Today’s Indian Express editorial has sure stirred the 6th Pay Commission pot a different way! Here’s another response from a senior retired officer to the editorial, this time from Maj Gen Rajendra Prakash (Retd), based in Dehradun:
Sir,
Your leader “It’s the Uniform”, is clearly an inspired piece of somewhat vicious sophistry, plugging with a bare-faced effrontery, for the powerful politico-bureaucratic combine. It makes no pretence at rationality, reasoning or fairness. Cleverness with words is one thing, but wither your much-flaunted mast-head “Because the Truth involves us All”?
Your leader implies in so many words that the three Service Chiefs are obsessed with trivia, because they have taken up jointly, a strong case for the removal of some gross anomalies deliberately introduced (by whom?) in the Government orders, implementing 6th Pay Commission report. Unfortunately, the value judgement you have passed, does not bother to touch upon the merits of the issues on which the Chiefs and the Armed Forces are so upset and agitated. It is not the money, but the steady whittling down of the ‘inter se’ status of the military vis-a-vis the civil services. If this does not make any difference to the functional efficiency of organizations, why has the bureaucrat striven so diligently (and successfully ), since 1947, to do down the Indian Armed Forces?
It would be a dereliction of duty by the Service Chiefs, if they were to let go the interests of those they command. It would please the politician and the bureaucrat no doubt, but would be a betrayal of comrades-in-arms.
The ever-proliferating bureaucracy diminishes itself with each proliferation (witness as many as 8 Director Generals Police in a state, including a DGP (Rules), a DGP (Housing} and so on !). But the Armed Forces do not seek for their equations to be enhanced, but only to be maintained and not depressed further. Apart from moral, there are strong functional reasons for this.
Indian Armed Forces have sustained the integrity of their country over last 61 years, at a heavy cost, for the sake of their fellow countrypersons, who are the salt of the earth, but not for the sake of convicted murderers, crooks, thieves and pious hypocrites, many of whom presume to lead us, or the self-seeking and corrupt, many of whom administer us, or even the sophists, who can sell their intellects!
It is said that it is a foolish person indeed, who tries to chop-down the very tree-branch, on which he happens to be sitting!
Yours faithfully,
Rajendra Prakash
My two pence on the IE issue :
http://www.indianmilitarybenefits.blogspot.com
Couldn’t agree more with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Rajendra Prakash. The Service Chiefs took the correct step of representing to the GoI over the 6th pay commission deal for Armed Forces. However it must not be forgotten that preceeding chiefs themselves have been responsible to a certain extent for the pathetic situation that the forces find themselves in now. An example of the same is Gen NC Vij’s decision as the then COAS to denote Lieutenant Colonel grade officers as non-selection based cadre,making Colonels the base selection grade thus lowering the Lt. Col’s in comparision to civillian counter parts in IAS who are selection grade appointments and thus are paid higher.This the anamoly seen in the payband now of Lt. Cols and equivalents in the award. This is only one example offhand I am quoting.
I wonder whether all these retired guys have ever stopped to ponder their contribution to the present mess. If they do, they would realise that it is best that they keep quiet.
For, as the Talmud says- the past is inherited and the future created. They might have have inherited the mess but what they passed on was their creation or at the very least they contributed to the evolving mess.
One however hopes that the present leadership of the Services, most known personally, are doing what needs to be done and not following the ‘tradition’.
i hope these retired generals know what an embarassment their antics are to those still serving. every thing they do is an embarassment to us who are still in uniform.
i hope these retired generals know what an embarassment their antics are to those still serving. every thing they do is an embarassment to us who are still in uniform.
aroor, when were you ever in uniform?
idiot.