Sunday, 17 April 2016

Saturday, 16 April 2016

THE FIFTH COLUMNISTS - PART I

I write about an article, written by Maj Gen Mrinal Suman and being circulated by a few among us, with 'Wah - Wahs'. The article has been reproduced in full at the bottom of this blog.

The first half of Gen Suman's article would touch a chord in every soldier's heart, but his purpose of writing the mail is laid bare by the following highly objectionable lines, in the latter half of his article, which clearly has an agenda a few of us seem to be pursuing, to the general detriment of soldiers :

"Unfortunately, of late, the veterans have developed some sort of persecution complex. We have convinced ourselves that we are not getting a fair deal from the country. Resultantly, considerable discontentment and despondency have crept into our thinking.

Why let our old age become unhappy? There is a world beyond OROP: a world full of the memories of the troops we commanded, their raw courage and their unflinching loyalty to the comrades, unit and country. We indeed are very privileged to belong to the Indian army, a family with strong bonds of mutual caring. Let us cherish this blessing."

We, soldiers, suffer from 'Persecution complex', writes Gen Suman.

It is Suman who, along with a few other misguided lot, seem to be out of step with the absolute degradation of the soldiers's status, vis-a-vis the other Central Services. One will have to be blind not to see it, without pride not to feel it, mindless not to understand it and deadened enough not to experience it, on a day to day basis, or be driven by an Agenda, to write what he has written.

Not that the soldiers did not know for very very long that it was happening to them. They were taking everything lying down. It is Major Dhanapalan who showed all of us that we too could fight back. He did it single handedly. We are carrying forward the fight against injustice collectively. Therefore the collective awareness, which has made the Govt shaky at its root.

As he has rightly quoted, 'Once a soldier, always a soldier'. Whether serving or retired, we are all soldiers. Today's serving, is tomorrows veteran. The serving are bound by too many Acts/Rules/Regulations. We, therefore, have to fight for both. Obviously he grudges that.

Mrinal's stand is like those of the ex-servicemen, (EC), administrators/police officers, that he has so condescendingly referred to in his article.

I request Gen Suman to use his considerable writing skills to fighting for the cause of the soldiers and not to belittle it in a systematic manner.

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Veterans And Organisational Bonding: A Unique Blessing

Maj Gen Mrinal Suman

The day we joined the academy, we were told to take pride in the fact that we had opted for the noblest profession in the world – the profession of arms that ensures security of our country. We were also counselled that soldiering was a package deal with its minuses and pluses. The minuses exist due to the exigencies of service (threat to life, hardships, frequent transfers, separations and so on) and these have to be endured. However, the pluses outweigh the minuses by a huge margin: organisational cohesion being the most crucial one as it facilitates development of life-long bonds, both social and emotional.

Camaraderie and esprit de corps make soldiering the most rewarding experience, compensating for all the negatives of service life. We, the veterans somehow overlook its import and take these blessings for granted. Let me elucidate with two examples.

A few years ago, at an informal post-seminar interaction at the College of Defence Management Secunderabad, a senior retired IAS officer rued the fact that his service lacked the bonhomie of the armed forces. “I envy the way the veterans bond with the serving officers and get respect. In my service, once we retire, we are totally forgotten. My state does not even remember my birthday for a card. Yes, if I become a Governor tomorrow, I will again be surrounded by opportunists and sycophants,” he added.

Unable to resist his inquisitiveness, a serving Brigadier quipped that IAS was considered to be a highly close-knit service. The bureaucrat’s frank reply surprised all, “Yes, we close ranks whenever we sense external threat to our collective interests. Otherwise, ours is a dog-eat-dog world, full of self-seeking ‘climbers’.”

