- In which country would you find a two cent journalist falsely headlining an attempted military coup in his paper, prostituting for a particular political party, going scot free and feeling safe because he bumchums someone in the arms mafia hierarchy lodged in a foreign capital?
In which country would you find the MoD refusing to implement directions of the Supreme Court of the country with regard to pay and allowances of military personnel?
- In which country would you find the PMO funding a newspaper to write a series of trashy articles against a serving Service Chief whose case is sub judice in Supreme Court?
- In which country would you find the principal secretary to the PM disclosing privately he heard the PM telling his friends he had promised his wife that so and so will be made the Chief?
- In which country would you find a Defence Minister like Anthony who tells his staff to announce OROP sanctioned (all newspapers and TV channels said so very next morning) and simultaneously directs that nothing should actually be given, not knowing one of his subordinates will brag about it to a veteran Brigadier on the golf course?
- In which country would you find veteran delegations meeting the Defence Minister post the OROP announcement being told for months that committee (s) had been formed to look into the issue?
- In which country would you find a pre-budget announcement by a minister (whose son is reportedly hand in glove with the arms mafia) that Rs 500 crores have been sanctioned for OROP and Anthony (by far the second worst Defence Minister after Krishna Menon) thumps the table grinning he fooled the veterans again?
But before we get down to more about the future of OROP here is the finale quiz question for the military fraternity, both serving and veterans. You well know your Services Headquarters are in the ‘also ran’ category being “Attached Offices” but friends what exactly is your status? One wonders whether even the political hierarchy has any clarity about this. But the bureaucrat has played another master stroke. Vide the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC), the military is the only service that has been deliberately left out from grant of Non Functional Upgradation (NFU). MES Civilian officers, GREF Civilian Officers, Officers of BSF, CRPF, ITBP, Def Accounts (IDAS), Test Audit (IA&AS), Ordnance Factory Board all are now getting salary and grade pay of Joint Secretary/ Maj Gen (GP Rs 10000/-) in 19 yrs of service, and will draw the pay of Additional Secretary to Govt. of India which is equal to a Lt Gen (GP Rs 12000/-) in 32 yrs of service by virtue of their service being Organised Group A Service.
The military has been left out on the semantics that military is not Organised Group A Service. So folks ask yourself are you / have you been serving in a ‘Disorganized Service”? Organised Group A Services mainly include AIS (All India Services, namely, IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service) and Org Gp A service. There are a total of 58 services forming part of Organised Group BUT Defence Officers are a separate category (Class 1).
The final solution to the above malaise appears to be only one – akin to the Planning Commission, demolish the MoD completely replacing it with a Department of Defence (DoD) manned by military specialists directly under the Prime Minister.
Why Class 1 officers of defence services are not at par with the Organised Group A is a mystery that the bureaucracy will take you around in circles before you can resolve it. The bottom-line is that undoing this masterstroke of the bureaucracy will take decades and this is the precise reason why military representation in CPC is shunned. . Example of what this ruling implies is that whenever an IAS officer of the state or joint cadre is posted at the Centre to a particular grade carrying a Specific Grade Pay in Pay Bands PB-3 or PB-4, the officers belonging to batches of Organised Group A services that are senior by two years or more and have not been promoted so far to that particular grade would be granted the same grade on a non functional basis from the date of posting of the IAS officers in that grade at the centre – if an IAS officer becomes Joint Secretary in 17 years of service the officers of Organised Group A Service will start drawing the salary of Joint Secretary in maximum of 19 years of service and similarly that of Additional Secretary / Lt Gen in 30 and 32 years respectively. But why is the military left out when the maximum stagnation is in the military as compared to other services and leaving just the military out is already creating functional problems where military officers work together with other officers of Organised Group A Service? This is a tangle that the government needs to address early.
But getting back to OROP, what is the current status. Frankly only the government would know. However, guesswork could be on following lines: MoD bureaucrats led the Defence Minister to believe that Rs 1000 crores is enough, which it is not. So now they are ‘working out’ what actually is needed – usual exercise for delays hoping some more veterans die off in ensuing months? Going by media reports, the second ambiguity apparently created is that of “interpreting” what OROP implies. This is another ploy of the bureaucrats.
OROP simply implies that a veteran who retired pre 2006 gets the same pension of equivalent rank retiree of 2006 and after. Considering the machinations of the bureaucracy, government would do well to take the following steps: one, immediately withdraw all appeals against emoluments of War Widows and War Disabled and make a public announcement to the effect; two, make an interim statement on OROP giving date from which it will start reaching, even if it is six months or one year from now; three, remove ambiguity of interpretation of OROP and make an announcement to the effect; four, resolve issue NFU for military without waiting for the 7th CPC; five, ensure military representation in 7th CPC; six, initiate legal action against the journalist who with malafide intentions falsely published news of a military coup.
