Some plain speaking… only at brinkmanship
Did the defence minister read the Riot act to the three service chiefs? If the frontpage story in the Indian Express is to be believed, “Defence Minister A.K. Antony did some uncharacteristic plain-speaking” to the three sevice chiefs.
But according to top sources in the Services Headquarters, before coming to the agreement on Friday evening, Antony made it clear to Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Air Chief Marshal Homi Major that the armed forces cannot unilaterally decide not to implement a Union Cabinet decision and that there was no way the UPA government would let them get away with it. What it meant was this: the decision of Admiral Sureesh Mehta—as reported by The Indian Express on September 26—to withhold the issuance of the government draft notification letter till the pay anomalies were sorted out, was breach of discipline.
Antony also told the three chiefs that the Defence Ministry would be forced to issue the draft letter if the armed forces failed to follow the directions of the Union Cabinet—this was a contingency plan that South Block had drawn up.
…After the three chiefs backed off, Antony said the pay related anomalies would be addressed by a panel that would have Mukherjee, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and himself. Reopening the Pay Commission recommendation, he is learnt to have said, had larger implications as even the paramilitary forces and the police had grievances.
The Hindustan Times has a slightly different version of the events.
The announcement came after the government nudged the three service headquarters — Army Navy and Air Force — to , issue a draft notification on Monday to accept the revised pay scales as an interim measure and submit their salary bills to the Defence Ministry.
…An official at the finance ministry said only the Union Cabinet could reverse or amend its earlier decision. Once the three member panel reaches a decision, the issue would need to be considered by the Cabinet for the final clearance, he said.
The Times of India has a perfunctory recounting of facts but one line caught the attention of this blogger.
The three chiefs, in fact, had warned the government that if corrective steps were not taken, it would lead to “despondency” among the “badly demoralized” Army, Navy and IAF.
No one can be certain about what transpired on Friday evening between the defence minister and the three service chiefs. Despite his sympathy and support for the demands of the services, the nearly open defiance of the decisions of the Union Cabinet must have been a concern to the Defence Minister.
It is well evident that no political party in this country is going to support a defiance of the orders of the Union Cabinet by the services. No employer (including the government) likes to be publicly bullied by its employees and the UPA government is bound to be no different. While there can be differing views on the validity of the demands made by the services, there can be no question about the need to avoid making a public spectacle out of it.
A weak political government, that has opened the Pandora’s box of competitive entitlement in last four and a half years, ably supported by a team of insensitive bureaucrats, a short-sighted military top-brass and a sensationalist media has brought the situation to this stage of brinkmanship. If the Riot Act had to be read to the service chiefs by the defence minister, it could have been done a few weeks back avoiding all the unpleasantness. Establishing a Committee of ministers is merely a face-saving exercise for the service chiefs and the government which will result in striking some compromises now. However it is likely to lead to similar tactics by other societal pressure groups seeking greater entitlement from the state.
This depicts the nature of crumbling institutions in the country where everything from Telecom frequency allocation to a new airport policy has to be referred to a Group of Ministers. Why can’t the concerned ministry or the union cabinet take a decision and convey it to the concerned parties? Are there no institutionalised mechanisms, sanctioned by the Indian constitution and in existence for the last six decades, left with the Indian state to handle routine (or even not so routine) matters of governance?
This is nearly a defunct Indian state. Welcome to the la la land…
Update (28/09 1735) : The army chief in an interview today morning to the Headlines Today said:
I just want to clarify that this talk of differences between the armed forces and the government…I think that is not right…
The fact that the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister and the Prime Minister are with us shows that he (Antony) is also part of the government, as we are. So there are no differences. I think it has been played up a little incorrectly…[TOI]
Link thanks Stray Barks. As he put it, the Delhi belly finally strikes…
” However it is likely to lead to similar tactics by other societal pressure groups seeking greater entitlement from the state”
Welcome to the land (blog) of innocents. Till the Services entered into a deadlock with civil set up, India has not been a country known for pressure groups, central and state government employees have never gone on strike, banks have worked 7 X 24 X 365. Singur, Nandigram, People’s War Group, free tvs, one rupee per kg rice, reservations in education/jobs/promotions, caste/community groupings, use of street muscle to intimidate voters, corruption at all levels, naked enrichment of the political body, mansions and unaccounted property, striking lawyers, striking doctors, striking teachers, free electricity for farmers/BPL families, free cycles, free computers etc exist in cuckoo land. Amarnath row happened in a different galaxy. The defence services have now established a precedent for innocent Indians that has now revealed to them that societal groupings can form to impose pressure on the government. Thus, the defence services have heralded the end of innocence and have now corrupted the system where pressure groups will dictate the agenda of the government. Absolutely shameful! May we also know how we can put the genie back into the bottle, regain the virginity and return to the land of pure!
Some one pampers his kid for something not so right, The kid is likely to clean his nose with hanky of that person…
RM must now be realizing his folly.
There was a lot of Hulla-Gulla on my using word ‘Blackmail’ in another thread ‘The Another GOK’, but this thread proves that I was not wrong.
What will happen to this country…..GOK
@k_ram:
Thus, the defence services have heralded the end of innocence and have now corrupted the system where pressure groups will dictate the agenda of the government.
Sir, you are putting words into my mouth. Firstly, I also said that “A weak political government, that has opened the Pandora’s box of competitive entitlement in last four and a half years…”. Secondly, I was going further on to Antony’s statement that this review “had larger implications as even the paramilitary forces and the police had grievances”.
I should have been more explicit in stating this. If the message that goes across is of services starting this business of competitive entitlement, then it is unintended and grossly incorrect. Services have in fact learned from others and the “We are different” era is over. It is a choice that the services have made and they’d be willing to pay the price for shunning that “privileged” status.
@pragmatic
“…After the three chiefs backed off”
“It is a choice that the services have made and they’d be willing to pay the price for shunning that “privileged” status.”
The 1975 ‘Punch’ Diary has a cartoon on the levelling clause: Shows two amoeba: text “What can I say ? if you don’t like dysentery you shouldn’t be in the amoeba business” Intestinal fortitude missing in action ?
@Stray Barks:
The 1975 ‘Punch’ Diary has a cartoon on the levelling clause: Shows two amoeba: text “What can I say ? if you don’t like dysentery you shouldn’t be in the amoeba business”
Request a scanned copy, if feasible.
NB – Thanks for sending it. It can be accessed here.
This is not the Armed Forces resenting the Legally Elected Government of India but against the Anarchic Bureaucracy which is trying to manipulate the subversion of the Union of India. How else can you have a Junior Jt Secretary in the Finance Ministry challenging the Elected Govt. by proclaiming that the Armed forces will get their dues over her dead body? She should be charged with subversion of the Armed forces of the Union of India. The bureaucracy has bought time during which they will plant all kind of stories of an undisciplined Armed force trying to blackmail the Govt. Of India. But who has brought things to such a passé? If you look at it the arrears of the FCPC they were more then the SCPC for the Maj/Lt Col ranks. The Army should counter these subversion tactics. Now that the spat is out in the open and if RM wants to maintain his respect with the Armed forces he must ensure that these wily tricks of the bureaucracy are nipped in the bud.