The second example pertains to ex-Short Service Commission (SSC) officers. Most have done well in the civil services. While occupying high positions in the civil hierarchy, they never reveal their army background. In fact, they make deliberate efforts to hide it, lest their old army course-mates try to get ‘familiar’ with them. Worse, most suffer from what is commonly referred to as ‘rank equivalence complex’. They keep comparing their pay scales with those of the service officers to draw equations with Lt Gens and army commanders. This complex manifests itself in their haughty and standoffish attitude.

That is the reason why no District Commissioner or Police Director General ever cares to remember his past regimental association to attend an artillery/infantry day function. Worse, they never offer to help army solve their pending issues with the civil administration. In other words, they behave like completely disconnected aliens.

However, superannuation hits them hard. Their much-vaunted civil service neglects them totally. Feeling abandoned, they rediscover their army roots and reclaim their old affiliation to seek membership of army institutes. They search-out long-forgotten course-mates to re-establish contacts and join their social circles. They realise that only army can provide everlasting camaraderie and social bonding.

Let us count our blessings

The above has been recounted here to highlight the fact that we the veterans are blessed to belong to an organisation whose comradeship and cohesion are the envy of all. No words can ever describe the intensity of covalent bonding amongst the serving and the veterans. One marvels at the love and respect that the serving soldiers shower on the veterans. Yes, it is pure selfless love as the veterans can do no favour to the serving.

Let me support my assertion with a recent example. We, 35 veterans and ladies attended our regiment’s raising day at Leimakhong in the first week of April. As is the service culture, despite major administrative constraints, we were treated with due deference and affection. In fact, the unit made it appear as if the veterans had done a great favour by joining the celebrations. As always, it was a humbling experience.

Well, this recounting is not about the unit personnel looking after their veterans: every unit in the Indian army has similar norms and traditions. It is about a unique honour that the local formation bestowed on the veterans. All veterans and ladies were invited to a banquet at the divisional mess. It was a gesture of monumental proportions.

With band in attendance, it was a nostalgic experience to be serenaded by the instrumentalists while dining. The veterans felt overwhelmed. Even the vibes in the air were affable, convivial and cordial. GOC’s unprecedented initiative made every veteran feel 10 years younger, brighter and more buoyant.

During a trip to the War Cemetery at Kohima, the veterans were hosted to a lunch by the Brigade Commander at Jakhama. Suffice it to say that the veterans were treated as honoured guests of the whole formation. To be wanted, loved and respected is a basic human necessity; more so when one advances in years.

The purpose of citing the above experience is to stress the point that no organisation in the world (both official and commercial) can ever match the intensity of affection that the army showers on its veterans. It is simply inimitable. Neither money can buy it nor can it be commandeered. Army’s ethos and value-system get manifested when veterans are made to feel like important VIPs.

For soldiers, nostalgia is an antidote to aging

Unfortunately, of late, the veterans have developed some sort of persecution complex. We have convinced ourselves that we are not getting a fair deal from the country. Resultantly, considerable discontentment and despondency have crept into our thinking.

‘Once a soldier always a soldier’ is an old adage and nostalgia is an inalienable facet of every retired soldier’s psyche. In fact, post-retirement life gets enlivened only when the past events appear in flashback with reminiscence of old associations. A soldier lives and relives them till he breathes his last. It is an old belief that soldiers carry the memories of their comrades right up to Saint Peter’s pearly gates. While it is difficult to vouch for the veracity of the said belief, one thing is certain – army’s organisational bonding provides immense solace when age takes its toll and the faculties start ebbing.

Thursday, 14 April 2016

A Lopsided Strategic Partnership

Shyam Saran

The following contents are extracted from the above article in the Business Stanndard. Mr Saran is a retd Foreign Secretary, presently active on many fronts.

China is a security challenge to India not just in the Indo-Pacific but also on the western flank. In fact, China is a greater and more immediate threat to Indian interests on this flank precisely because it is allied with and supports a hostile Pakistan. It is now becoming active in Afghanistan and the US believes its interests are better served by working together with China and Pakistan to broker peace with the Taliban. Here, India's interests are not aligned with the US. In this regard, the US should not cherry-pick where it wants to work together with India and where it is willing to sideline Indian interests. If that is the case, then we, too, need to be selective in our approach.

