To,
All Members And ESM Organisations
On Emailing List of "Report My Signal".
Dear Friends,
Jai Hind.
As mentioned in "Report My Signal" Email 282/2009, of 03 Apr 09, over 400 members sent emails to Report My Signal, in less than 48 hours, reacting to two issues, concerning the Veterans. These emails had two themes - one concerning an article in Tribune, Chandigarh, about return of medals and the other concerning an ESM organisation and its head.
The sentiments expressed by Veterans in these four hundred or so emails are justified, but I feel some used very harsh language.
Some of the emails received pertaining to the article in Tribune Chandigarh are reproduced below.
The emails below cover the general idea of all such emails received on the subject; it is not possible to reproduce all the emails.
The views expressed in the emails reproduced below are those of the authors of these emails.
Kindly do not start another wave of emails on this subject; at least do not send emails on this subject to Report My Signal.
Thank you.
In Service of Indian Military Veterans
Chander Kamboj.
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From: guru_bakshi@yahoo.com guru_bakshi@yahoo..com
Subject: Comments on Article - Agitations by Military Veterans
To: editor@thetribuneonline.com, arorasushma@gmail.com, ConsultingEditor@aol.com, Letters@tribuneindia.com
Date: Friday, 3 April, 2009, 4:17 AM
03 Apr 09
To,
The Editor
Tribune
Sir/Madam,
Admiral Premvir Das, in his article " Agitations By Military Veterans " has, listed quite a few so called 'priviliges' enjoyed by the ex servicemen, which are either 'inconsequential' ( like having a military Identity Card or being invited to military official/social Functions etc ) or ' non existent' (like the Air/Rail concessions) . In fact the Departments like the Railways are far more substantively generous to their retired employees and their widows who get 9 'free travel' passes’per year for themselves & their family members throughout their life..
He appears to have totally overlooked the fact that there is a big difference between the 'Serving' & the 'Retired' personnel of the Defence Services in as much that the Serving Personnel' are, obligatorily & legally, bound by a code of conduct, strictly within the bounds of the Army/Airforce/Naval Acts, which take away, from these personnel, the Fundamental Rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India to all its citizens. Therefore, since all the incidents of ‘mutinies’ that he quotes in his article, relate to ‘Serving personnel’, these have no bearing whatsoever in respect of the kind of code applicable to the 'Retired Personnel' who now, post retirement , have all the rights & priviliges that other citizens of the country enjoy. In fact, if at all, the Ex Servicemen deserve to be commended & appreciated for the dignity, decorum, control & discipline with which they have conducted their protest & agitation, in order to get heard by authorities who appear to be totally oblivious to their just and equitable needs and demands.the Admiral has also talked of ‘judicial alternative’. Does he realize that the ‘Maj Gen’s case’ which, post 5th Pay Commission, was pursued legally, has taken nearly 10 years, with the Govt resisting giving justice to them till the last breath, so as to say, having even sought a ‘Review’ of the Supreme Court’s decision which had earlier gone in favour of 'Maj Gens'. So the alternative as proposed by the Admiral, would imply postponement of all relief to the ex servicemen for another 10 years or so, by when many ex-servicemen and widows would have left this world having lived a life of misery.
Finally,we need to remember that " Inequity hurts more than Inadequacy" as also that "Meekly Tolerating Injustice is as much of a sin as Doing Injustice" So far as accusing the Agitating Ex Servicemen of ‘deconsecrating the Uniform’ is concerned, they would certainly have been guilty of that had they also, like many other common agitators, become violent and indulged in undignified acts aimed at or resulting in disrupting civil life.
Lt Gen GL Bakshi, PVSM (Retd)
H.No.6, Sector 37,
Arun Vihar, NOIDA (U.P.) 201303
Mobile : 9810053365
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From: VIJAY OBEROI oberoivijay@hotmail.com
Subject: LETTER TO TRIBUNE
To: "chander nath"
Date: Saturday, 4 April, 2009, 1:24 PM
Dear All,
I had sent a letter to the Tribune, late at night on 01 April, after I had read the piece on return from Delhi. Since it has not been published so far, I doubt if it will see the light of the day! Consequently, I am appending it below.
