopted, then the results could be much worse and catastrophic. It must be avoided at all costs. If it continues, troops will take action in self-defence as the law permits.”Barring State Congress leaders, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, and Hindu Munnani president Ramagopalan, no political leader, even from the BJP, condemned the attack on the army convoy. MDMK President Vaiko, whose cadres were behind these dastardly acts, was conspicuously silent, as was his leader Jayalalithaa, who waxed eloquent about her patriotism in response to Kapil Sibal’s barb against her seditious demand for Tamil Eelam. Jayalalithaa spoke of an unrealistic Indian military operation against Sri Lanka . Adding insult to injury, their alliance partner and CPI leader Thomas Pandian condemned the arrest of MDMK/ PDK/ PUCL goons! While Dr. Swamy sought the immediate attention of the Election Commission, Coimbatore-based Congress leader S.R. Balasubramaniam lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Police West Zone, demanding that the arrested culprits belonging to MDMK/PDK/PUCL be charged for attempted murder. He rightly felt that the incident exposed a deep-rooted conspiracy of several organisations known for their secessionist ideology and reflected a clear intention to cause hatred against the Indian State and the Tamil Nadu government. It may be noted that the PDK has been clandestinely distributing CD materials in support of LTTE throughout the state; the Congress has objected to the Election Commission. PDK president Kolathur Mani was recently imprisoned under NSA for seditious speech. It is high time the government banned this anti-national organization. Though TNCC President Thangkabalu and Union Minister G K Vasan condemned the incident, the Congress high command preferred silence so as not to embarrass ally DMK. Hence the Prime Minister also kept quiet and the Defence Minister remained mute. The mainstream electronic media, which repeatedly aired and debated the inconsequential attack on a third-rate pub for more than 72 hours, preferred silence on the attack on the army convoy. This speaks volumes about the Medias’ understanding of national security. That this violent attack on an Army convoy is not receiving the attention it deserves is cause for great misgiving. Yet what else can one expect of a government and a media which is essentially run on an NGO agenda. This agenda does not respect national soldiers and shamelessly accepts with equanimity the medals which our soldiers returned a few months ago in anger and frustration.

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The "Untouchable" BJP
By: Mahipal

As the nation is in the process of choosing its government, I see a clear tendency of media against BJP. Anything debatable is uttered by BJP gets immediate negative attention as if BJP/NDA is the greatest threat to this nation. It is to be remembered that when you talk about something negative it reflects the fear within your psycho. Talking negative about BJP will make this organisation more powerful because any publicity is a good publicity these days. Remember the journey from Jansangh to BJP which has been remarkable if not astonishing? A story of struggles of few of the individuals with a commitment; I think they themselves would have not realised what they were going to achieve. Today it is the second single largest party of the country. Not all came easily but something came from the source they would have never thought. Then print and later visual media who made sure that BJP must be defeated with all possible means. But the fact has been clear that, this kind of negative publicity by media worked in favour of BJP because it gave the strength BJP to go against all the odds. Till date. PeriodToday singing secularism has become a fashion. Discussions in AC rooms of these media channel slamming BJP on how much damage has the party done reflects the frustration of those people who can not stand for something called “majority rights”. When you are talking about the benefits and freedom of Muslims, Christians you are fine but when you touch a subject of rights of Hindus, you are communal. Who will make them understand that being majority means not just behaving responsible and sacrifices but it means few rights too?So what if BJP talks about Hindu rights? As a diehard Hindu, I understand the meaning of Hinduism. Hinduism can never become a danger to any society or group of people practicing other faith.On remark of Varun Gandhi when Jammu Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said that “Such remarks by individual like Varun Gandhi can not disturb the peace of our country it was not just for a secular india, it was equally applicable to Hindu community. Religion has never been a word in Hinduism it is just a way of life in which the individual has to decide what is right and hat is wrong. It can never go against the nation. Or had it been so all the Hindu organisations would have been active in killing of our own people happening like in Pakistan, Afghanistan,Iraq.When NSA was imposed on Varun Gandhi by Mayawati, none responded despite knowing that this law has not been imposed even on the deadliest terrorists. Think this law is applicable to BJP only or Vaiko, Bafoon from Bihar Lalu Yadav, one telugu leader also had been in by this time!If I am a supporter of BJP it is not because of Hindutva. It is about ideology. A clear vision, an urge to go beyond family politics and capacity to take the decisions and stand for that.In past NDA has done so many wrong decisions including BJP no doubt in that but then treating BJP like "untouchable" by media is strongly unjustified. Which single government has taken all the right decisions by the way?