We have also seen that the US continues to bracket India and Pakistan together as far as nuclear issues are concerned, ignoring the fact that it is Pakistan which has a first-use doctrine, is deliberately lowering the nuclear threshold by developing and deploying theatre nuclear weapons and rapidly building up its nuclear arsenal. India, by contrast, has a no first-use and retaliation-only doctrine and has been remarkably restrained in developing and upgrading its nuclear deterrent. For President Barack Obama to have suggested recently at the Nuclear Security Summit that both India and Pakistan have nuclear doctrines that are headed in the wrong direction, reflects continued India-Pakistan hyphenation. We should acknowledge that the US has only partially adjusted its posture in this respect.

There is another dimension which works against the forging of a strategic partnership and that pertains to the economic and trade relationship. In this important domain, the two countries are adversaries. The US move to establish the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without any dialogue or consultation with India is illustrative of how the US Trade Representative looks upon India as a spoiler and a constant irritant, without considering whether there are genuine Indian concerns behind the positions we take. Even on India's membership of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which is not a negotiating body but a forum for sharing best practices, it is the US which is busy warning APEC members that bringing India in would retard progress in the forum. How can India be a strategic and, in particular, maritime security partner in the Indo-Pacific if it is seen as a rank adversary, and treated as such, in the economic and commercial domain in the same region? You cannot be a partner in one domain and a target in another. If that is the case then we should be honest enough to acknowledge that our strategic partnership, which may be of considerable value, nevertheless has clearly defined limits. If the US wishes to keep several options open to pursue its interests, India may need to do the same.

One should acknowledge that India-US relations today are more broad ranging and much deeper than at any time in the past. In the areas of defence and counter-terrorism, the level of cooperation and mutual understanding is unprecedented. But, we should also recognise that there is a constant threat of commercial issues overwhelming the relationship as was the case in 2014-15, when the US pharma industry launched a virtual "beat up on India" campaign on the issue of intellectual property. While India made a major contribution to the success of the Paris Climate Change agreement, at considerable sacrifice of its own long-term energy security interests, the US has dealt a blow to India's renewable energy plans by lodging a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against India for promoting its domestic solar industry.

Mr Obama recently gave a long interview to The National Interest magazine on the evolving global situation and the US's role in the Asia-Pacific region. India did not figure in the interview. So much for the "defining partnership of the 21st century", which is how he had described Indo-US relations during his first visit to India.

The US presidential elections are round the corner and it is anybody's guess what the new administration will look like and what its foreign policy agenda will be. While there will always be issues on which India and the US will adopt different postures, a strategic partnership should entail that on issues of key interest to each other there will at least be a "no surprises" and a "do no harm" understanding. Spelling out these interests may be a good starting point for dialogue with the incoming administration in Washington.

Tuesday, 12 April 2016

ARE WE HINDUS?

This Article is an effort to undo some of the damage being done to the secular fabric of the Defense Forces, as increasingly evident from the writings of some brain-washed Veterans among us.

Please read this Article in the backdrop of the present Hindutva battle cry, "India is a Hindu Rashtra. Any one not proclaiming, 'Bharat Mata ki jai', is an anti-national and a traitor".

This Article aims at exposing the present remorseless 'fact-manufacturing' battle of the Hindutva Brigade to suit their convenience by distorting History of India, ignoring the basic tenet of the Indus Valley Civilization, (IVC), as inherited by the Aryans, the tenet of assimilation and tolerance.

This Article is to be read in conjunction with my Article of Apr 07, '16, "22 Reasons To Believe .....".

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ARE WE HINDUS?

Depends.

If the question is related to religion, (As commonly understood), I am NOT a Hindu. There is no 'Hindu' religion. For that matter neither are Christianity, Islam, Jainism, Buddhism Sikkhism and so on.
These are all COMMUNITIES.