Regards.
“01 April 2009
Dear Editor,
I write to strongly protest on both the content and the innuendos in the piece “Agitations by Military Veterans”, by a person well known for pushing the bureaucrats’ line. How sad that an admiral fails to understand the compulsions that made the erstwhile warriors part with their most valuable possession - their medals, which they had earned for their sacrifices for the nation. It was done with utmost solemnity, with trembling hands and tears in the eyes! It was no agitation and there was no ungentlemanly behaviour, but a symbolic show of anger, frustration and dismay at the political leadership, which at the behest of their bureaucratic advisors, had utterly abandoned the former warriors of the nation. The protests by the veterans and not agitations have always been correct but how can a toady understand this?
I am glad the editor chose to publish this foolish piece on All Fools Day. It is in consonance with his well known trait of being HMV- yes the same logo that had delighted millions in an era which had true gentlemen, unlike upstarts who think everyone else as the ‘hoi polloi’!
Yours Sincerely,
Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi”
Former Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS)
Former Director Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS)
President War Wounded Foundation
313, MIG (Ground floor), Pkt-I,
Sector-23, Dwarka,
New Delhi- 110075
Telephone - 011-45604116
E-mail - warwounded@rediffmail.com ; enquiry@warwounded.org.
Web site www.warwounded.org
------------
Agitation by Military Veterans- A Rebuttal
This refers to ‘Agitation by Military Veterans’ by Premvir Das published in your Esteemed paper of 01 April.
While the authour supports issue of ‘One Rank One Pension’ to military retirees but faults their methods of getting the same. He also makes a point of them getting canteen facilities, (which are pea nuts and most of the Military Veterans in rural areas in any case can not avail of the same) and pride of uniform as a compensation for financial deprivation . Finally , he laments returning of medals in protest and suggests getting redress through the courts.
All this calls for deeper analysis. Up to Second Pay Commission the military personnel were getting ‘Service Pension’ which not only ensured One Rank One Pension but was higher than their civilian counterparts , e.g. in 1956 highest pension which a civilian got was Rs 800/- (Rupees Eight hundred only) which was the pension a Brigadier (and equivalent ) then got . General officers naturally got more. It was the 3rd Pay Commission that abolished the concept of ‘Service Pension’ and clubbed the military Veterans with the civilians and then the problem started. To rectify the problem many committees were instituted who recommended ‘One Rank One Pension’ which was accepted ‘In ‘Principle’ by many govts.
The 6 Pay Commission degraded the military still further and it generated a tsunami like convulsion amongst the Ex-Servicemen, against its down right unjust recommendations. Matter was taken up with all concerned but when there was no reaction a ‘candle light homage’ was paid at 61 war memorial across the country on 27 April ’08 to bring the point home . There after may other forms of peaceful protest were adopted culminating in ‘Relay Hunger Strike ‘ at Jantar Mantar Road , New Delhi , which commenced on16 December last year ( the day Dhaka was captured by those very veteran in 1971, thus heralding the birth of Bangladesh) . In the mean time many former Chiefs had written to the Prime Minister and one of them had even met him to give JUSTICE to the Defence Services but to no avail. It was when there was absolutely no reaction from the authorities that ‘Deposition’ of medals with the President of India, their Supreme Commander, commenced after a biggest ever Rally by the Military Veterans on 08 February ’09. Pray , what option the Military Veterans were left with , when the govt did not respond to their almost quarter century old , ‘Accepted in Principle’ demand of One Rank One Pension ?. It was only when they started ‘Depositing’ their medals that a note of their demand was taken by the media and the establishment.
Seeing the validity of their demand many retired service chiefs , majority of them from the navy and hundreds of generals and equivalent have joined the Indian Ex-Servicemen’s Movement for justice . Obviously they know what they are doing , perhaps more than the authour, given the high positions they had held .