The final solution to the above malaise appears to be only one – akin to the Planning Commission, demolish the MoD completely replacing it with a Department of Defence (DoD) manned by military specialists directly under the Prime Minister. Government would do well to consider this seriously if the defence of India is to be resurrected efficiently. The DRDO-DPSUs-OF too need to be injected with users (military) at all levels including at managing and decision making levels. Without such measures, vital reorganization of the defence-industrial complex will remain incomplete and indigenization of defence will not be adequately streamlined.
First Published on 30-August-2014
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DEAR SIR
SAND ANY DITEL OROP HAVILDAR&JCOS
XY 21YEARS
Very very true,are we heading for a mini revolution of kind ? OROP is eye opening how so many facts have come to light which were not known before.The biggest mistake Govt has made is they have not established direct link with the Vetrans, Babus are still meddling and spoiling interest of the soldier and the country.
I am of the view 50-75 percent of the staff in the Ministry of Def should be from the serving officers of the Army, Navy and the Airforce.This will give professionalism to the Ministry and establish close rapport between the three services and the Ministry which is totally lacking at the moment?
How can you have babus with not a days service in the Armed Forces sit over judgement over General/Admirals/Air Marshals with 35-40 years of active service including battle experience ?
Very well researched paper ,needs to be seriously studied, and needful changes made in the Ministry of Def and Armed Forces given their due other wise we are heading for serious trouble.
Maj Gen O P Sabharwal
mob-9837391082
Loved the write up sir. Politicians have no locus standi as none of them has enough exposure to matters military. Another question that comes to my mind is if bureaucracy with Congress estimated OROP cost at 500 cr, how does the same bureaucracy now estimate if 16-20 times more. So that is their wisdom.
And why is Army not taking the journalist to the court on Coup report? May be in AFT?
A well researched paper General !!
Unfortunately, highlighting the malaise would only be water off ducks’ back as far as the powers-that-be are concerned !!!
An outstanding commentary on the state of affairs of the ministry of defence and how these cunniniving babus and shameless politicians have kept the armed forces out of the decision making in their field without having any basic knowledge of the defence of the country. It is important for the country to know about this nexus and support the armed forces to get its rightful place and honour in the scheme of things before it is too late.
The article is well researched and I agree completely but I feel the military leadership of the country are more responsible than the politicians , today’s military leaders acts as if they have been promoted due to political bias not due to calibre thereby demeaning their own status , Should draw inspiration from someone like Fieldmarshall Manekshaw no political leader or buerocrate had ever tried to be funny with him , we need to start opposing the wrongs being done to military may be some sacrifices may be required but question is who should bell the cat , now in the era of mass media they can’t hide their wrong doings for long ,for example the wrong doings of two so called greats MrNehru and Krishna Menon can be presented before public even after 50 yrs of committing
Also in which country a can a joint secretary of the P M O leak a top secret letter from the COAS and have Mr TK Nair shield her. She gets kicked upstairs and is sent to her home state. How long will will these farce be perpetrated on unsuspecting masses.
Col p s yadav.
Kudos to Gen Katoch for this article. One of the best I have read in recent times. Icant congratulate you enough for this article. I quote from Shakespeare. ” To be or not to be that is the question ; whethet tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings amd arrows of out rageous fortune or take arms against a sea of trouble aNd by opposing end them”
COL PS YADAV.
You have asked a few questions In which country such and such happens well that does not happen any where else it happens in our INDIA this handiwork of civilian Babu’s but tell me are our Staff college trained officers also not babus — we should have two streams General Staff and Command and officers must be allowed to appear for staff college after rank of full Colonel even adjutants should be Lt.Colonels — presently one year after commission he starts planning for staff college — youngsters must train and train till they become colonels — courses like JC,SC and HC must be more rigorous and exhaustive and given more weightage . As regards military Coup do you see any traits in any one of them that they are capable of attempting a Coup — well not our generals by any chance civilians can at least manipulate our generals cant even do that
The last suggestion with regard to doing away with the MoD, can perhaps be modified to say that the ministry be staffed by defence services officers instead of bureaucrats. It is unimaginable that bureaucrats who have no direct knowledge or experience in defence matters are the advisers to the decision makers, namely RM/PM. Perhaps the phobia of a military coup has been the reason. If we have to face the challenges from our northern and western neighbors, we need to shake up our defence set up, equip it adequately and be ready with a counter challenge. I don’t think the bureaucrats are capable of doing that in the ministry.