If the question refers to the real meaning of the Word, 'Hindu', many like me are Hindus, because we all firmly believe in one Universal God, commonness of human kind and unity of social order.

If screaming, 'Bharat Mata ki Jae' is the test of being a Hindu and a nationalist, many of us are not Hindus and do not qualify as nationalists.

India has always been Patriarchal. As per the very same Hindu Brigade, Bharat, a male, is supposed to be the founder of the Nation known, by his name. The million dollar question is : "From where does the word 'Mata' get attached to Bharat?"

Why not 'Bharat ki Jae' ? or, why not Jai hind, the soldierly way, in which all of us soldiers take pride ?

Personally, I suppose, Indians like me, are Aryan by birth but both Dravidian and Aryan by inheritance and belief of/in its Philosophy. We follow none of the rituals of the former.

Our Bharat is NOT Hindu, if the meaning of that word is contorted by a perverted association with any so called religion.

Our Bharat could be 'Hindu', only and only, if the meaning of the word is associated with universality of humans and if all those who are its citizens, irrespective of their cast, creed and community, of their beliefs and expressions, of their actions and deeds, past, present and future, have an equal right to call it their fatherland/motherland/Godland or any which land they wish to call it as, in whichever language they wish to use.

As Guru Nanak said, "There is neither Hindu nor Mussulman (Muslim), but only man. So whose path shall I follow? I shall follow God's path. God is neither Hindu nor Mussulman and the path which I follow is God's." This is our heritage.

Many Holy Names for God, from many different traditions, are present in Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The Name Hari appears 8344 times, Ram 2533 times, Gopal (Sustainer of the Earth = Krishna) 491 times, Gobind (The One Who takes care of the Earth = Krishna) 475 times, Prabhu 1371 times, Murari (Enemy of Mur Raksh = Vishnu, Krishna) 97 times, Narayan (The One who prevails in water) 85 times, Allah 46 times, Bhagwan 30 times, Madhav 27 times, Krishna 22 times, Rab 17 times, Narsingh (Incarnation of Vishnu with head of tiger and body of man) 16 times, Damodar (Krishna) 15 times, Banwari (Forest One = Krishna) 15 times, Wahe Guru 13 times, and Madhu Sudan (Krishna) 9 times. This is our heritage.

Also, in the words of the Upanishads :

"Bala, darpa, kamam, krodham, moham parigraham,

Nirmamah, Shanto Bhuae Kalpate."

That is the true path of/to God, "Rid of the five sinful ways, born out of the five

human indriyas, we can roam the entire ethereal space of the Universe, in peace,

one with God; this too is our heritage.

By accepting the Rakhi sent by Rani Karnavati, Humayun gave birth to a new social order of a mixed culture. This is our Heritage.

Are the ten Commandments only a Christian faith. Barring three, the other seven commandments are universal in nature :

Shall not take the LORD's name in vain (Not swear).
Shall honour thy father and mother.
Shall not kill.
Shalt not commit adultery.
Shalt not steal.
Shalt not bear false witness.
Shalt not covet thy neighbor's property, wife or servant.

Can all this not be part our heritage too?

There, however, is a big rider. Since in this multilingual, multi-community Country, every community has its own personal laws, rules and regulations, it is essential to have a common civil code for certain basic actions, behaviors, and interactions to stake our claim as one of the most civilized societies in the World; we must strive to embrace a mixed culture and a new unified social order; otherwise our Bharat shall disintegrate.

Just recently, a circulated study report, painstakingly prepared by an esteemed fellow Indian, under the banner of Virat Hindu Sangam, found its way in my mail box, kind courtesy a fellow Veteran. The report lists thousands of Muslim shrines, mosques, mazars and dargahs, which were either built upon the ruins of or built with the materials of Hindu temples/shrines. Even if the report was taken on face value, most true Indians would not understand its purpose. What is the compiler trying to achieve?