While the authour laments deposition of their medals, he has no compunctions about the gross and glaring disparity between the pensions of pre and posts January ’06 military retirees. A Sepoy who retired in December ’05 and the one who retired next month gets 82% less pension than the latter. Similarly an old Havildar gets lesser pensions than a new Sepoy. An old Naib Subedar, who is a Junior ‘Commissioned Officer’, gets less pay than a peon of today. Are such anomalies justified by any canons of justice? These are of no consequence to the authour but false pride of the uniform bothers him . Perhaps the welfare of lowly army Jawans , Sailors and Airmen is of no interest to him.
The authour also castigates those who have deposited the medals getting gallantry and other allowances for these medals. He fails to understand that the accompanying letter clearly states that the medals have been ‘Deposited’ with their supreme Commander with a proviso that the same would be gratefully accepted after the Military Veterans get One Rank One Pension . So there is no question of forfeiting any allowances . The medals have been ‘Deposited’ in protest and NOT ‘Surrendered’ . how can one ‘Surrender’ ones symbol of honour ?
As regards getting redress from the courts is concerned, the govt has scant respect for the courts. The bureaucrats deliberately denied ‘Rank Pay’ to the concerned officers after 4th Pay Commission prompting Major AK Dananapalam going to the court . He got redress after about two decades of denial of ‘Rank Pay’. Yet the govt refused to provided redress to all others similarly affected contrary to Supreme Court’s direction that once a person gets redress the ‘concerned department is to also provide the same to all others similarly affected’.
Senior officers like the authour are responsible for the mess the Indian Defence Services are. They kept on harping on intangibles , like , (so called) ‘dignity of uniform’ but neglect the tangibles like the pay, perks and other monetary benefits to their juniors .
It is pertinent to mention that all MPs , MLAs , judges , direct entry IAS and IPS officers and many others including the authour , are getting ‘One Rank One Pension’ . Why deny the same to lowly soldiers ?
Finally , the authour appears to be currying favour with the present govt. His mother and mother-in-law are reported to be Congress MPs and one of them was a minister as well.
Sdxxxxxxxx
[BRIG HARWANT SINGH (Retd
54 , Phase-7 , Mohali , (Punjab )
Phones 0172-2270154 & 09814432554
To,
The Editor in Chief ,
The Tribune , Chandigarh
-----------
From: ss sohi sadhusohi@gmail.com
Subject: Fwd:
To: vm_one@rediffmail.com
Date: Wednesday, 1 April, 2009, 10:19 AM
Sir,
1. Ref Article Agitations by Mil Veterans need introspection by Vice Admiral In Tribune today.
2. This is his 2nd such negative/ anti ESM article in last 3 months.He always faces our/ ESM's criticism.
3. He wrote this because he is already getting one rank one pension & do not have sympathise with his Jawan who is getting 82% less pension as of today's ESM. This officer have lost link with his soldiers ground reality & humiliations being faced by him due to economically week section and is forced to salute public on gates. One must learn to remain with his own community in all thick & thins and help each other. Most probanly he never share feelings of his Defence Widows, parents & disabled ESM.
4. He may be primed by Sh Munish Tewari, sitting in Congress HQ man and could be aspiring for Governor ship. He should be satisfied with the job given to him already enough.
5. Soldiers Social value is his honour & pride and not medals only. ESM community is forced for agitations in the history and ESM are still doing it in most soldierly & in dignified parameters. Please remember, It is a war for Justice by brave ESM community & not a matter of only few rupees.
Col Sohi. Coord IESM Pb. 1121/71 Mohali. 9815107744.
---------------
From: Cdr ABC1
Subject: MY VIEWS ON ....
To: "c.s. kamboj" kamboj_cs@yahoo.co.in
Date: Saturday, 4 April, 2009, 10:42 AM
Dear Kamboj,
I deliberately avoided responding immediately ... EDITED ... article, because I felt as furious as other colleagues. Having now lowered my temperature, I am attempting to convey, in a peaceable manner, my response.
I have known ... EDITED ... while I was in the Navy, as he was 2 years senior to me in the NDA. 'The Sherrif of Fractured Jaw," as he was known in the NDA, got of to a good start in the Navy, as he was Court-martialled for sleeping on watch while serving on a Seaward Defence Boat, very early in his career.