If this is snowballed then the Armed forces should have only JCOs interacting with bureaucrats. Keep them at their level.
Dear Prag.
Again at similar pontification and sermons.
1.Do you think the Armed Forces is relishing this moment of undesirable limelight.
It must be painful to every member of the Forces more than any other countrymen,but insensitive people of your kind who proclaim pompously that “blog is a personal space and they are at liberty to write anything”without realising the consequences of such writings, has been instrumental in pushing the situation to the brink.
2.God forbid,if this embroglio snowballs in some unwarranted situation you may count yourself as a contributory factor.Recollect the impunity with which you have been using unkind and uncivilised words for senior officers of the Armed Forces.By doing so, you have not merely abused an indivisual but have cast aspersions on the honesty,integrity and dedication of the entire organisation.
3.Its an irony that people like you,instead of taking lessons from the virtues of Armed Forces get into the buisness of preaching the priest.
4.If you still have doubts,let have a refrendum wherin the countymen are asked to answer whom they trust most.This exercise can be undertaken alongwith forthcoming Genral Election.
5.HANS CHUGEGA DANA- DUNKA,
KAUA MOTI KHAYEGA…..an indication of doomsday.
p.s-I do not need your comments to dignify my post thanks
@Anshuj:
p.s-I do not need your comments to dignify my post thanks
LOL! I seriously think that if you want to call people names, this place isn’t classy (or undignified?) enough for you.
Here is the Gazzette of India Establishing the Equivalence
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE CORRIGENDUM New Delhi, the 12th February, 2007′ ….
[Unrelated comment- moved here]
I had posted this hypothetical solution on another thread recently….
This referendum, held once every 5 or 10 years, can then form a guiding input for the (Seventh or Eighth) Pay Commission?”
“Services have in fact learned from others and the “We are different” era is over. It is a choice that the services have made and they’d be willing to pay the price for shunning that “privileged” status”
Some home truths
1. The privileged status of Services had been truly dead and buried in the minds of the successive governments and bureacracy ages ago. If at all it existed, it was in the minds of a majority of common men. Let us learn from history that the political class has always and will always back the bureaucrats if the scenario is bureacracy vs armed forces. It was so in the time of Pandit Nehru in the era of newly independent India, it is so today and will continue in future too.
2. We may feel cut up with the PM for saying that civilian control over the Armed Forces will be exercised through bureaucracy but the fact is that the Political Class in incompetent to handle the military on its own. The helping hand of the bureaucracy is essential and indispensable to calm and pacify or at times blackmail the men of arms. It is too innocent of the public to presume that blackmail as a weapon has been used for the first time by the armed forces. There have been a number of instances when the political class had blackmailed the top leadership. A case in point would be to remember the “bunch of jokers” remark of Gen Rodriguez. It was alleged that five out of the Six Army Commanders and equivalents (incl the VCOAS) of that time agreed to take over as the next COAS in case Gen Rodriguez was sacked. The poor general was apprised of this fact and what happened later was in public domain. It would also not be wrong to say that there is more to the issue than what meets the eye in the selection process of officers at senior levels. Incidentally, it is also alleged that the approval and declassification of the selection board results for ordnance and the supplies for brigadiers is a major source of humour, rancour and politicking between the MOD and the Service HQs (for obvious reasons). At times it has taken almost a year for the results to be announced.
3. The results for the promotion to colonels was out recently. The selection rate of Armoured corps is less than 20% (may be closer to 12%). We have, at one stroke, written off 88% of the officers of that batch at a young age of 37 (approx). Does the Service has a solution? Let us not ask the Nation to provide a solution, let us ask ourselves as to whether we have thought about a solution? Nix. Is the bureaucracy aware of this situation. Very much! Will they find a solution for us? No!
4. At times, it would seem that the MoD and the IHQ are at war with each other. It would be a sad plight to see young GSO2s and GSO1s virtually cajoling and begging the civilian counter parts to approve something. Try going abroad on some course or training visit. The Service HQ (read MT), or the concerned line directorate sponsoring you, will hand over a file to you for you to run around, MoD clearance, MEA clearance, FP clearance, getting the passport, getting the visa are all your responsibilities. In addition, staying at the ‘Rajdhani’ at some vague offr Mess and commuting to Sena Bhavan or North Block is another nightmare. Many youngsters put up with this nonsense because of the lure of a foreign trip. If it was the old army, the staff would have been asked to stuff it and go to hell, if a youngster had to travel to the passport office, in uniform and without a helmet, sitting behind a DR and hoping desperately that all formalities would be completed in time.
Let us accept that we have degenerated over a period of time and the fig leaf that ‘we are different’ is over. Thankfully, the present leadership has shown some spine (rather than being supine) in standing up for the entire system. Believe me, the disgruntlement among the officer lot this time is real and serious. The sentiments are too strong to be ignored and the Chiefs have done the right thing in speaking up for the normally silent community.
The most important concern that worries me is that, assuming that the government gives PB4 for lieutenant colonels, places the lieutenant generals above DGPs, so much of hoop la and chest thumping would take place that the real issues will once again be pushed under the carpet. Can the government or the Chiefs give answers to the following questions:-
1. After gaining the battle honour ‘CPC 6′ and living in euphoria for about 2-3 years can we say that the career prospects of the officers has improved?
2. Will the armed forces start the process of internal reforms in terms of shedding excess manpower, getting after the black sheep who have been shamelessly indulging in unethical practices, improve the living conditions of officers and soldiers, rather than paying lip service?
3. Will it give up the habit of holding on to reluctant horses and announce an open exit policy, say after putting in 7 years of service?
4. Will it give an assurance that the breast beating of the ‘best not coming’ will be given up and the best will really start coming in?
Sadly, the answers to most or all these questions will be a resounding NO!!! The issues that are being raised by pragmatic (less the CPC 6 part) will still remain relevant. Winning the battle of CPC 6 may ultimately turn out being a Pyrrhic victory as the Services may end up losing the War of attracting and retaining fresh talent at a later date. The message has been well announced and well received that
@ Pragamtic
“No employer (including the government) likes to be publicly bullied by its employees and the UPA government is bound to be no different. “
If you want to treat this matter as an issue between the employer (Governement) and its employee (Defence Forces), then would you be inclined to suggest that the matters concerning defence should be treated as per Labour Laws !!!. (NEGK) means Not Even God Knows.
@k_ram:
This is eerie. Have you hacked into my email account? I will have to delete the draft of the next post now that you have covered most of the issues.