How far in History do we go back? How much of distortion of History do we accept? At which point of time in History do we stop taking stock of the destructions in the past and rebuilding the edifice of a new order, on its ruins?

Before the time of the Aryan migration into the Indian subcontinent, there was a highly developed civilization in ancient India, known as the Indus Valley Civilization, (IVC), which was located in what is now Pakistan and northwest India, on the fertile flood plains of the Indus River and its vicinity. This civilization was attacked and annihilated. As the Vedic group advanced rapidly to the rest of the Indian Sub-Continent, the Dravidians were pushed further East and South, till they had no were else to go. Poor Chaps!

The earliest evidence of religious practices in this area date back approximately to 5500 BC, farming settlements began around 4000 BC, and around 3000 BC there appeared the first signs of urbanization. By 2600 BC, dozens of towns and cities had been established and between 2500 and 2000 BC the IVC was at its peak. The evidence suggests that the IVC had social conditions comparable to Sumeria and even superior to the contemporary Babylonians and Egyptians.

The Word 'Arya' has its roots in antiquity, referring to the people who spoke sanskrit or similar languages and settled in Persia and before that in Nordic/Baltic Europe. Whatever be the origin of the Aryans, it is an incontrovertible fact of history that the Aryans were not indigenous to India, were totally a different race than the Dravidians of IVC and that they completely destroyed the IVC and built their own culture upon its ruins.

Even in the face of facts of both Archaeology and modern science, it is becoming fashionable to state on authority, with the support of unverifiable arguments, that Aryans were really the people of IVC and were the original inhabitants of India,

It is also increasingly fashionable to conveniently usurp useful ancient/modern traditions/beliefs/values as Hindu/Sanatan, irrespective of the fact that their origins were non-Aryan.

A few of the IVC seals, show saintly figures meditating in lotus pose. As Cristian Violatti, one of the editors of Ancient History Encyclopedia, has written, "Unlike the peace loving Dravidians of the IVC, Aryans in antiquity, were a nomadic war like tribe of cattle herders". This is borne by many an account, a few of which are :

A number of key battles of'Dasarajna' or the 'Dashradnya Yuddha' or the Battle of the ten kings, spanning many years, described in the Rig Veda, resulted in the total destruction of the pre-Vedic culture and settlements.

Rig Veda also mentions the battles fought by the earlier Aryan King Devdosa, with non Aryan Dasa King Sambara, the death of the latter and the complete annihilation of 99 non Aryan cities.

Then of course, if any further proofs were required, we have our very own Mahabharat, through which the Vedic Philosophy was propounded in the Bhagwat Gita, the Upanishads and the Vedanta.

Who was the non Aryan King Dasa and what was the civilization of the 99 cities completely destroyed by the Aryan King Devdosa? Archaeological excavations of the IVC till date , carried out over almost 100 years, establish IVC's flourishing and advanced civilization, much beyond the reach of the nomadic Aryans. People who still wonder how such an advanced civilization suddenly vanished, have to look no further than the accounts in the Rig Veda, of wars waged by Aryan King Devdosa and also the war of the ten Kings.

By all archaeological accounts of excavations of a number of major/minor IVC cities, this culture had nothing in common with the culture of the Vedic Aryans. IVC people, unlike the Aryans of later years, were largely city bound and peaceful, followed no rituals but believed in philosophy, meditated, practised Yoga, reared or used no horses, had no iron tools/weapons, fought no wars, at least till the ones thrust upon them by the Vedic Aryans, had a language other than Sanskrit and had a script for writing.

Much is made of by some private archaeologists and a handful of historians about certain IVC sites , debunking the erstwhile established fact of the transmigration of the Aryans. I will recommend to these skeptics, the relevant web site of ASI for these latter day excavations :

http://asi.nic.in/asi_exca_imp_gujarat.asp. ASI

which makes no such claims.