The "Untouchable" BJP
By: Mahipal
As the nation is in the process of choosing its government, I see a clear tendency of media against BJP. Anything debatable is uttered by BJP gets immediate negative attention as if BJP/NDA is the greatest threat to this nation. It is to be remembered that when you talk about something negative it reflects the fear within your psycho. Talking negative about BJP will make this organisation more powerful because any publicity is a good publicity these days. Remember the journey from Jansangh to BJP which has been remarkable if not astonishing? A story of struggles of few of the individuals with a commitment; I think they themselves would have not realised what they were going to achieve. Today it is the second single largest party of the country. Not all came easily but something came from the source they would have never thought. Then print and later visual media who made sure that BJP must be defeated with all possible means. But the fact has been clear that, this kind of negative publicity by media worked in favour of BJP because it gave the strength BJP to go against all the odds. Till date. PeriodToday singing secularism has become a fashion. Discussions in AC rooms of these media channel slamming BJP on how much damage has the party done reflects the frustration of those people who can not stand for something called “majority rights”. When you are talking about the benefits and freedom of Muslims, Christians you are fine but when you touch a subject of rights of Hindus, you are communal. Who will make them understand that being majority means not just behaving responsible and sacrifices but it means few rights too?So what if BJP talks about Hindu rights? As a diehard Hindu, I understand the meaning of Hinduism. Hinduism can never become a danger to any society or group of people practicing other faith.On remark of Varun Gandhi when Jammu Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah said that “Such remarks by individual like Varun Gandhi can not disturb the peace of our country it was not just for a secular india, it was equally applicable to Hindu community. Religion has never been a word in Hinduism it is just a way of life in which the individual has to decide what is right and hat is wrong. It can never go against the nation. Or had it been so all the Hindu organisations would have been active in killing of our own people happening like in Pakistan, Afghanistan,Iraq.When NSA was imposed on Varun Gandhi by Mayawati, none responded despite knowing that this law has not been imposed even on the deadliest terrorists. Think this law is applicable to BJP only or Vaiko, Bafoon from Bihar Lalu Yadav, one telugu leader also had been in by this time!If I am a supporter of BJP it is not because of Hindutva. It is about ideology. A clear vision, an urge to go beyond family politics and capacity to take the decisions and stand for that.In past NDA has done so many wrong decisions including BJP no doubt in that but then treating BJP like "untouchable" by media is strongly unjustified. Which single government has taken all the right decisions by the way?

SC Activism

Supreme Court's decision to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and order fast track hearing of Gujarat riot cases should be welcomed. However, it was appalling to read about a recent ruling by SC on a similar PIL, which sought to fast track hearing of criminal cases against mafias that are active in politics. It may be recalled that SC has ruled against any fast track processing of criminal cases against such individuals. Criminals in politics have done greater harm (and will continue to do so) to the country than Gujarat riots. Scums like Sahabuddin, Pappu Yadav, Mukhtar Ansari, Ateek Ahmed, DP Yadav (and the list goes on) might have been responsible for many more killings than those in Gujarat riots. Still the Supreme Court did not consider it to be important enough to to set up special courts and expedite hearing of cases against them.As BJP supporters, we must do our part to form public opinion on this very important issue and request SC to reconsider its previous ruling. Supreme Court's Gujarat ruling may serve as a good precedent. It would only help the BJP if the criminal empire of these thugs are destroyed and they get the justice they deserve. These are the people who get elected on SP, BSP, RJD, LJP ticket. Given the clout that these people have, we certainly need fully empowered SITs (10-20 Raghvans) and several dozens fast track courts to brings them to justice.
bkrai

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Are Brahmins the Dalits of today ?