SCPC is not the major issue confronting the services today. Yes, I fully agree with you. The major reforms are in-house which no one is talking about. Like other quick-fixes [cadre review, AVSC, SS officers for 10/14 years, no exit policy etc.], this will buy further time for the current lot to walk away into the sunset, leaving even a bigger share of problems for their successors. Why confront the real issues when everything can be so easily blamed on to the bureaucrats? And the gullible mass of service officers is willing to buy that argument rather than focus on substantive issues.
Very well said, sir. I can’t agree more.
@Voyager #11:
…Referendum on annual increment…
The most popular models for nation wide referendums are the democracies of Western Europe. Even there, the referendums are on substantive policy issues — join the EU, common curreny, a new social security model etc.
Referendums are not for routine administrative decisions. There are mechanisms to handle these issues within the government. If we have to think about referendums on these issues, then the institutions of the state have completely withered away.
In any case, if we stretch your argument further. Where will this call for referendum stop? About recruitment, retention, promotions. Who should be the Army Chief or the Cabinet Secretary. A better model is to have a parliamentary oversight rather than bank on executive discretion. This may take time to realise its full potential but that is the right way to go ahead. Something that we can borrow from the US model of confirmation by the Senate etc.
What do you think?
@pragmatic
“to have a parliamentary oversight rather than bank on executive discretion”
A doubtful OK Sir. Wise and wide spectrum in theory. But in our context includes dicey etc folk like (1) Shabana Azamgarhi, (2) Shahabuddin, (3) Hema ji Biwi No 2, (4) Dharmendra, (5) Fodderji, (6) Crush on Bush MMS, (7) Govinda, (8) Sajjan Kumar (8) Mama’s Boy Sandeep Dixit (9) Priya Dutt, (10) The Jindal guy who won the contracts for stainless steel bus shelters in Delhi (11) Omar bleeding heart_in_twain Abdullah (12) Owaisi, Shri Asaduddin (13) Renuka Choudhary, a Faujis daughter, even so (14) MK Subba – lottery baron, doubtful nationality – remember ? (15) Behen Kanti Singh – remember .. (16) Pappu Yadav (17) Taslimuddin (18) Ajit Jogi (19) Selja Kumari (20) Colonel Dhani Ram (21) Mehbooba Mufti Muzzafarabadi (22) Shibu Soren (23) JM Scindia (24) YR Scindia (25) AR Antulay (26) Tathagat Satpathy (27) Sukhbir Singh Badal (28) Sachin cho sweet Pilot (29) Jaswant Singh (30) Manvendra Singh (31) P. Chidambaram (32) Raj Babbar (33) AA Dumpy (34) Ajit (coat of many colors) Singh (35) Maneka Gandhi (36) Ateeq Ahmed ( named in 46 cases) (37) Jaya Bacchan (38) Shyam Benegal (39) Shobhna Bhartia (40) RK Dhawan (41) Nejma Heptullah – she of the fake Maulana Azad pictures (42) Brinda Karat (43) RP Rudy (44) Dara Singh………………..
“Services have in fact learned from others and the “We are different” era is over”
We are not different.
Let’s now bahave like any other guy in the street!
Let’s hope the country and the general public are ready to accept this “truth” and does not turn to us whenever things go out of control!
Amen!
@kapoor
But you are different Sir. A Lt Gen can take 16 bottles of sudsidised hooch pm, a Sergeant 4. hic transit gloria.
Only Air Hostesses and Pilots are better steeped in the swill.
With due apologies for butting in between pragmatic and Voyager-
Take the US model and consider the appointment of Supreme Court judges in the US as an example; The President, as the Chief Executive appoints the judges to the US Supreme Court. There is a definite slant that is given by each judge towards interpretation of the US Constitution depending upon from which side you are looking at the issue – the liberal side or the conservative side. Interestingly, many judges known for their conservative views and having been nominated for precisely those views surprisingly change contours and in the bargain end up surprising the administration which nominated them. That happens because USA as a nation even now values integrity. It is not to argue that corruption does not exist in the US. It is to argue that along with corruption, punishment is also there. Alas in India we have the first part without the second. Coming to the appointment of judges, imagine, for a moment, if the PM ofIndia had the power to nominate judges to the Supreme Court…..
Coming to the point of legislative oversight, currently the less said the better. Year after year, demands or appropriations for defence have been passed without even an iota of discussion. Does this indicate that the legislators are fully aware as to where each penny goes? Or does it say that the nation is least interested? How many bills have been brought before the house that are concerned with defence? When was the last in the Parliament there was a meaningful discussion about defence related issues. Whenever the political class speaks of defence, we only hear jingoistic statements, statements oodling with gushing adoration forthe soldiers of India or some other stupid mush which is not even worth printing.
Why so? Is defence such a holy cow? Do the soldiers relish the idea that they are holy cows? There is a vested interest in the political class, bureaucratic class and the top leadership of the forces for treating the defence as holy cow. Are the forces incapable of accounting for the nation’s money that is being allotted to them? Are they not sure that each penny is well spent?
I know that I am inviting trouble from well intentioned but emotional bloggers that will ask me whether CPWD, MES, Railways etc etc are clean? Such answers merely divert the issue for the moment and end up finally conceding the point that defence forces have their pro rata share of sleaze, sloth and inefficiencies – may be to a lesser degree vis-a-vis others.
The myths, mystery and aura that surround the defence forces should be removed and thrown away. Every citizen in the country has a right to know what is happening within the Services so that when a decision is to be taken as to the importance (aka WOP), perks and privileges (aka Pay Commissions) directly or indirectly the common man will side with or be against the demands of the Services for better treatment. If he or our legislature prefers and is content with a second rate army, so be it. After all, Armed Forces do not own the franchise of national interest – depending upon the interest taken by the Nation, armed forces will also play up with their performance.
@k-ram
“Why so? Is defence such a holy cow ?”
Because it can’t moo – anytime as per Regs – even if its tits are pulled too often ?
@k_ram:
No problems about butting in etc. Great to hear some sensible views here (for a change).
Agree with all your contentions with just one minor point of disagreement. All executive appointments in the US have to be ratified by the legislature. We don’t even have that in India. The current situation may sound bad to you but we have to make start. There can not be unchecked power vested in the Executive. The balances can only come from the legislature. How it can be achieved or strengthened is a complete subject by itself?
What you seek is a more modern, transparent, equitable and regenerated military, 180 degrees opposite to the colonial-feudal setup that exists in the services today. How can any sane person disagree with that contention?
@Pragmatic
Parliamentary oversight in the Indian context is a big discussion in itself – I agree its not a bad idea and it is indeed one of the preferred modes of exercising Civilian control over the Armed Forces.