Whereas, copious written and Archaeological proofs of the existence of IVC spanning over three millenniums exist even today, there is not even a shred of similar proof of the Aryan civilization thereafter, except their unscripted literature, (For lack of a written script), which is supposed to have survived orally for a millennium, before being reduced to writing around 600 BC.

In fact, a detailed study of the findings of the Archaeological sites will lead to the following conclusions :

(a) The IVC were not conversant with iron technology even as late as 1500 BC
and were still using copper and bronze tools and making artifacts from
these metals.

(b) The seals of the period were still being written in the same script as
before.

(c) Carbon dating, firmly establishes the dating of excavated artifacts as
between 3000 to 1500 BC

(d) No mention of these sites are found in the Vedas or the Upanishads.

(e) IVC seals depict a creature we call unicorn bulls, mistaken as horses by
some eager diggers, out to prove that Aryans were indigenous to
India.

That the IVC people did not rear or use horses, is one of the corner stones, (Not the only one), for establishing that they were a race different than the Vedic Aryans. A number of authors have tried to debunk this theory, but none more than N.S. Rajaram in his, "Horseplay in Harappa", published in the Oct 13, 2000 issue of the Frontline. Rajaram's desperate ruse to establish presence of horses in the IVC, by wrongly depicting a seal, was exposed immediately by Iravatham Mahadevan and Asko Parpola, two of the world's leading experts on the Indus script,

This is how Rajaram published his depiction of the seal :

The "eye" of Rajaram's "horse" (Seen in the Figure above) is created by a tiny flaw (probably caused by abrasion) in the ancient seal, highlighted by light falling on the seal from the right, which prior to its discovery lay buried in the ground for some 4,000-odd years. The lighting also causes other Rorschach-like illusions that vanish when the seal or its impressions are viewed in other conditions as seen in the Figure below :

Rajaram's 'Hop Step and Jump From Bull to Hindutva' is further exposed by the following misrepresentation of IVC seals :

On the left of the above three pictures, is the original of the so called "horse seal" impression (Mackay 453). Comparison with dozens of seals shows that the image is that of a unicorn bull; In the middle, is the photocopy of Mackay 453 sent by Rajaram to the great Indian scholar Iravatham Mahadevan in September 1997. The photocopying was careless, but the image was sharp enough for Mahadevan to recognize that the seal was broken.

Mahadevan noted the annotations at the lower right that in part identify the seal location. On the right, is the "computer enhancement" of Mackay 453 printed in Rajaram's book. In the "enhancement," it is no longer possible to tell that the seal is broken; the crack in the seal turned into the "front legs," "neck," and "head" of Rajaram's deer-like "horse."

In the above representation, the annotations were covered over by Rajaram, creating what some Indologists have mistaken for a common Harappan icon - a "feeding trough", often seen at the feet of animals in Indus inscriptions. Graphics specialists of Frontline have testified that many pixels were removed from the image during the "computer enhancement" - but not data, enhancing the illusion; like the large dot often mistaken for the "eye" of the deer-like creature.

Rajaram, a historian who is a hard line Hindutva stalwart, has been out to debunk the theory of Aryan invasion of India and prove that they were indigenous to this Country. Even after pictures of the IVC seals, earlier published by him as above in his article in Frontline, were proved to be fakes, went ahead to also publish, "Aryan Invasion - History or Politics", (Published 2006).

The word 'Arya' was used by the Indic people of the Vedic period in India to refer to the noble class and a geographic location known as Aryavarta, where Indo-Aryan culture was based.
(Gopal, Madan (1990). edited by K.S. Gautam, 'India through the ages'. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 70.)

The closely related Persian people used the same term as an ethnic label for themselves in the Avesta scriptures, and the word forms the etymological source of the country Iran. (Mallory 1991, p. 125).