by abhimishra.91 on Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:52 am
Are Brahmins the Dalits of today?At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the Brahmins, for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so today? Doctors in armsThere are 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi; all of them are cleaned and looked after by Brahmins (this very welcome public institution was started by a Brahmin). A far cry from the elitist image that Brahmins have!There are five to six Brahmins manning each Shauchalaya. They came to Delhi eight to ten years back looking for a source of income, as they were a minority in most of their villages, where Dalits are in majority (60 per cent to 65 per cent). In most villages in UP and Bihar, Dalits have a union which helps them secure jobs in villages.At Ground Zero of the quota protestsDid you know that you also stumble upon a number of Brahmins working as coolies at Delhi's railway stations? One of them, Kripa Shankar Sharma, says while his daughter is doing her Bachelors in Science he is not sure if she will secure a job."Dalits often have five to six kids, but they are confident of placing them easily and well," he says. As a result, the Dalit population is increasing in villages. He adds: "Dalits are provided with housing, even their pigs have spaces; whereas there is no provision for gaushalas (cowsheds) for the cows of the Brahmins."The middle class deserves what it is gettingYou also find Brahmin rickshaw pullers in Delhi. 50 per cent of Patel Nagar's rickshaw pullers are Brahmins who like their brethren have moved to the city looking for jobs for lack of employment opportunities and poor education in their villages.Even after toiling the whole day, Vijay Pratap and Sidharth Tiwari, two Brahmin rickshaw pullers, say they are hardly able to make ends meet. These men make about Rs 100 to Rs 150 on an average every day from which they pay a daily rent of Rs 25 for their rickshaws and Rs 500 to Rs 600 towards the rent of their rooms which is shared by 3 to 4 people or their families.Did you also know that most rickshaw pullers in Banaras are Brahmins?Do our institutes connect with the real India?This reverse discrimination is also found in bureaucracy and politics. Most of the intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu. Only 5 seats out of 600 in the combined UP and Bihar assembly are held by Brahmins -- the rest are in the hands of the Yadavs.400,000 Brahmins of the Kashmir valley, the once respected Kashmiri Pandits, now live as refugees in their own country, sometimes in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi in appalling conditions. But who gives a damn about them? Their vote bank is negligible.And this is not limited to the North alone. 75 per cent of domestic help and cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins. A study of the Brahmin community in a district in Andhra Pradesh (Brahmins of India by J Radhakrishna, published by Chugh Publications) reveals that today all purohits live below the poverty line.Eighty per cent of those surveyed stated that their poverty and traditional style of dress and hair (tuft) had made them the butt of ridicule. Financial constraints coupled with the existing system of reservations for the 'backward classes' prevented them from providing secular education to their children.Who are the real Dalits of India?In fact, according to this study there has been an overall decline in the number of Brahmin students. With the average income of Brahmins being less than that of non-Brahmins, a high percentage of Brahmin students drop out at the intermediate level. In the 5 to 18 year age group, 44 per cent Brahmin students stopped education at the primary level and 36 per cent at the pre-matriculation level.The study also found that 55 per cent of all Brahmins lived below the poverty line -- below a per capita income of Rs 650 a month. Since 45 per cent of the total population of India is officially stated to be below the poverty line it follows that the percentage of destitute Brahmins is 10 per cent higher than the all-India figure.There is no reason to believe that the condition of Brahmins in other parts of the country is different. In this connection it would be revealing to quote the per capita income of various communities as stated by the Karnataka finance minister in the state assembly: Christians Rs 1,562, Vokkaligas Rs 914, Muslims Rs 794, Scheduled castes Rs 680, Scheduled Tribes Rs 577 and Brahmins Rs 537.Appalling poverty compels many Brahmins to migrate to towns leading to spatial dispersal and consequent decline in their local influence and institutions. Brahmins initially turned to government jobs and modern occupations such as law and medicine. But preferential policies for the non-Brahmins have forced Brahmins to retreat in these spheres as well.Caste shouldn't overwrite meritAccording to the Andhra Pradesh study, the largest percentage of Brahmins today are employed as domestic servants. The unemployment rate among them is as high as 75 per cent. Seventy percent of Brahmins are still relying on their hereditary vocation. There are hundreds of families that are surviving on just Rs 500 per month as priests in various temples (Department of Endowments statistics).Priests are under tremendous difficulty today, sometimes even forced to beg for alms for survival. There are innumerable instances in which Brahmin priests who spent a lifetime studying Vedas are being ridiculed and disrespected.At Tamil Nadu's Ranganathaswamy Temple, a priest's monthly salary is Rs 300 (Census Department studies) and a daily allowance of one measure of rice. The government staff at the same temple receive Rs 2,500 plus per month. But these facts have not modified the priests' reputation as 'haves' and as 'exploiters.' The destitution of Hindu priests has moved none, not even the parties known for Hindu sympathy.The tragedy of modern India is that the combined votes of Dalits/OBC and Muslims are enough for any government to be elected. The Congress quickly cashed in on it after Independence, but probably no other government than Sonia Gandhi's has gone so far in shamelessly dividing Indian society for garnering votes.From the Indian Express: 'These measures will not achieve social justice'The Indian government gives Rs 1,000 crores (Rs 10 billion) for salaries of imams in mosques and Rs 200 crores (Rs 2 billion) as Haj subsidies. But no such help is available to Brahmins and upper castes. As a result, not only the Brahmins, but also some of the other upper castes in the lower middle class are suffering in silence today, seeing the minorities slowly taking control of their majority.How reservations fracture Hindu societyAnti-Brahminism originated in, and still prospers in anti-Hindu circles. It is particularly welcome among Marxists, missionaries, Muslims, separatists and Christian-backed Dalit movements of different hues. When they attack Brahmins, their target is unmistakably Hinduism.So the question has to be asked: are the Brahmins (and other upper castes) of yesterday becoming the Dalits of today?