For a country like India, the key challenges maybe as follows:-
1. Comprehensive information being the key to making correct judgements in the Parliamentary Oversight model – it entails sharing and understanding perspective plans, future doctrines, foreseen threats, projected force levels, combat readiness etc. I understand we are raising the security bogey yet again, but I daresay, a slight suspicion is in order due to the well documented criminalisation of politics and parliamentarians.
2. Security, being a highly specialised discipline; a deep understanding of above matters as also international relations and geopolitics etc are a must. Does our average parliamentarian with his prevailing educational qualification and narrow regional outlook fit the bill?
3. Does the parliament have the collective will, desire or urgency to make the executive relinquish control?
It does seem a viable option and vastly superior to “executive discretion” which is failing. Still, we can’t afford to have it degenerate into the “Elephant and the Blind Men” model.
Those are just initial thoughts and it would be educative to hear your further views.
@voyager
“Does our average parliamentarian with his prevailing educational qualification and narrow regional outlook fit the bill ?”
Sir, many years ago a suggestion was made (at a panel discussion on TV) by a retd General that MPs, once elected from a constituency should be posted elsewhere. A cure for ~narrow if not the straight and narrow ?
@k_ram:
I have never thought of defence as a holy cow.It is people like you who thinks defence as a holy cow.
At the same time please do not forget that it is the last line of defence for the nation.
The comments of distinguished people make interesting reading indeed.defence fores are part and parcel of the society.People who join forces come from the normal indian families and merge back to the same society they came from after the hang their uniform.By using articulation and engraved HINGLISH words here,we are trying to make a mockery of this debate.Let us not ice the cake with shining material and destroy this blog.If it is plain speak then so be it.
There is an assumption(based on the existing attitude of forces since ages) beyond olive green that Defence forces should not question any thing done to them but just obey the orders of their masters ( should always be there if the master is sensitive to the problems of such dumb and kind too) and take every thing lying down because Countrymen expect that from YOU(the forces)….very fine..defence forces had been doing it till date including this episode(by implementing already approved scales for its people)…but whats about other echelons/departments of this society.Whats about POLITICIAN IN PARLIAMENT AND OUTSIDE, TEHSILDARS,POLICE WALAS,BUSINESS PEOPLE,IAS,IPS,ELECTRICITY wala,ROADWAYS BUS wala,Govt school walas,Traders,Filmwalas and many more? They can do anything and no questions will be asked………And you say that FORCES HAVE CHANGED….how much change in the attitude of forces and how much on out side civil streets…..No we won’t compare that because we are more confined to damage our forces(may be some babus active here too like that lady who said that fauzzis will get their dues on my dead body as MENON said somewhere hereunder…as if her body is sacred like RAJGHAT…i pity her upbringing and attitude.So anybody else is free to take this country for ride…burn trains,block roads,abuse people,destroy all sorts of property of nation(my friends here clap for them because they have a license to destroy …..but DEFENCE FORCES are not suppose to even remind there boss of the gross injustice done to them by some ELITE CALCULATORS.What a pathetic rheumatics these…?
Damage has been done……outcome of this committee is seriously of no consequence……..faith has been breached and despondency has been greatly exhibited by insensitive establishment .
All these discussions are of no use.Armed forces should do some thing of use to them and Nation.Foget about the bearocrats and politicians
Time is ripe for recite SHRI BHAGWAD GEETA to the who’s who of this nation and not for defence minister to read RIOT ACT to three chiefs as they are aware of it.
Update (28/09 1735) : The army chief in an interview today morning to the Headlines Today said:
Link thanks Stray Barks. As he put it, the Delhi belly finally strikes…
@ Pragmatic
Thanks for the update.
Just to add what you have conviniently left out.
The Chief Of Army Staff also said that
“The new committe set up by the governemnt should address the genuine grievances raised by the forces.”
@Realistic:
Just to add what you have conviniently left out.
I didn’t see this line anywhere in the TOI report. Send me the link to the full conversation, if you have one, before alleging “conveniently left out”.
@ Pragmatic
Not TOI but Headlines Today.
Sorry I dont have a link to HT.
Headlines Today has aired the interview of Chief Of Army Staff again at 1900 hrs. In that he said
“we have made our recommendations and government has set up a committee and let see how the deliberations go.”
He is hopeful that the committee will look into all-genuine and bonafide requests of the armed forces.
For those interested here is a link to Yahoo news which gives out the full version in text.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20080928/808/tnl-army-chief-rules-out-differences-wit.html
I feel that the Army Chief should have —SHUT UP
rather than play Mr. Goody two shoes.
Now he has given the media a chance to manoeuvre with the statements.
After the AF and Naval Chief stand up this joker opens his mouth to bungle things. Its better to shut up and let people guess rather than open up and confirm their doubts. Or, is he one of those, ‘Hore koi seva’ types.
@Stray barks
“But you are different Sir. A Lt Gen can take 16 bottles of sudsidised hooch pm, a Sergeant 4. hic transit gloria”
Thankyou sir.
Thanks for reminding that the quality of life in this country is based on the number of subsidised liquor bottles one is autharised!
We may be wrong ,if we want good education for our children in a good city schools like the others,freedom to voice our comments publicly,leave and take up another profession on a three month’s notice!
@Stray barks
“But you are different Sir. A Lt Gen can take 16 bottles of sudsidised hooch pm, a Sergeant 4. hic transit gloria”
Have you ever gone out with the Police SP or the Collector. They don’t pay the bill after glutting at a swank hotel. Their wives go out shopping and there is advance notice that the Collectors wife is coming and everthing is on the house. The guy can drink himself to death with the finest of Scotch and not know how much it costs.
But the poor bloody Lt Gen who pays for what he drinks is blessed.
You guys are wierd. Is it a genetic defect?
The Collectorate here has 5 computers on charge but 26 from free fund. Easy to misappropriate?
Continuation—
And this is not only at the officer level. At the Inspector and Section officer level this is more rampant. An executive officer in a panchayat demands free meals for approvals and we talk of sevice officers misusing govt. perks. To get an FIR lodged the SI needs to be serviced and these are the people who so many learned people on this blog say that they deserve more and are incomparable.
Khoon hi kharab hain to fauji kyon apna khoon barbaad kare?.
@Menon
“I feel that the Army Chief should have —SHUT UP rather than play Mr. Goody two shoes.”
Rightly said Sir. This army gentleman does not know the ABC of the correct measured approach to a decision in Govt.
