Recently I read a very brave letter written by Lt Gen TS Bahri to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The general has minced no words in reminding Narendra Modi of his promise to the nation and soldiers to honour One Rank One Pension. Its a wonderful reminder, but I wonder if it will have the desired effect. OROP seems to be slipping from the grasp into a quicksand and once it goes under may never surface.
A look at past history and the approach of the government does not inspire confidence. Right from the time when Lieutenant General Kulwant Singh was superseded by Nehru and a man beholden to him General Cariappa appointed as COAS, the forces have always been at the receiving end. Merit and legitimate demands have very little meaning. One can recollect that General Kulwant in a 1952 study had clearly mentioned that China would go to war against India in a few years, but Nehru did not like the report and Kuwant found himself superseded by Cariappa.
Cariappa as army chief has a lot to answer. His tenure marked the first steps when the down gradation of the services took place. The general was beholden to Nehru for being made the COAS and he just demurred. There is also no record that the general ever in any study or note cautioned the Congress government and Nehru about the threat from China. I bring this point out as part of my argument that successive Chiefs of Staff of the army have not done much for the man in uniform for a variety of reasons.
There are tens of examples of the spineless approach of the general staff and the incident in 1962 when the Army Chief general Thapar accepted an order signed by a Joint secretary to throw the Chinese out must take the cake. This man demeaned the rank that he held of a force that had a checkered history of 200 years.
I do not hold the Air Force chief and navy Chief as culpable as the army chief, for the simple reason that they represent a force that is basically of use in a war and has nothing to do with day to day activities of law and order. The army chief is the man who heads the largest organized and disciplined force in the country and he and he alone must bear the weight of the world like Atlas.
Over the years the governments have studiously ignored the legitimate demands of the armed forces. One reason is the failure of successive Chiefs of Staff of the army to pressurize or represent the army point of view forcefully.
There is no difference in a Congress government and the BJP government as one can see from the approach of the government in not paying legitimate dues approved by the Supreme Court for pension. The court had held that revisions of pension would be applicable from 2006 ( 1 Jan) and yet though the civilian counterparts are paid the government ( BJP ) counsel Pinki Anand has expressed inability to pay and is dragging its feet on a matter approved and judged by the Supreme Court. What does it show ?
The total cost to the state exchequer is just Rs 1500 crore in this particular case. In case the government cannot pay 1500 crore, where is the chance that it will pay 8500 crore , which is a conservative estimate for OROP. It does not seem likely at all.
Let us be clear that blaming the civil services will not go far, for if Modi and his colleagues want to sanction OROP, then which civil servant will oppose them ? This is self delusion and the fact is that government led by the Finance minister wont pay, knowing fully well that the services will hem and haw,but not bite. This is the crucial point, the government is convinced that it can drag its feet on OROP with the hope that an exasperated service may accept something lesser. This is a devilish game.
One must remember that this government from the time of Nehru to Modi do not understand the language of reason and what they understand is a reaction. It is for the army chief to put the cards on the table and if necessary resigning from his post. It will have an effect. We had a sad case of an army chief going to the Supreme Court on his age, the same man is a minister in the government now. Could he go to court on OROP? I am afraid nothing is won by a conciliatory attitude. The Hindus lost to the Muslims for they lacked the iron will and resolve and abhorred violence .
The case of OROP is a classical case of the services , the defender of the integrity and unity of India being given short shrift.Mr. Jaitley the FM is the main stumbling block and I wonder whether he has read Mao ? political power comes out of the barrel of a gun. He better realize as the bell tolls for Modi and his government and that includes the FM.
