Respected Veterans,

Jai Hind.

1. While I greatly appreciate Gen SG Vombatkere being an intrepid crusader with indomitable spirit, zeal & enthusiasm in fighting for the poor, the underprivileged & the down-trodden, the Question is: Who cares? Do his articles really make a difference? NO. Sad, but that is the truth. To the middle class, and that includes you & me, it hardly matters as to what happens to others. Tomorrow, if I am mugged and killed in broad daylight, will it make a difference? NO. Not even a handful of Veterans would attend my cremation. We, Bharathvasis are a bigoted lot; especially Ex-Servicemen, ably led by retired Officers.
2. There are over 4000 retired Officers of the Army, Navy & Air Force at Bangalore; and how many of them show up at the National Military Memorial on Kargil Diwas (26 July) and Vijay Diwas (16 Dec) to pay Homage to their brethren? Hardly, 25-30 of them. What about others? Don’t ask me as to what they do. All that I know is, there is a galaxy of retired Lt Gen, Air Marshals and Vice Admirals settled down at Bangalore; not to mention officers of the rank of Maj Gen, Rear Admiral and Air Vice Marshal. If I have not mentioned Officers of the rank of Col, Capt (IN) and Gp Capt and below, it is just that they are a whole horde, to whom words like ‘Welfare of Ex-Servicemen’ and ‘Loyalty to your Men, even after retirement’ are mere buzz-words; and they mean nothing to awaken their collective conscience, if they still have one.
3. And, it is the same WE retired Officers who are in the forefront to ask for anything & everything FREE. WE retired Officers are a selfish and greedy lot. The less said the better; for even a full page would not be enough to recount the ‘virtues’ of retired officers. The very same retired officers who do not find time to attend the Commemoration Ceremonies at the National Military Memorial, Bangalore, are present in hundreds, guzzling chilled beer, bottle after bottle; and voraciously hogging chicken roast and mutton Biryani, when invited for the Veterans Day Lunch at RSI.
4. WE Bharathvasis, have everything to be proud of: our Culture and our Heritage. But do we really display any pride in ourselves or our Culture & Heritage? NO. WE Bharathvasis, are a corrupt lot. To cheat is part of our DNA. We are cowards. With such sterling qualities in us; I wonder at times: Do WE really have a right to exist as a Nation? Over a period, our collective conscience has become NUMB. 70 children have lost their lives in UP due to negligence by Doctors and the supervisory staff. Does it really bother anyone? NO. Due to inadequate monsoon, acute water shortage and famine in the interiors are staring us. Cattle are going to die in thousands. Who is going to face the brunt? It is village folks all over the Country. Who cares?
5. When WE talk of ‘izzat’, ‘honour & dignity’ I find these words sound hollow and are mere rhetoric. When we talk of ‘Welfare of Ex-Servicemen & their families’; it means nothing. It is just lip service. Starting with the Chiefs; and, Mil Fmn Cdrs down the chain, they have absolutely no say in the selection & appointment of retired Officers of the rank of Brig/Col as Director Sainik Welfare in various states; and retired officers of the rank of Lt Col as Dy Directors at the District level. Just to cite an example: The Dircector Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement in Kerala is a retired Sergeant. How did a Sergeant get appointed against a post meant for a retired Brig? Simple. He got appointed when ‘Saint’ Antony was the Defence Minister. And mind you, not one incl the Mil Fmn Cdr concerned raised his voice saying that such an appointment is highly irregular and unacceptable. As I said earlier, when it comes to Welfare of Ex-Servicemen, who cares?
6. I do not know as to what happens to Officers after their retirement? Just two examples of past Directors Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement, Karnataka. The first, a Brigadier. During his tenure he got a few plots of land from the BDA under the pretext of allotting them to Kargil Widows. Very noble thought. And he was equally noble in his action! On being made available plots of land by the BDA, he promptly allotted two plots to his Mother-in-Law, who I am told is mother of a Lt Gen, who retired as the Dy COAS. And a few more such illegal allotments. A few years down the line, the Brigadier’s misdemeanor comes to light. An FIR is filed by the Police. The Brig goes to the Court and has the FIR quashed on technical grounds!! Que-serai-serai.
7. Directorates of Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement in all States are sitting on huge piles of cash by way of Fixed Deposits of Flag Day Fund to the tune of hundreds of crores. Amounts can be invested by Govt Depts as Fixed Deposits only in SBI or in other Public Sector Banks and NOT in Private Banks. Yet, a Director Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement had invested over Rs. 28 crores of Flag Day Funds with numerous Private Banks at different rates of interest, in clear contravention to Govt orders on the subject. Any action taken against the Officer, even after the misdemeanor came to light and brought to the notice of the Govt and the local Military Formation? NONE. Que-serai-serai.
8. In case we are serious about Welfare & Re-settlement of Ex-Servicemen & their families, we need to have serving Officers of the Rank of Brig posted as Director Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement, in all States. When we can have officers of the rank of Maj Gen/Brig as Addl/Dy DG NCC in all States, then why can’t we have serving Officers of the rank of Brig posted as Director Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement, in all States? NCC no doubt is important; but to my mind, far more important is Welfare & Re-settlement of Ex-Servicemen & their families. Veteran Lt Gen SK Bahri and I had met the then Vice COAS in his office in April 2013, in this regard; and, impressed on him the urgent & inescapable of requirement of having serving Officers of the Rank of Brig posted as Director Sainik Welfare & Re-settlement, in all States. But who cares?
9. I must however say that, there are a few refreshing exceptions. One such is Lt Gen RK Anand, GOC Dakshin Bharath Area, Chennai. He has designated all Officers incharge of CSD Canteens, all over the five southern states, as ‘Executive Director Veterans Welfare’; with instructions that they will attend to all problems concerning welfare of Ex-Servicemen & their families. Not only that, he has instituted a Report to be submitted to him, every Monday morning, as to the number of cases handled by each Executive Director during the preceding week, with details thereof.
10. To take interest or take part in Politics after retirement, is my fundamental Right. And one should not shy away from Politics under the misplaced notion that Military Veterans should remain apolitical.
11. Let us NOT be blind to happenings around us. We Veterans, as Citizens have a duty to perform, in raising our voice and protest against any wrong doing by the Govt or the society at large.
12. By criticizing our Hon’ble PM or the BJP we DO NOT become lackeys of the Congress Party or Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi; or, we end up condoning corruption by Lalu Yadhav & his ilk. If General Elections are held tomorrow, I have no hesitation in stating that I shall be voting for MODI once again; for want of a better option. I voted for MODI with a lot of hope.
13. It is time for Veterans to think and ponder as to whether we should be mute spectators to the happening around us; or, stand up for what is right and raise our voice against any injustice or persecution or display of lethargy & apathy by the Govt.
14. Let us remember, “Silence is no doubt a Virtue; but, there can be no greater SIN than to remain mute and silent in the face of tyranny or wrong doing by the Govt in power or for that matter, anybody”.
15. To end, I salute Veterans like Gen SG Vombatkere and Gen PG Kamath for expressing their views, without fear or favour.

Regards,

Col Rajan

Bangalore, 9449043770

17 Aug 2017