... EDITED ... has stunned & devastated me by enlisting for the public various events which are blots on the Services' copy book. ( I reckon his fractured jaw is the cause of fractured thinking.)
One "mutiny " on a ship, which he has enlisted is familiar to me as I was part of the incoming crew, relieving the unfortunate predecessors. While enlisting the misdeeds of the protagonists, he has failed as usual to assign the responsibility to the leadership. There are no bad soldiers/sailors/airmen, there are only are poor leaders.
... EDITED ... has said that many of those who participated in one of the mutinies ( cannot remember which, as i forthwith deleted the words from my computer), were taken to task , while several were left "TO WITHER AWAY." Who will take responsibility for not allowing ... EDITED ... to WITHER AWAY after sleeping on watch ? His father ? Part of the Steel frame ?
I request colleagues to inform us about the problems in the Eastern Fleet when ... EDITED ... was the C-in-C, ... EDITED ... Naval Command, as I would not like to go further into the morass.
I also request people to describe the career graph of his son in the Navy. Many people have told me that he is his father's son. Which description is more than enough. ( maybe my dragging his son in is not cricket (correct), but I am informed by reliable sources that the steel frame is still protecting the ... EDITED ... dynasty.)
I have one question for ... EDITED ... . If he cannot do any good for the Services, why doesn't he keep quiet ? Why does he have to act like a procurer for the I.A.S. ?
With friends like ... EDITED ..., who needs enemies ?
Regards,
Cdr. ABC 1 (retd)
----------------
From: singh ... edited ...
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 8:26 AM
Subject: Re: Agitations by military veterans
To: ... edited ...
Mr Premvir Das is a `different' man. This is not the first time that he has taken a position in total disregard to canons of justice. He had also objected to the Service Chiefs raising issue of pay anomalies. In the present instance he is again tilting at wind mills. On one hand he accepts that the demand of OROP is valid, but faults the vetrans for agitational politics. Apparently he does not know that in a democracy civilians have a right to agitate (within the ambit fo law) and in fact Jantar Mantar area of Delhi has been specifically identified by the government as the appropriate spot for such agitations. So the vetrans who are civilian citizen have eavery right to agitate for their just demands.
Second aspect relates to Mr Premvir Das's attempt to paint the link between the ex-servicemen and the serving as something unholy. It must be seen as what it really is - a product of sick mind. If he is so much against such associations, why does he not give up the same. Another issue relates to extension of CSD facilities to ex-servicemen. Mr Das sshould also take a little time out to explain the rationale for civilians in MoD enjoying these facilities.
I think Mr Das is positioning himslef for some kind of reward from the bureaucrats
.......
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ashwani
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Subject: RE: ARTICLE BY VADM
View Point.
He has always been like this. Don't we all know him ?
Ashwani
..............
Most negative & skewed views projected by Vice-Admiral ....(retd).
Appears like an "Opportunist"!
Brig (Retd) ... edited ...,
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ... edited ...
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 3:27 AM
Subject: Re: ARTICLE BY VADM
To:
IT IS SUCH OFFICERS WHO HAVE RUINED THE SERVICES!
Regards,
.. edited ...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cdr ABC 2
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 3:20 AM
Subject: Fw: [MilitaryVeterans] ARTICLE BY VADM
To: ... edited ...
Dear Friends,
Here comes the second salvo from the adversary, an article by VADM ... edited ... . He is doing his duty as HMV !!
There are unconfirmed reports that his mother and mother-in-law are Congress MPs and one of them was a minister as well.
One of his Jeeja was Defence Secretary and Mama Jee was the India’s ambassdor in USA.
Some people allege that but for his connections, he would not have crossed even the first hurdle of becoming a Commander. I have no way of verifying these but it does appear that he is returning old favours by regularly coming out with 'babu speak' articles.
Regards..... Cdr ABC 2
............
From: jolly
He is doing opposite of what Field Marshal Chetwood had said.
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THE END
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