MAIL TODAY
COMMENT
Don’t rob the armed forces of their due THE government has done the right thing by setting up a committee, comprising three Union ministers, to look into the issue of pay disparities for the armed forces. The move came after the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and his Army and Air Force colleagues refused to submit their revised salary bills to the Defence Ministry’s accounts office, so as to compel the government to address their grievances relating to the Sixth Pay Commission award.This is as close as the armed forces could come to a public protest, and it is good that politicians have heeded the message, though it must be said for the record, that the service chiefs have the support of their civilian minister.Clearly the mess has been created by the IAS dominated bureaucracy that sought to downgrade some segments of the armed forces officer class. The Sixth Pay Commission itself had no problem with maintaining equivalences that prevailed at the time of the Fifth Pay Commission. But when the package went to the Committee of Secretaries for notification, the IAS- dominated body deliberately and somewhat provocatively, downgraded the status of Lieutenant Colonel level officers by introducing disparities in their salary in relation to their counterparts in civil administration and the paramilitary forces.No doubt the civilians felt that the Lieutenant Colonels who are now second- in command of battalions, instead of commanding them, deserved to be pushed down the official food- chain. But by that measure, ranks have been degraded across the board. Where there used to be thirty secretaries to the Union government, today you have more than 100 and where state police forces were headed by a single Director- General of Police, you now have dozens.Every institution has a culture, and the armed forces have one where ranks and hierarchy matter a great deal. Introducing disparities in the salaries of certain ranks would have automatically affected their inter se seniority with their civil and police counterparts.The pay commission tangle calls for a review of the manner in which the government takes a decision on such subjects.For example the armed forces do not have any representation in the Pay Commission, and the Committee of Secretaries which reviews it is free to tinker with its award.Considering that the babus are themselves beneficiaries of the process, this is highly irregular and inevitably leads to the kind of situation we are witnessing.
How true this editorial is. The mistake was deliberate and it was intentional. Let us see if we have the guts to admit our mistake.
@ Stray barks
Unforunately it was deceit by the Bureaucracy and not decision by a duly elected Govt. that I was refferring to.
The bureaucrats were ever ready to dismember the statement and rephrase it to their advantage in stray barks.
The Chief shouldn’t have fallen prey to that. But then he is not a Babu.
I wonder why the services need to show that they are ‘different’. Armed forces personnel are also human beings and they also have their family to look after and they too have the right to aspire for a better lifestyle. I read somewhere that now police officers would be earning more than army officers of the same category.
There are several points to consider.
1) Most of the police and civilian officers are corrupt, and immaterial of their salary much goes into their pocket
2) Their efficiency level needs to be brought up when compared with that of the armed forces
3) The armed forces personnel face greater risk to life than those from other services (except the policemen fighting terrorists)
4) Armed forces are called in even in times of riots, natural disasters, etc. That means they are required to do more than what they are supposed to do.
Also in India the country’s defence preparedness is affected mostly because of the indecisiveness of the bureaucrats and politicians.
If we expect the agitational approach of the veteran to be supported by
the Chiefs, it is sure to fail.
Even if veterans give as much as a hint that veterans support the Chiefs firm stand on the issue, that may invite a stance from the Govt of the time to force Chiefs to declare in public that they dissociate if not totally reject
support of the veteran.
To expect the serving chiefs to support the veterans cause is
structurally defective as per the experience of the story of all the
veteran movements. The veteran march on Washington DC was suppressed by the Army and you may recognize some the names of the soldiers used for the suppression: Maj Eisenhower and Maj Douglas Mac Arthur!
Ask for a separate Ministry as it is there in USA, the Department of
Veteran Administration under a full secretary as the Secretary of
Defense.
Can’t we learn from history of such movements? It is nothing short of
stupidity to expect the serving Generals to risk their career to support
a veteran movement.
It is not for veteran to fight for restoration of “parity with IAS” etc.
You have crossed the stage and you have no sons or son-in-law in the
Services. Fight for veteran benefits and veteran retraining for a second
career. I was aghast when a retired General claimed that retired PBOR do
not need or are not keen for a second career. How smug can one get?
If the same thing had happened in the US, the veteran community would
risen in revolt against the General who came out with such a view.!
@Contrived.
Look at this gentleman.Insted of showing solidarity,he has come out with a weird idea of creating a class within the class.
All these divisive tactics are not going to work this time.Entire Armed Forces including vetrans are focused and will not get swayed by such writings.
A PIECE OF ADVICE.
We can sort out internal problems in-house.
Please do not be a distraction in the mother of all battles”THE BATTLE FOR HONOUR”.
@menon
“Unforunately it was deceit by the Bureaucracy and not decision by a duly elected Govt. that I was referring to.”
Actually with you, for you, always Sir. Was just joking. The end of the matter today, is as expected – (a) The bureaucracy will mince its 454* gms of tiger flesh. So much for empty brass posturing and the inability to go the last mile. (b) And the veterans demands trashed to zilch. Cheers.
There is a perceptive email from a retd brass recd today which worth a read. Could send it to Pragmatic & if deemed ok could be routed to your id.
*pound, old style
@ Stary barks
perceptive (?) email from a retd brass recd today which worth a read. Could send it to Pragmatic & if deemed ok could be routed to your id.
Looking fwd to that Sir.
# As you brought out, there is no institutionalized decision-making mechanism worth its name. Since all major decisions get referred to a GoM, the Service Chiefs have lobbied to get their perceived problems to a GoM. Breastbeating and anguish over this seems illogical.
# Stating that the RM has “rapped the Defence Chiefs” etc is merely a media coup of the babus. The same interviews and same result could have been equally mapped to a headline stating ” RM backs down as the Service Chiefs decide to give arrears but still want a relook”. Though SlimesOfIndia would have put it as ” Faujis want to have GoM cake and eat arrears too”.
# For the Services, though, it is also time to take stock as to the reasons for the decline. Internal housecleaning is one thing … it is also instructive to see just why the same pressure could not be applied at the beginning to ensure that a Defence rep was in the SCPC.
# For some comrades here : pointing out that the politicos/IAS/MES/what-have-you are more corrupt/ disorganised/ inefficient is hardly calculated to inspire confidence in the Forces.
# Finally, internal reform, internal reform, internal reform. Unlike Pragmatic, I believe firmly it has to start as a movement from the Lt Col/Col rank, mainly. What goes to the top is basically inputs from here. And eventually it is people from here who will make it to the top.
@Stray Barks & Co.
FRANKLY, THIS COUNTRY DOES NOT DESRERVE THIS ARMY.
Not to worry – a combination of self serving senior officers, motivated babus and indifferent politicians / public will soon take care of that.
Its time they started seriously considered reservations for SC / ST and OBCs in the Armed Forces to hasten the process.
@Davy Jones:
Since all major decisions get referred to a GoM, the Service Chiefs have lobbied to get their perceived problems to a GoM. Breastbeating and anguish over this seems illogical.
The anguish was not over the service chiefs angling for a GOM. It was over the crumbling of state apparatus, where “there no institutionalised mechanisms, sanctioned by the Indian constitution and in existence for the last six decades, left with the Indian state to handle routine (or even not so routine) matters of governance”.
Stating that the RM has “rapped the Defence Chiefs” etc is merely a media coup of the babus.
One can never be sure about such things. It is all based on conjecture.
it is also instructive to see just why the same pressure could not be applied at the beginning to ensure that a Defence rep was in the SCPC.
