This week’s ” Poke Me” invites your comments on “Crossing the Line of Control”. The feature will be reproduced on the edit page of the Saturday edition of the newspaper with a pick of readers’ best comments. So be poked and fire in your comments to us right away. Comments reproduced in the paper will be the ones that support or oppose the views expressed here intelligently. Feel free to add reference links etc, in support of your comments.
Indians love their armed forces so much that it’s impossible for anybody to damage, or even dent, the goodwill they have enjoyed for decades. Unless some insiders set out on a destructive mission. Sadly, a loud and unruly section of retired soldiers seems determined to do just that. Some ex-servicemen are talking of returning bravery medals to extract more money from the taxpayer. Some have proudly told news channels that their campaign is a key reason behind the BJP’s humiliation in the Bihar elections, and that they will campaign against the ruling party in every subsequent election. Now, we all love our soldiers, both serving and retired, because they are efficient, competent and apolitical in a world where the common man is routinely harassed by crooked politicians and authorities such as the politicised police. Not because they want to help politicians like Lalu Prasad Yadav who has exploited caste and reservations to rise, unlike the defence forces which have shunned reservations to uphold quality. If you want to return medals, please also return the benefits you got with.
People still see the defence forces as a beacon of hope. But a section is beginning to wonder if soldiers are being too greedy if they are totally disgruntled after the government raised pensions that will cost the taxpayer up to Rs 10,000 crore a year to start with, and much more later.
Perhaps they were happier with previous regimes, when they were marching in step with those heroic, super-tolerant liberals who are returning awards these days to highlight contemporary ‘intolerance’ but did not earlier find it — riots in 2002 Gujarat included — worth such protest.
Perhaps some ex-servicemen think that by accepting part of their demands, the government has conceded territory, and it’s now time to go for the kill. This logic works on the battlefield. If the enemy is in retreat, you can ravage him and his territory. Governance of a complex country like India, on the other hand, does not work this way. The government is not the enemy. It is elected by taxpayers who will foot the bill for generous pensions. The vast majority of these taxpayers lead a humble life with a lot of hardship, no pension, no healthcare, no tax-free alcohol, no golf courses, no fancy clubs or numerous other perks our armed forces enjoy, perhaps a little ungratefully at times.
The common man has so far applauded the services, even though soldiers at times make uncharitable comments about civilians whom they are paid to protect. So far, the taxpayer and the media have supported the forces all the way and looked the other way when respected authorities like the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India found glaring irregularities in the way defence land, mostly in prime locations in big cities, is managed, leased out to private parties, or used to build schools or or luxurious golf courses and clubs where civilians can pay and have fun along with officers. The money earned, according to the CAG, is not under parliamentary scrutiny. When the CAG criticised the coal auctions and the petroleum ministry, the media, the common man and politicians made it a national issue. But the same auditor’s comments on the defence forces faded away after a few headlines. This can change if ex-servicemen, best known for discipline, courtesy and protocol, continue their march away from their core competence and keep trying their hand at politics and excessive protests.
The defence forces have already lost some ground. Some people are beginning to ask questions. Why should the government give them cheap alcohol when it is supposed to be injurious to health? Why not charge the full rate and use the extra money for higher pensions?
What are the spectacular successes of the defence forces after the 1971 war? How well have they prevented infiltration of militants from Pakistan into Kashmir? Were some of these outspoken ex-servicemen deployed on the Kargil border before they retired. And if so, what were they doing when the enemy was occupying Indian territory?
How many senior army officials have been declared disabled in the last year of their service, giving them a much higher pension? Why are armymen near the border paid much more than say the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), whose men are positioned to face the first Chinese bullet, miles ahead of the army? Or more than those in the Central Reserve Police Force, India’s largest paramilitary forces?
re all allegations of human rights violations exaggerations?
All of these are complex issues that are not understood by most people. It’s best for the country and its soldiers that the forces don’t soil their own reputation to the point that citizens applaud the next adverse comment by the CAG, and ill-informed television anchors take up these complex questions.
The country needs people’s goodwill towards the army, which they correctly showed with nationwide admiration for the brave Colonel Santosh Mahadik who fell to terrorist bullets in J&K. But still, it would help if ex-servicemen keep their protests within a lakshman rekha. Or line of control, if they prefer that term.