A factual and an accurate chronology of the manner in which the Armed Forces have been ‘short changed’ over the years and the shabby treatment meted out to them. The slide continues. Sir, besides the Political class and the bureaucracy, aren’t the ‘Service Chiefs’ equally responsible for the sorry state of affairs? If we ever had a chief with spunk, he could have and should have stood up against this injustice. But, post retirement sinecures perhaps are more important to them. With the climate and the mood prevailing, I shudder to imagine a hot headed youngsters momentary indiscretion and the consequences. I am sure you understand what I mean.
Dear Sir,
1. Let us consider past is past. 95 % of the blame on our present condition lies in our PSOs sitting in Army HQs not putting the considered opinion of the Army in writing and forwarding to the Govt. Let the Govt not act. But the Chiefs after retirement, after a period of six months have elapsed, should have had the moral courage to inform the public about the injustices done to the Army personnel and about the neglect of vital long term security issues, and how timely development of new state of the art weapon systems and their fielding is being thwarted by the bureaucratic combine, to ensure that the state of inefficient utilisation of national finances and blatant managerial ineptitude in the civilian section of the MoD CONTINUES without heads being made to roll. 2. The Army has to ask that NFUP has to be implemented for the Army also with effect from the same date as Civilian Group ‘A’ officers, ie from the 6CPC date of 01 Jan 2006, to ensure parity. In fact this suggestion should have come first from the Defence Services side to the Govt/CPC, as we face the most stagnation due to not taking in Direct Selection JCOs, and promoting them upto the Col rank on merit. In the present condition, the bulk of stagnation is being faced by the Direct commissioned officers as only approximately 30 % can get promoted to even Col rank and Grade Pay. It beats one’s imagination that when NFUP was first introduces after the 4CPC in 1996 for only IPS and IFS officers vis-a-vis IAS officers, our Adjutant General and then Chief had not strongly taken this status, parity and welfare measure with the Govt ? In fact we have the right to demand that Pay parity of Army officers should be ensured the day any IAS officer gets promoted to Joint Secretary grade and Additional Secretary grade (without any two years lapse as for Group ‘A’ services and DRDO scientists), to get quality intake.
I feel sorry for the armed forces which take pride in defending the country, being treated so badly by the government.
I sincerely feel that the government does not treat males equally as females, and since the armed forces is composed of males, it feels they are ‘disposable’, and do not have any ‘voice’.
This is a massive drawback for the males in the armed forces, particularly when the politicians are forced to employ females who have to also be ‘looked after’ by the already stressed and strained armed forces.
1.How many Generals stood up to face this anomaly and resign in protest ?
2. Corruption rampant among forces itself.Reason enough not many can take a moral high ground.
3. In which country a company stength manpower is required to look after one General.
4. In which country a fleet of sahayaks are earmarked to look after the Dogs .
well there are numerous examples-
However two wrongs don’t make it right.
But the cleansing must start from within if you want yourself to be heard loud enough.
Amazing ….direct pointed questions. The line of argument is appreciated. Some spring cleaning is required in the armed forces too specially in regards to changed backgrounds of men. Menial and household jobs by shayak’s is one of them….if the character of army improves from within especially with respect to ambitions of officers and dignity of men who serve the nation. It can ask better questions
Kudos to Gen Katoch. Wish our popular PM gets to read this forthright honest commentary of the shameful treatment meted out to Indian Armed Forces by the Congress rulers. If he is not moved to correct the situation then thu nation will pay heavily in nrar future.
It is the generals with feudal mindsets and intellectual hollowness who connived with the crooked politcians , babus for personnel glory to abandon the very setup where they were trained , groomed and then served . The slogan became my stomach comes first , the juniors are to be flogged and to hell with the terms and conditions of service . This explains for ambassoderships , governers of god forbidden Ne states where no politcan or civilservice babu is willing to go the generals saught remployment and ABANDONDED THE SERVICES TO THE BABUS , WHO HAVE TAKEN OVER EVERY THING AND MADE THE UNIFORM PERSONNEL FEEL WORTH LESS .
is Army so helpless?
Sir
Many thanks for a very well written article.All the points/facts are absolutely correct.I pity the first review (Mr Akshay Rao)who thinks otherwise.He definitely appears to be illiterate and ignorant to a great extent like chhotu (RaGa).I hope your article is read by the powers that be so that immediate corrective measures are instituted.
Adding to my previous comments.
The men in uniform should stop seeing the bureaucracy as the villain. This is not going to get us anywhere. General after General I see ranting about how the they alongwith the politicians have taken us for a ride. However post retirement we don’t think twice before cosying up to the same set of politicians and babus for governorship.
