Views by Col LK Anand

Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:01:17 +0000

To: skbahri1@yahoo.com

Subject: ONE RANK ONE PENSION

From: elkayanand@rediffmail.com
CC: jk_nangpal@hotmail.com; prenjen@hotmail.com; satishkapur@hotmail.com


My Dear General,


It was great to read the mail sent by you to the PM. It was even more heartening to go through the sentiments expressed by a PBOR. This gives us an assurance that any attempts made by the Government or to say the least the bureaucracy to divide the PBOR and officer class can never succeed and we the ex servicemen (of all classes) would always remain closely bonded with each other as we have been during the worst of our times ie during the wars.


Sargeant Vasudevan deserves greatest form of appreciation from one and all of us for the heart rendering sentiments expressed by him.


Please be kind to convey our appreciation for the heart warming letter from him.


I am also enclosing herewith my views on the subject in the form of this write up .


Col LK Anand


The Tragic Government Decision





After all the assurances given by the Government to the various delegations of the ex-servicemen, who had been pressing for the acceptance of long sought after demand of OROP (One Rank One Pension) for sympathetic consideration of the recommendations of the committee constituted to look into the demands, it was optimistically hoped by all classes of ex-servicemen that the good news to be given by the Finance Minister in his budget speech was just a matter of time, especially when even in the Presidential address the aspect of OROP for the Armed Forces there was a specific mention. Well, the Finance Minister very assuredly did not forget to mention about the debt the Nation owed to the valiant Armed Forces of the Country and that the recommendations of the Committee of Secretaries had been accepted by the Government and that the benefits of one rank one pension would be extended to all personnel below officer rank only.


The neglect of the highly aggrieved ex-servicemen officer class, in the grant of OROP by the Government, sent shock waves down their old and virtually worn out spines, which no one can predict how long they would last?


In fact all the members of the Armed Forces were anxiously awaiting 6 July to be a red letter day for them since they had been pressing for the demand for OROP ever since the Sixth Pay Commission not only failed to redress this grievances and demands but also greatly hurt the aspirations of all classes of ex-servicemen by denying them just and equitable reward for their unflinching, dedicated and valiant services rendered to the Nation in prime of their life in the past. Well, it is no doubt very gratuitous for the Government to now suitably reward the Personnel below officer rank (PBOR) with OROP who no doubt deserve it more for being compelled to be out of service even earlier than the officers.


Yet, denying the benefit to the officer class or cadre is being extremely unjust to them. It is no doubt highly discriminatory for the Government to accept the recommendations of the Committee and rewarding only personnel of one class and deprive the equally deserving personnel of another class. By doing so the Government seems to have very mischievously divided the Officers and PBOR class vertically for unknown reasons. This it is felt may not be in the overall interest of the Government in the long run.


It is difficult to imagine how a responsible Government can afford to differentiate and be unfair and unjust to their officer class. Perhaps the Government or the bureaucracy seems to have overlooked the bravery, distinguished and dedicated services, sacrifices hard work and leadership qualities of the officer class. They seemed to have also overlooked the rigorous and tough training schedules, exercises, services and sacrifices in the remotest and far flung areas and setting personnel examples of bravery and leadership in the battlefield under gone by the officer class.


The dictum “Safety honour and welfare of your country comes first always and every time, the safety honour and welfare of the men you command comes next and your own safety and welfare comes last always and every time” is applicable only to the officer class and this one dictum which an officer keeps close to his heart till he leaves this world. So in my opinion the action of the government in denying the facility of OROP to the officer could not have been so untimely which can easily be termed as a grave omission and a highly unjust decision for the officer class.


It is strongly felt that such a decision may have also been noticed by the opposition benches in both houses of the parliament and it may not be too long before their voices start echoing in the parliament to draw the attention of the treasury benches. It would not be very surprising, if sooner than later the Government may eventually give in to the very genuine and just demands of OROP by the officer class of ex servicemen. Or else it would go down in the history of the Armed Forces to be one of the most unjust decisions by a ruling Government.


All ex-services officers in the country any way are hoping for the best for an announcement of inclusion of officers as well in the grant of OROP.


By Col LK Anand