Any ideas! This one has left me stumped.
Unlike Pragmatic, I believe firmly it has to start as a movement from the Lt Col/Col rank, mainly.
That is a separate debate by itself. If you go by organisational theory, reform and change can only come from the top in a hierarchical organisation. Military, by nature, is a strictly hierarchical organisation and thus it has to flow from the top. Moreover it is a failure of leadership if reform starts from the bottom or the middle. As someone else said in one of the comments – What starts from the top is reform; what starts from the bottom is a revolution. So what starts in the middle is neither here, nor there – zilch.
A holistic review, or what I call the Indian Blue Ribbon Commission, is needed to undertake a massive reform exercise at all levels, in all fields – across the complete spectrum of military organisations and civil-military decision making mechanisms.
Reform will always be perceived as a radical challenge to the hierarchy. Thus the “haves”[aka top brass] will never push for reform. The “haves” are always the status quoists in any society. The middle ranks can do only this much and not enough to make a difference.To put it harshly, the time for little bit tinkering and changes in “our sphere of influence” is long past.
The reform can thus come only for two reasons : crisis (something that led to the financial reforms of the 90s) or political will (nuclear blasts or the nuclear deal). These are external factors and their hows and whys will sow the seeds of another debate.
It would not be wrong to say that the military, as an institution, is failing to protect its own interest by “resisting change”. If the services have to look ahead, then they should seek solutions in simplicity, flattened structures and adaptability in the organisation. And of their volition… though unlikely.
Pragmatic is quite correct when he says ‘Reform will always be perceived as a radical challenge to the hierarchy. Thus the “haves”[aka top brass] will never push for reform.’
But this is for later. One step at a time. After the SCPC.
Blue Ribbon Commission is just word play. For ages the Public Audit System has not been institutionalized and the RTI is diluted to impotence..
It was over the crumbling of state apparatus, where “there no institutionalised mechanisms, sanctioned by the Indian constitution and in existence for the last six decades, left with the Indian state to handle routine (or even not so routine) matters of governance”.
THE BEST STATEMENT SO FAR (Pardon the e-shouting)
When a hurricane devastated US some years ago there was civil chaos and many e-mails compared Indian spiritual acceptance of natural calamities and how we set about helping each other.
I had another take on this.
In the US you expect the State to provide civic amenities. In India you pay taxes and pay additional to get your civic amenities. So unlike New York which grinds to a halt if you have electricity cuts for an hour here we continue with 10 hours of no water, no electricity and in case of an earthquake of floods we do not expect the Govt. to do much. So live for yourself.
That brings me to Davy Jones comments’ ‘# For some comrades here : pointing out that the politicos/IAS/MES/what-have-you are more corrupt/ disorganised/ inefficient is hardly calculated to inspire confidence in the Forces’
While in Service the Serviceman is largely disassociated with direct interaction with politico/IAS on matters of civil aliveness. The Serviceman should be aware of what to expect when he is screwed in uniform and after.
Probably a topic for a separate post … or a separate blog altogether!
But the fact is that unlike the “haves” in a conventional system, the top brass in the Forces is transient and hence has no interest in perpetuating a false system.
The system is perpetuated by the “would-be haves” , the middle rung, who hope to reach the top in the same manner that their predecessors did.
Why I say the Col/Lt Col level is, that earlier, it was very hard to speak out at a junior level. You could get “written off” at 13 years of service as a Major, and have to stuff your basic self-respect for seven long years in order to retain a pension. Simply put, it was an inhuman sentence.
Of course, promotions still retain their glam value, but today, as a Lt Col/Col with a (hopefully now) decent package, and most importantly some respect, one can advocate change without losing too much. The pyramid ahead is too sharp anyway : )
To counter what you say : reform from below in the forces is pointless energy soon dissipated in postings in the boondocks. Reform from above is pointless to expect from transient products of the system.
It is the mid-level that must rededicate itself to change. Hope persists : it is the midlevel that has created the groundswell for the chiefs to take this bold a stance : )
The Navy and Air Force chiefs have shown that they have the balls to take on the mighty establishment, for the welfare of their subordinates. The Army Chief who is supposed to be the most powerful of the three is behaving like …………… I’d better not say it. He is spoiling it all. I hope his next speech does not say that the Lt Cols are overpaid. What a clown of a chief. God save the Army.
kindly find the gazette notification published for the IAS and IPS officers at http://india.gov.in/paycommission/php. Makes interesting reading, especially the requirement of mandatory years of service. There is a categorical mention that they will reach selection grade at 13 years for both IAS and IPS and it is 16 years = STS for IAS and 18 years = STS for IPS. No wonder the IPS is disgruntled. Unfortunately this is where our poor generals will reach after slogging their back sides for the better part of their life and many more will do so in successive lives if they continue to join the olive greens at every rebirth. Somewhat hard to condemn the brinkmanship as that is the only option available with those standing at the brink.
Soldier48
You are understating the obvious.
1. RANK PAY IS NOT TO BE ADDED FOR DECIDING PARITY BETWEEN CIVILIAN AND DEFENCE POSTS. MIN OF DEFENCE RULING ON THIS IS APPENDED BELOW FOR INFORMATION OF ALL :-
Rank pay not to be added to determine status.pl check MOD ID appended below:-
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
D(MS)
Subject : Status Equivalency between Service Officers and Scientist in DRDO
***
1. Reference minutes of the meeting held on 3-6-99 circulated vide MOD I.D. note No. 10417/RD/Pers-6/1115/D(MS)/99 dared 15-6-99
2. The matter with respect to status of Rank pay has since been resolved and it has been decided by the Government that the rank pay will be taken into account for determining the entitlement of the commissioned officers of the three services to financial benefits concessions etc including retirement benefits. However, the rank pay will not be taken into account for determining the status. Further action in the matter may be taken in accordingly.
Sd——
(A.K. Sethi)
Under Secretary (MS)
Chairman PPDC
FOR DRDO
Mod ID. No. 19(19)/99-D(MS), dated 4-5-2000
2. As per laid down equivalency of ranks between civilian officers vs defence officers by MINISTRY OF DEFENCE FOR DRDO, SURVEY OF INDIA, BRO is as under:-
Captain – Scientist B / AEE (JTS 8000-13500)
Major – Scientist C / EE (STS 10000-15200) Undersecretary
Lt Col – Scientist D / EE(SG) (JAG 12000-16500) Deputy Secretary
Col – Scientist E / SE (SG 14300-18300) Director
Brig – Scientist F ( 16400-20400) Principal Director
3. At no point of time Lt col was equivalent to civilian director.
Even as per Army Order 8/85 issued by ARMY Lt Col has been designated as Jt Director when posted to ARMY HQ which is Deputy Secretary level only.
4. Hope everybody will read govt rulings properly before misinterpreting the facts and thus misleading the people of the nation.
