Address deteriorating civil-military relations------------start from the top
The civil-military relations in India, instead of stabilising with experience, continue to deteriorate with little or no effort to learn from other democracies. The OROP saga was an opportunity for the elected Government to address the eroding relations and win the hearts and minds of the agitated veterans. For reasons well known to most readers, the deterioration caused by earlier Governments could not be arrested or remedied by the present leadership despite displaying a resolve to end the long pending imbroglio related to OROP.
While much has been written on the subject, let me focus on the very essence of this sacred bond among the civil society which is represented by the elected representatives, the titular head called the Supreme Commander i.e. the President and the Military as a whole. This is an important bond which when breached tends to sour relations down the line.
The civil society of India prior to independence was quite aware of the vital role played by a soldier. The awareness was primarily created by the fact that a large number of Indian soldiers fought in both the World Wars albeit under the British flag. The sheer numbers of Indian lives lost which is quite stupendous, coupled with the gruesome battles after which surviving soldiers returned to narrate their stories, played a significant role in bridging the knowledge on hardships faced by the soldier. Given that the great wars lasted for half a decade each, it ensured that the travails of wars in all their gruesome details were told and retold in every corner of India. Despite the absence of print and electronic media, the relatively smaller populace, though illiterate and abysmally poor, understood the vital role of a soldier and the need to care for him whilst in service and after retirement. However, the scene changed rapidly after independence leading to continuous erosion in the status of the soldier, which in turn has brought him on the streets to fight for his legitimate rights and dues.
Although there have been signs of neglect and indifference towards the Military at the apex level of governance over the last many decades, some recent examples are worthy of note.
First, when Field Marshal Manekshaw passed away at Coonoor, near Ooty on 27 June 2008, the Government of the day thought it relevant to stick to existing protocol and depute only the RRM to be present at the funeral. No one in MOD had cared to update the protocol for a Field Marshal, leave alone a national hero. To top it all, till the then President Dr Abdul kalam raised the issues of pending pay and allowance for the hero(a Field Marshal never retires) it was rushed to his bedside at the Military hospital prompting the Field Marshal at his death bed, in his inimical manner, to ask the bearer of the cheque, whether the cheque for a crore of rupees is likely to bounce! That was the treatment meted out to an outstanding military leader and a great son of India.
Second, when the veterans of many wars fought a running battle for their legitimate arrears which were denied for decades and even had a court ruling in their favour, there was neither a response from the civil society nor from the elected leaders. When, for the first time the veterans came on the street in 2009 and returned their medals with signed petitions in blood, their Supreme Commander refused to meet or speak to them. This is the very office which issues a commissioning parchment to every commissioned officer of the Indian Armed Forces(no other categories of public servants are entitled to this privilege,).
Fast forward a bit and you come to the two most demeaning incidents, involving the Presidents secretariat and the PMO. When the ongoing rift on OROP despite the apparent resolution was getting uglier by the day, four former Chiefs of our Armed forces thought it necessary to write to the Supreme Commander. This is the first time in the history of Independent India that retired Service Chiefs have jointly written to the President to seek his intervention. Not only was there no response nor even an acknowledgement, but it took a veteran turned activist to initiate a RTI to discover the type of action taken by the staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan. After repeated reminders ...40...days later the activist was informed that the letter has been forwarded to the PM's office soon after its receipt. What role the President played in merely passing on a letter written by distinguished Chiefs of the Armed forces to the PMO, is not known.
The least courtesy that ought to have been extended to retired Chiefs is an appointment to understand the gravity of the situation. The Supreme Commander appears to have merely expressed his inability to be even a titular head of the Armed Forces.
The Chiefs on their part did not cover themselves with glory by releasing a copy of their letter to the media. Media should have been the last resort to resolve a sensitive issue.
Soon, another set of retired chiefs released a copy of their appeal on the same subject to the Prime Minister. Nothing was heard till the same activist pursued the RTI route. After ...63...days the PMO merely stated that such a letter was never delivered to them. While some may suggest that the PMO should have acted on the media release by making enquiries from the affected parties, technically no action is warranted without a copy of a correspondence, as media reports could well be fabricated. However the letter sent from the President's office was not even acted upon on the grounds that the announcement of OROP had been made by the RM. The press conference conducted by the RM succeeded in adding fuel to the fire.
The bottom line is that the Supreme Commander and the PM failed to extend due courtesies to the affected parties. Equally, the act of releasing the letter to the media without delivering the original to the concerned office cannot be condoned.
These examples are more than adequate to summarise the present levels of indifference and apathy towards the military.
Viewed in the context of a recent media report that the three serving chiefs have jointly represented on the injustice done by the 7th pay commission, this undesirable and potentially dangerous state of affairs have to end sooner than later.
Well said..... Despite this, there are many senior soldiers who fight rebellion at all levels in different parts of the country and believe that the long term solution is not the rifle and the bullet, but inclusion into mainstream society wherever possible. It is astonishing that the powers that be cannot have the same mindset, especially in regard to soldiers who put their life in harm's way to protect the nation.
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