Article by VADM PS DAS....

Dear Friends,

An article by VADM P S Das appearing in The Tribune Chandigarh of today 01 April is attached below. His mother and mother-in-law are reported to be Congress MPs and one of them was a minister as well.

Regards..... ......... ......... .K K Punchhi


http://www.tribunei ndia.com/ 2009/20090401/ edit.htm# 4

Agitations by military veterans
There is need for introspection
by Vice-Admiral Premvir Das (retd)
Veterans in the armed forces, read retired military men, are just that; yet, unlike others who have done duty for the government, they are in a class of their own. Many of the privileges enjoyed by those in uniform are also available to them. They have a retired Armed Forces Identity Card, which gets them entry into places that might not be accessible to most and has other benefits more unquantifiable, getting off some indiscreet driving on the road being only one such. Canteens and the associated facilities are available to them in the same way as they are to those in service. They get concessions on air and rail tickets and, in not a few states, their wards are also eligible, along with those of serving personnel, for seats specifically reserved for this category in educational institutions, including engineering and medical colleges.
They can purchase motor vehicles at a considerable discount just as uniformed people can. They have shed their uniform and yet not shed it; on some occasions — for example, Army, Navy or Air Force Days and other ceremonial parades — they can wear their medals in the same way that their successors in uniform do. At many functions hosted by the uniformed military community such as regimental get-togethers, Infantry Day celebrations, etc, in the Army and equivalents in the other two Services, they get invited which is not common in, say, the civil services or in the private sector. In short, they continue to be “military” and are treated as such by those still in uniform even if they themselves have put their uniforms in naphthalene or dispensed with them altogether.
Therefore, when some of them — yes, some of them, not the great majority — agitate in the way that they have been doing for the last few months, there is need for some self-introspection. Actually, agitation in the military itself is not something new. In the Navy, there was a “Topass” episode in the early 1960s. This category of sailors who attend to toilets and bathrooms in ships, and also carried out combat duties such as loading of guns during the days when these things were not automated, is not there in most other navies and the leadership felt it desirable to make this change which would mean that these duties would need to be shared by everyone on board. Understandably, this aroused great resentment in the “upper classes” and led to quite a few unwholesome incidents which, in the military, are classified as “mutinous”. The order was withdrawn even as several agitators were thrown out of service.
In the 1970s, sailors in a major warship did not have their meals to protest a perceived grievance and this again was viewed as a “mutinous” conduct; over 100 men were dismissed summarily, and many others who were retained, just withered away, their records permanently blackened. Then, there was the agitation of Sikh personnel who wanted to keep open beards. Following the 5th Pay Commission awards, technical personnel of the Air Force, officers and men, agitated as they felt discriminated against their “flying” counterparts. In all these cases, the Services viewed the agitations as “mutinous”. They may have been dealt with in different ways but on the manner of these protestations, there was clarity. It was simply unacceptable.
So, what is one to make of the present-day scenario in which former military men, who had viewed these episodes in their own time as “mutinous” now themselves go on hunger strikes, return their medals and resort to other such means of agitation to project their grievances. In what way is this different than what was done by the sailors in INS Mysore in 1973 when they did not eat their lunch? The demand for “one rank one pension” or “rank-based pension”, as it has now been termed, is undoubtedly legitimate and must be fought for; it is the methodology being adopted by some that is in question.
On more than one occasion, the veterans’ cells in the major political parties have succeeded in getting this issue on their party’s election manifestos; sadly, it has not, subsequently, been implemented. It is more than likely that this will be done once again for the ensuing elections and there is no knowing whether the follow-up will be any different this time. There is an alternative available which is to seek judicial intervention which would force governmental action. As it happens, in a recent order regarding pensions of Major-Generals, the Supreme Court has commented critically against the irrationality and injustice of not treating people who have held the same rank at different times at par in regard to their pensions. This must be taken further to cover the entire spectrum of ranks which is unique to the military.
In fact, this process has been going on for decades with some “ad hoc” measures having being taken by the government through a “one-time increase” some years ago but without accepting the centrality of the demand. A battle has been won but the war must go on. There can be no doubt in any veteran’s mind on this score. The Navy Foundation, an association of retired Navy people, has, correctly, decided to file a suit in the Supreme Court seeking the necessary injunctions to the government. Hopefully, this will achieve the desired result.
Having said this, nothing should be done which should deconsecrate the uniform that all of us have worn with such great pride, including the medals that go with it. Indeed, it is sad that many who have now made such an issue about having had to return their precious possessions, do not care to wear them proudly when they should. Having attended Navy Day receptions every year and similar functions of the Army and Air Force fairly often, this writer has been distressed to see how few of the veterans wear their medals on these, undoubtedly, ceremonial days. Even more disheartening is that even at a function of former military men held in NOIDA recently to pay respects to those who gave their lives in the service of the nation, only a handful of the 200-odd former Servicemen present chose to put on their medals.
If there is something honourable in an item of uniform, there must be pride in displaying it on one’s person; then there is greater credibility in giving it up as a “strategy”. Even more, the agitators must reflect on the message they are sending to their young successors, now in uniform, who still see them, hopefully, as role models. If these agitational methods are good for the veterans, they are good for them. After all, the road-map and traditions that they are following are the ones that have been charted for them by those who were there not so long ago. No, this is not the military way of doing things.
The writer is a former Commander-in- Chief of the Eastern Naval Command.