5. All the fellow Indians can decide/judge the justification of parity demand raised by Armed Forces by distorting the facts.
6.It is also a fact that on one hand Brigadiers are happly going as Directors (Post being manned by civilian officers of Director rank in pre revised scale of 14300-18300) in DGQA while on the other hand Armed Forces are making lot of hue & cry for equating Lt. Col with civilian director.
7. On one hand Armed forces are raising issue of huge shortage of officers whereas approx 2000 Army officers are deployed in the organisations like DRDO,BRO,SURVEY OF INDIA, MES, DGQA etc. Fifth pay commission has recommended for taking out these service officers from these organisations. If this is implemented, it will reduce the deficiency of officers in Defence services aprat from great saving in terms of pay & perks to the nation.
to all of you……..
First things first policy we inherited from britishers…………
divide and rule……
secondly let us not forget the elections next year who is candidate for the PM in congress & how does one shows that he is not weak…. and not controlled by beaurocrats.
Is Rahul going to be the PM no.. he said it in punjab.
then who is the PM is he stong….. if yes how do you prove it.
do you all get it is all politics.
if you kill somebody it is a murder and if you kill somebody at the right time then it is politics..
hope you all get it.
@nationalist123
I fail to understand, how rank pay which was created by deducting the same from pay scales of service officers and that too for reasons which had nothing to do with status can be suddenly be removed in the year 2000 (on the quiet). Can this be called anything but the handiwork of the bureaucracy with their own vested interests. Is the service HQ even aware of this order?
Flaws in traditional comparison behind lowering status
Vijay Mohan
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 1
As the status of Lieutenant-Colonel and Lieutenant-General vis-à-vis their civilian counterparts continues to hang fire, it appears that incorrect representation of past scales under comparative tables in the Sixth Pay Commission’s report may be responsible for degradation of status and pay of officers.
Sources reveal that the pay panel in its report had formulated a historical tabulation of scales of military and civil officers in which the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel has been shown against the junior administrative grade (JAG) instead of the non-functional selection grade (NFSG) of the civil services.
The pay of a Lt-Col was shown as Rs 1700-900 while that of the NFSG was shown as Rs 2000-2250 under the table for the 3rd pay panel. Experts, however, say that there were three NFSG grades in the 3rd pay panel, out of which only the highest one has been “conveniently” reproduced in the table. The two other NFSG grades were Rs 1650-1800 and Rs 1800-2000 and the Lt-Col’s grade was placed between them.
Both these grades were shifted to Rs 14,300-18,300 by the 5th pay commission, while Lt-Col was granted Rs 15,100-18,700. The sixth pay panel, however, placed Lt-Col along with JAG in the band of Rs 15,600-39,100 instead of NFSG (Rs 37,400-67,000) in which the erstwhile closest counterparts of Lt-Col were shifted.
Another anomaly reflected in the tables relates to the rank of Captain, which in turn had a cascading effect on higher ranks, sources said. While the rank of a Captain has been shown against senior time scale (STS) in the 3rd pay panel tables, it has been shown against junior time scale (JTS) bunched with Lieutenant under the FPC tables. Experts point out that there was no recommendation of down gradation of Captain from STS level by the fourth or the fifth pay panels, and the same is a self-created equation by the sixth pay panel with no official back-up.
The non-addition of rank pay into basic pay of service officers for equivalence purposes is also refuted by some experts. Maj Navdeep Singh, author of a book on military benefits, says that rank pay was carved out of basic pay by the first pay panel and it had recommended the same integrated scale of Rs 2,300-5,100 for 2nd-Lieutenant to Brigadier, with rank pay as the differentiating factor.
To say that rank pay is not to be added for status would mean that all ranks from up to Brigadier enjoy the same status. A group of officers set up by the government after the 5th pay commission had recommended that an Army officer in his 14th year of service should have parity with an NFSG officer of the civil services. Several retired officers also point out that special army instructions issued by the ministry of defence clarify that rank pay is a part of basic pay for all purposes.
Army Guns for Babooze
Setting Up of Committee of Secretaries (CoS). CoS was set up to look into and resolve the anomalies in the 6th CPC report, as highlighted by various Central Govt cadres.
Armed Forces Representative Not Included In Any Capacity. Verbal assurances were offered by the officials of the Def Ministry that the issues raised by the Armed Forces were well understood by them and will be pursued most honestly and diligently by the Def Secy (a member in the CoS). Hence, they justified non-inclusion of any Armed Forces Rep in the CoS, even in advisory or observer capacity.
Opaqueness in Deliberations of CoS. In absence of any communication from the CoS, the Chairman COSC formally sought that the findings and recommendation of the CoS be shared with the Armed Forces for them to attach their concurrence or observations, if any, prior to the same being submitted to the Cabinet for “Informed Decision Making”. No formal or Informal Response was received to this formal request.
Cabinet Decision : Ill Informed. The Cabinet could not be faulted in giving its approval to the recommendations of the CoS. They were fair in assuming that Armed Forces views would have been objectively presented and analysed as the Def Secy was on the panel of CoS.
Questionable Manner of Dissemination of Govt Notification of the CPC. The Govt Notification was made available to the Services HQ late on Friday (after 5.30 PM the office closing time in South Block). Further, only that portion of the notification was made available which pertained to the Armed Forces. This prevented the concerned Armed Forces officials to study the Govt Notfn at least until offices opened on Monday; and even then, unable to do any comparative analysis vis-à-vis provisions made for other Govt Services, they would not be in position to analyse the implications on parity/disparity issues for quite some time thereafter.
Major Discrepancies Noticed by Armed Forces in Govt Notfn. While being exposed to continued “informal pressure from the bureaucracy” to commence the implementation process, the Armed Forces, with ‘patient haste’ conducted a detailed study and analysis to find “four major discrepancies” in the Govt notfn. While, one of the core anomalies was the legacy of the original CPC report, the Armed Forces were surprised that the other three had been introduced surreptitiously by the CoS itself (please remember, the CoS was constituted to resolve anomalies and NOT create them).
Chairman COSC and Services Chiefs Meet RM. The RM, when presented the facts pertaining to the 4 Core Anomalies, was convinced of their logic and legitimacy and promised the Service Chiefs to take up the issue with the PM. He directed the officials in the MoD to communicate the same to the PMO, with his recommendations for early resolution.
The Bureaucratic Subversion. In absence of the RM, the MoD did not send any communication to the PMO as directed by the Minister. Instead, it sent a note for consideration of the officials of the Fin Ministry. The note thus sent, diluted the Armed Forces’ case as was presented to the RM and with which the RM had already concurred. The officials of the Fin Ministry diluted the Armed Forces case even further and presented the same to the Fin Minister. The Note, thus rejecting most of the Armed Forces’ observations and proposals was to be dispatched to the PMO.