abhimishra.91

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THE BIG FIGHT IS FOR ‘IZZAT’
Maj Gen Surjit Singh, AVSM VSM (surjiteme@gmail.com)
“If the leash on military leaders gets too tight, they will not be able to bite; nor even bark, when the balloon goes up”
A Dark Chapter in Indian Military History
The only thing common between 16th Dec 1971 and 16th Dec 2008 is the date and the month on the calendar. For the rest, these two days are poles apart. On the first of these historical dates, the Indian soldier was on cloud nine. He was the cynosure of all eyes. But on the 37th anniversary of the “Vijay Diwas” the same soldiers who had done the nation proud, were biting dust; breathing polluted Delhi air and reduced to begging for equitable pensions. A brave heart, who was once a 3-star general slept on a bug infected mattress to fight for justice. This demonstration was initially planned for six days, because no one believed that they could muster enough volunteers for a period longer than that. Events tell a different story today:
On 19 Dec, one old soldier decided to go on ‘fast unto death’ He was soon joined by a few more. They had to be cajoled to break their fasts.
Similar rallies were held in many other cities, including Mumbai.
More than 10,000 medals including gallantry awards have since been surrendered to the President of India in three installments.
Why are Old Soldiers Seething with Anger?
The immediate trigger for these unprecedented demonstrations of anger is the denial of “One Rank One Pension” which has been the battle cry of veterans for the last 25 years. This hurts more, this time because the Congress party had made a specific promise to rationalize pensions if voted to power, in Oct 2003. The figures finally promulgated tell the following bizarre tale:
A Havildar with 24 years service who retired in Dec 2005 has been granted Rs 5,239 while a Sepoy who had rendered only 17 years of service but went home a month later, in Feb 2006 gets Rs 6,800
A Lt Gen with 40 years service who had commanded a Corps, with more than 50,000 troops under his command, but retired in Dec 2005 gets Rs 27,700 while a post-2006 retiree Col (TS) who had put in only 26 years service and led nothing more than a company with less than 100 soldiers gets Rs 30,375 merely because he retired a month later.
The past pensioners find it hard to digest that while most of them have been only granted a multiplicand of 2.26 over their ‘base’ pensions, the improvement factor is 3.07 for several apex posts. That this is because those fortunate ranks are on ‘fixed’ salaries or are covered by the ‘protection clause’ does not convince them, since it is not a sufficiently cogent justification.
Root Cause Analysis of the Current Stir
Make no mistake. While these devastatingly vile pension disparities hurt the rank and file, the loss of izzat and élan is an equally disturbing factor. Over the years, the status of soldiers has been eroded in a systematic manner.
Despite a very earnest request by the service chiefs, the government refused to appoint a soldier, serving or retired, as a member of the 6th Pay Panel.
The report left the services seething with anger. An anomalies commission comprising eleven Secretaries was constituted, to remedy the situation. Once again no service member was considered either necessary or desirable. The report of this committee has not been made public, but the government issued implementation instructions based on its recommendations. The service chiefs then identified four core issues in their dissent to the revised dispensation: (i) status of Lt Gen; (ii) Grade Pay of middle piece officers (iii) Pay Band of Lt Col and (iv) Pension of PBOR. Of these four, the financial effect of the first two was virtually nix while the latter two entailed substantial burden on the exchequer. Ironically, the government accepted the latter two demands, but only offered to constitute a ‘high level committee’ to examine the first two. Obviously, money is not a consideration.
After the 5th CPC, the pension of the pre-1996 Maj Gens was fixed at a level lower than that of Brigs on the pretext that they were ‘functionally equal to Joint Secretaries’ They contested this in the courts of law. After a ten year long legal battle, the soldiers won the case in the Supreme Court in Sep 2008. The government is still dragging its feet on payment of a mere Rs 900 per month to less than 500 retired Maj Gens!