'Aryan' was also a self-designation used by all Proto-Indo-Europeans, like the Germans, ultimately gaving rise to Nazism.

It is difficult to understand how the word Hindu, coined by Persians in the 7th century BC, got hitched to a culture and oral literature at least a thousand years older ! Even if the existence of a Dravidian IVC culture is ignored, there is no Hindu connection to the origin of the Vedic Culture.

In any case, when the Persians referred to all Indians living on the other side of the Sraswati R as Hindus, the Dravidians and a number of other native tribes of Eastern, Central, and Southern India too were part of the milieu.

Given the mass of evidence, only a small part of which has been enumerated above, should one ask for the restoration of the Dravidian Institutions and culture of the IVC after destroying everything Vedic-Aryan? Preposterous? Yes, most definitely.

How logical is, then, the painstaking efforts of the Hindu Brigade under the encouragement of the Parivar, to reverse History, by listing destroyed so called Hindu shrines, with shrill calls for rebuilding all real or imaginary Hindu temples/shrines after destruction of the present Muslim monuments?

At the end I come back to the starting question : ARE WE HINDUS?

The answer has to come from you, my readers.

The future of our Country depends on your answer!

Saturday, 9 April 2016

A LETTER OF CHAIRMAN I.E.S.M.,

TO THE NATION - A NEW VISION

09 April 2016

ENLARGEMENT OF SCOPE OF PROTEST MOVEMENT

Dear Friends,

1. As we went along our Protest Movement at Jantar Mantar and across the Country, many other Organisations and segments of Society joined in and encouraged us with their support. We are thankful to them. We are now entering into our broader phase of the Movement to incorporate nation building issues, actions and activities. Some of the issues in our thoughts and planning are as under:–

a) Through the efforts of one of the Defence Child Sh. Mukesh Anand, Cancer Detection Mobile Labs owners have volunteered to assist us in the Management of Cancer. It was encouraging to see one of the Mobile Vans being placed at Jantar Mantar on 03 Apr 2016 during the Rally. We will be sending a number of vans to the States, starting with Punjab. These will be managed by the ESM at various locations in Punjab.

b) Provision of Instructors for skill development in villages and cities across the Country.

c) Provision of HRD Instructors in Govt Schools in villages and cities. ESM can prove to be great asset in the development of personality of the youth of India and make them good human beings and good leaders.

d) Development, maintenance and upkeep of both sides of the National Highways across the country. ESM are best suited for the job and can play an important role in this issue.

e) Efficient Management of Dairies and Agriculture Research and Development.

f) We also have given thought to taking an effective and efficient part in Governance. Slogan has been given “Panchyat at Parliament”. We will take part in the village Panchyat to Parliament in Elections. Some encouraging results to share. In Bhiwani district (Haryana) out of 191 Panchayats which went in for Election, 45 Panchayat Sarpanches ESM fought the Elections and all 45 have won. 19 ESM in Jhajjar (Haryana) and 16 Ambala (Haryana) have also won.

g) We will take part in all State Elections using our collective Vote Power. Punjab will be our start point. We as Sainik Samaj will forge pre poll alliance with suitable groups/Parties.

h) Other aspects of our participation in Nation Building will be added as we go along.

i) We have moved forward in making the slogan of our honourable PM Sh Lal Bahadur Shastri “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” to become effective and efficient. Many farmers Organisation and United Front of ESM (Jantar Mantar) have joined together to fight for our Justice, respect and rights.