Service Chiefs Meet Finance Minister: Bureaucratic Subversion Partially Exposed. The Service Chiefs (at least the two of them) met the Fin Minister before the Note rejecting the Armed Forces’ case could be dispatched to the PMO. After detailed presentation of their case, the Fin Minister acknowledged that “officials in his Ministry had misled him and had also misrepresented facts”.
Bureaucratic Fiat Issued Separately to Three Services to Notify Govt Notfn on Pay Commission so as to Ensure Its Implementation wef 01 Oct 08. Three separate notes were issued separately directly to the three Services HQ (please remember, all communication on the subject between the MoD and the Services were with the Central Pay Commission Cell in the COSC and not directly with the Services HQ). Moreover, the notes were issued by the MoD in absence of the RM who still was away on foreign visit.
Service Chiefs Meet PM. The PM responded favorably to the Service Chiefs’ presentation of the core anomalies. He also stated that he had received favorable comments on the issues, from the Fin Minister but, the PMO could not proceed to take a view as it had not yet received any communication on the issue from the MoD. (Please remember again that the RM, before proceeding on visit abroad, had instructed his Ministry to send a formal communication to the PMO).
Service Chiefs Meet RM : Fears of Further Exposure of Bureaucratic Subversion. Service Chiefs apprised the RM of their meetings with the Fin Minister and the PM. They also apprised him of the fact that no communication had been sent by the MoD, as personally directed by him) to the PMO. The RM directed a letter drafted immediately, recommending all Armed Forces’ proposals. The same was dispatched, addressed to the PM and personally signed by the RM.
Services Chiefs Issue Communication to All Ranks. The nature of sudden and intense media campaign which had potential of subverting the morale and maybe discipline of personnel, issue communications to all ranks in respective services.
The following basic principles must be considered and informed view taken in the context of the issue being discussed:
Is Govt Authority synonymous with the Bureaucratic Authority? Is Subservience of the Military to the Civil Authority in a Democracy synonymous with Subservience of the Military to Bureaucratic Authority?
Each one in the Armed Forces have grown, since their initial induction, learning that in a Democracy, in the context of the Military’s Subservience to the Civil Authority, the Civil Authority signifies the “Elected Govt” and at the larger levels, the “Parliament” and the “Constitution of India”. On day-to-day functioning, the bureaucracy may represent the elected Govt but it surely does NOT replace elected Govt.
The bureaucracy misled the Cabinet into believing that their recommendations were based on fair consideration of the views and logic of the Armed Forces (if it was not so, the RM, FM and PM would not have been surprised and found merit in the issues raised by the Armed Forces subsequently).
The bureaucracy, knowing the schedule of foreign visits by the RM and PM, deliberately worked in a manner that would prevent exhaustive deliberations with the deadline of 01 Oct and thus pressurise (the pressure was brought through a section of the media, led by Indian Express and a print news agency) the Armed Forces to implement the Pay Commission in its current form and deferring the resolution of the core anomalies indefinitely. This is exactly what they achieved in the case of previous Pay Commission.
What is most disconcerting in the bureaucratic design that they resorted to “disobeying instructions of the RM”; and “Misleading the FM and Misrepresenting Facts Before Him”. The charge of “Defiance of Govt Authority” that is being labeled upon the Service Chiefs actually should be labeled upon the Bureaucracy.
As for the Service Chiefs withholding Notifying the Govt Order, it is a simple case of they being morally bound to apprise the Govt of their perception of anomalies and ill-effects of implementing its order, prior to blindly executing it. Once the Govt (represented by the RM and PM) found merit in reconsidering the aspects brought before it by the Armed Forces and assured the Service Chiefs of having a re-look, until it got back to the Services with fresh instructions, the Services cannot be blamed for ‘defiance’ or ‘disobedience’. Once the Govt did come back during the previous weekend with interim orders, the Services have accepted the same and are implementing.
As far as the communications issued by the three Services Chiefs to all ranks is concerned, one ought to read the complete documents and understand the context. There is nothing in them which can be distantly construed as ‘defiance of govt authority’. In fact, in all manuals on military leadership and of late, also included in teachings on HR by the corporates, one of the abiding principles is that of “keep men informed”. This is expressly meant for men not following prey to rumours, propaganda and misinformation as they can seriously subvert the morale, discipline and ultimately operational effectiveness of any organized group and especially, the Armed Forces.
Mr Shekhar Gupta’s contention of the Service Chiefs behaving as “Union Leaders” egged by cheering ex-Servicemen, is gross misrepresentation. The Armed Forces are denied right to form unions, firmly in the belief that the concerns of each individual are addressed by a strict chain of command. This chain leads to the Service Chiefs. The Service Chiefs are thus doing what they ought to do in a democratic setup and purely as per democratic norms which govern the interface between the Civil Govt leadership and its subordinate military leadership. Mr Shekhar Gupta has also attributed the Services Chiefs with “Open Defiance of Civil Authority”. Is he in know of or can he recollect any instance of any act or articulation by services Chiefs which any sensible person can construe as defiance of civil authority? He surely cannot. Further, the ex-Servicemen should, if at all, be complimented for expressing their concerns and grievances, not only in democratic fashion but in a “dignified democratic fashion”. He, through his column, could have actually asked other interest groups and individuals to emulate them.
The whole episode so far, has been a classic case of the bureaucracy “subverting the democratic functioning of the state”; “undermining ‘informed – thus wise’ decision making by the Elected Govt”; and “Subverting the Public Opinion by Using/Misusing the Media”.
The facts and their sequence as brought out may be verified by those willing and an objective opinion may only be made thereafter. The provisions of the RTI Act would surely help uncover the criminal collusion and lengths to which the officials in the concerned Ministries have gone to, to ensure misrepresentation of issues, misleading their own Ministers (and thus the Govt) with the ill-intent of depriving legitimate dues to the Armed Forces personnel and undermining their status.
The bureaucracy, especially those associated with the Defence Ministry, during the past six decades, have found themselves not only increasingly incompetent but even unwilling to develop related competencies, to fulfill their assigned roles. As this episode clearly shows, the bureaucracy have instead, attempted to usurp the role of the Ministers (& thus the Govt) by assigning most of the “decision making” to themselves in the growing belief that in all cases of Ministerial interventions, they can effectively misrepresent facts and mislead the busy Ministers and further, that their acts of commission and omission will never be open to scrutiny of the Armed Forces. In the instant case, the concerned bureaucrats had not bargained for the Service Chiefs walking up the political masters which led to exposing of their nefarious designs and professional gross misconduct.
It is anybody’s guess that the current media campaign is the handiwork of the same very bureaucrats in a last ditch effort to scuttle the “Informed Decision Making Process by the Appointed GoM” and to “Cover Bureaucratic Misdeeds & Follies” by raising the bogey of “Armed Forces’ Defiance of the Govt Authority”.