Do you notice a pattern in the above decisions? The polity of our nation has an obsessive fear that the military will take over this country, the way it has in our neighboring countries. From that unfounded fear, they are willing to go any length to keep the soldiers out of the decision making chains. And so, they are willing to grant money, but deny them the status which they deserve. It is because of this fixation that the military officers have been lowered in the table of precedence in a systematic manner over the years, slowly but surely. A Corps Commander who commands more than 50,000 troops has been placed lower than a DG Police, of whom there are dozens in all large States. A similar situation obtains at all other levels. In the South Block, a Maj Gen with 34 years service is equated with a Joint Secretary who may have just 20 years service and no ‘hands on’ experience of soldiering. The slogan which guides the civil servants is, “Put the Generals in their Place; and Keep Them There”
Is it the Ministry of Defense (MoD) or Ministry of ‘Delays’?
During my 13 years service in the South Block, I observed that the “MoD” never ‘rejected’ a case projected by us. They always found a ‘committee’ to ‘resolve’ the issue, and kept referring them to different officers until they were able to identify a pliable officer who toed their line. Having put the service officers on a tight leash, the civil servants rule the roost. The pay case is just one manifestation of this mess, with the MoD having to issue so many amendments. Equipment procurement and logistics are even worse. It is generally believed that you can sell junk to the military at fancy prices. The industry looks upon the military as its worst customer, and only those entrepreneurs choose to deal with the South Block who know how to wade through the antiquated procedures and vested interests. The root cause of the present stir is that the soldiers want to regain the position as it obtained fifty years ago, and the civil servants are unwilling to give up their powers. They have managed to convince the political bosses that status quo must not be disturbed. The overwhelming response which this movement has received for the present stir actually derives from the anger which has accumulated in the sinew of veterans who have been slighted by bureaucrats, and prevented from doing the job that was assigned to them. One of my esteemed friends once observed,
“Serving in the South Block is like having to fight with the hands tied behind your back. You can save your nose by ducking, but can never hit back ”
The Danger of Letting the Pot Boil Over
It is evident this problem is not going to blow over in a hurry. Those who are trying to brush it under the carpet are leading the nation to grave risk. At the moment, the situation is confined to an untidy looking tent in Jantar Mantar, but if the splinters of this fire fly out, any of the following can happen:
Attractiveness of military service may plummet from its already abysmally low level. Who would like to become an officer or strive to rise in the system where generals and colonels are treated in this shabby manner?
If, the sympathy wave travels to the South Block, the civil military relations may reach a flash point, and the consequences can be disastrous.
And indeed, if a few hot heads boil over, the nation may have to pay a very heavy price. Soldiers are trained to handle weapons and destroy infrastructure. I shudder to think beyond this point.
A moot Question, ”Do the Rulers of India Trust the Soldiers?”
If the answer is yes, then there is only one way, involve their leaders; empower them, mobilize them and let them co-create a resurgent nation with you. The generals and the colonels have stood behind the peoples of this land like a rock in war and peace. Do not treat them like pariahs and distrust their loyalties. Take it from me, they neither have the desire nor the gumption to rule this country. If you tighten the leash of your pet beyond a point, there is danger that it may choke and not be able to bark and bite when you need its help. Similarly, if you over rule the considered advice of a service chief, you lower his moral authority. When the day of reckoning arrives, their legitimate command may be treated as frivolously by his soldiers as the contempt with which his recommendations were dismissed by the rulers of the land. . Would a soldier like to be prepared to make the supreme sacrifice for a general who could not fight for his rights?
A Tail Piece
To improve the lot of veterans, a ‘Department for Ex-servicemen’s Welfare’ was established by the government in 2004. Logically, this outfit should have been headed by a soldier, serving or retired. But on ground, the privilege of leading this outfit has gone to a civil servant, who has never worn uniform. Among other things, our pensions are a part of his responsibility. What veterans can expect from this new creation is portrayed by an Urdu couplet,
“Mera qaatil hi mera munsif hai. Kya mere haq mein faisla dega?”
(My slayer is the judge. Can I expect him to give a verdict in my favor?
Maj Gen Surjit Singh, AVSM VSM was member of the Army’s Pay Cell constituted for the Fourth Pay Commission during 1983-87. Later he was the Chairman of the Cell for the 5th P ay Commission in 1996-97. He has published a book “Wages Down the Ages” on the subject.