The Military issues are as under

2. On the completion of 300^thDay of our Protest Movement on 09 April 2016, we need to constructively criticise, question and analyse the status quo to set ourselves on the path of restoration of Status of Defence Forces. Some of the thoughts worth sharing are as under:-

a) As suggested by some of our friends, we need to expand the scope of Crusade/Protest Movement by modifying and Renaming OROP Movement to“Insaf –O-Izzat Jang”.

b) We demand to restore the pension of Jawans and JCOs to 70% of last pay drawn as was the case on the Victory Day ie 16 Dec 1971 when the glorious Indian Army won the Indo-Pak War. Sadly instead of rewarding the soldiers, their pensions were brought down to 36% in real terms and the babus raised their pensions from 33% to 50%.

c) The family pension of defence personnel to be the same as the ESM pension and not reduced to 60%.

d) All defence personnel to be provided second career till the age of 60 years through an act of Parliament.

e) OROP be implemented as concept in perpetuity as per the original definition given in the Govt Executive orders dated 26 Feb 2016 as under:-

i. OROP as approved, implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service irrespective of their date of retirement and any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.

ii. It further implies that Pensions of past defence retirees will be equal to that of a person with same rank and length of service retiring wef 01 Apr 2014, future enhancement in the rates of pensions will be automatically passed to the past pensioners.

f) The recent change in the definition carried out by the Govt be cancelled. “Equalisation on periodic Intervals” as changed in definition has killed the very soul of OROP.

g) The Pay, Pensions and allowances of defence personnel be 15-25% higher on “Year Wise” basis vis-a-vis other Govt Services and not rank/ appointment. Most of the democracies of the world pay 15-25% more to their defence forces.

h) All the anomalies in 7^th CPC Recommendations as represented by the three Chiefs to the RM be rectified on priority before the acceptance of the 7^thCPC award by the Govt.

i) OROP be updated to 01.01.2016 and then the 7^th CPC be applied to it.

j) ECHS Scheme to be updated and improved:-

i. The ECHS budget be calculated 15-25% more than the CGHS per beneficiary to manage the scheme effectively.

ii. All the Medical Procedures which have been introduced in India be automatically put in the ECHS List.

iii. Medicines Dispensaries be privatised and opened in every ECHS Polyclinic with 100% availability of medicines.

iv. Veterans’ Hospitals be constructed across the Country on Priority to reduce dependency on the Empanelled Hospitals.

v. The DG ECHS be fully empowered to manage the Scheme.

k) The 7th CPC Recommendations Review Committee must have a member from the Serving/retired defence personnel.

l) ESM Commission, to be headed and maned by ESM, be established at the earliest.

m) The design and progress of construction of War Memorial at India Gate be widely advertised from time to time to keep the countrymen informed.

n) Like the Railway Budget, Defence Budget be also given full One Day for Presentation and Discussion. The RM must give out the National Security Policy and its update and the representation of the people must discuss and suggestions duly incorporated in the defence Policy and budgeting.

o) MoD must be reorganised with 70% serving/ retired defence personnel.

p) DESW must also be reorganised and headed and maned by serving and retired defence personnel.

q) The reserved vacancies in Govt jobs for the defence personnel presently numbering 7.82 lacs must be completely kept filled in perpetuity.

r) SSC Officers be duly resettled. Pro-rata pension/ lump sum grant be authorised to them. They must be owned by the Nation and not put in a basket of‘‘Use and Throw”.

s) Time Scale promotion be introduced for the ORs & JCOs.

t) All Honorary Ranks must also be given additional pay and pensions.

u) Any other addition as authorised to others but the military be packaged 15 to 25% higher than any other Govt services.

3. Please join in the Movement based on these objectives and to showcase solidarity to get due “Izzat” and “Insaf” to the Soldiers.

4. As we complete 300 days of our Protest Movement, we wish to convey that the Aim of our Movement ever since it was launched in 2008 has been National Securityupgradation and Nation Building. Even, the Relay Hunger strike and other activities have been conducted in the most dignified and disciplined manner, the aim being Justice and Izzat of the Soldier thereby upgrading the motivation and morale the intangible factors in upgrading the National Security and ultimately the Nation Building.

With regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Maj Gen Satbir Singh, SM (Retd)
Advisor United Front of Ex Servicemen & Chairman IESM
Mobile: 9312404269
Email: satbirsm@gmail.com