Time to change our mindset. Why don’t we get the babus to think for us. Give them their due respect and influence this lot who can infact be our key ally.
We are the armed forces who are to protect democracy and simply loathing the system will keep us in this hole forever.
Let’s open our minds and not see it as a war between “them” and “us.
Why not the other way round? Why not promulgate that def officers are no longer ‘attached officers’? Why not include them in pay commissions? Read the article which gives lucid perspective of who and how it started.It’s for those in the system who perpetuated a bizzare model for a country’s defence to make amends to this flawed system. Mr Rao, reconciliation in the working relationship between the bureaucracy and military will change accordingly and at the pace at which the change happens.
Dear General
As my boss says (he is also ex-Army) this article reeks of partisanship and covert loyalty towards the ruling party.
Sir request that let the services remain apolitical as deemed by the wise.
Are you in line to get some plum job in the current dispensation like Gen VK Singh?
Very poorly and devoid of facts article. Thoroughly disappointed.
This article is NOT at all eye opening. All this is in public domain. Even political partition of India is the handiwork of the same category. Unfortunately they are our rulersDULY ELECTED IN ELECTIONS AFTER ELECTIONS. Suggenstions made to remove the existing maladies, are logical. But they go totally against these very people who h ave systematically and relentlessly crafted it. Opting for Birtish policies whether in outdated parliamentary system (first past the post is a winner) or infamous ‘divide and rule’ by classifying people of India in castes, religion, region and what not, was also with the moto of inheriting the colonial style of governance. Colonies served the crowns. Our ‘elected’ representatives serve their own interests. Poor gullible and simple people of this Golden Sparrow (Sone ki Chidya) are just lumping it.
My considered guess is this that if oour political system is not reformed anarchic conditions will breed. Whatever shape and course it may take, the present system will not survive. It has failed.
AFMA Muqsith.
I always admired your thoughts…but this one is the best. Sorry I couldn’t meet you in Chandigarh during Litfest.
Sir,
Points are pertinent but real problem lies not only with Babu’s of MoD….our own military bureaucracy is to be blamed more for denying our disabled the rights….recently was interacting with a major who lost leg during Op Vijay….not in Kargil but in some other place….all benefits were denied to him because only Kargil was notified as an theatre of war……why not ask for maximum and than negotiate…..SC told MoD to set up the grievance cell for the forces but AG’s branch wrote back that we don’t require one…..we have back stabbers in our own rank and file….NFFU was denied because of our own officers……Close down NDA immediately ……officers coming out of that institution are intellectual dwarfs and they are doing some serious damage to Indian Armed Forces.
Very apt article with hard hitting facts….. Do sincerely hope the powers that be see the light beyond the tunnel. It’s a shame that the Armed Forces and the Veterans have to go around begging for superior Equipment,Arms,OROP etc
The ills and lackadaisical response of political leadership, their lack of fore-sight towards the armed forces has been aptly brought out. Hope the contents will serve as an eye opener for the current leadership. The silver lining is that today we have a LEADER who surely will look in to all grey areas and do the needful.
An excellent article indeed!
Excellent rendition of the pathetic state of military affairs in India.
When will the army stop criticizing Govt. and bureaucrat? The majority of the high ranking defense officers are still thing about conventional war. The army will think about field guns, mortars, hand grenade and assault rifles. IAF still think about dog fight. Navy have no planning.at all. The fact is that Smt Indira Gandhi did not give much importance to our Navy during her meeting with the three Service chiefs during the 1971 war. So they might have thought that by increasing the inventory of naval vessels they may get the same importance as the other two services are getting. It is natural because only those who are having money and assets get better respect. Unfortunately, our Navy lacked proper planning and war strategy. If we ask any naval officer their answer will be that China has more number of Naval vessels. During the period of Indira Gandhi, they could not change her policy.But after the death of Smt Indira Gandhi, subsequent Governments started following a policy just opposite to what she had followed. Her son Rajiv Gandhi undid all the good that she did. He went and purchased another Air craft carrier ( 2nd hand) from Britain. He had purchased submarine from Germany and that was the 1st Defense Scam. Majority of Ship building yards are being used for constructing warships, frigates and submarines. Even they do not know the strategic points in the Indian ocean. Three service chiefs won’t see each other. Majority of you will be carried away by arms dealers. Whether pricey M-777( ULH) is a real requirement. USA had supplied weapon locating radars to Pakistan. So Indian army favored Bofors gun because it can be shifted to other places very easily to escape from accurate enemy fire. But M- 777 guns cannot be shifted very easily. So it is dangerous to use M.777 . Who changed the specification of Westland Helicopter scam?
That’s really awesome Information. Thanks a lot.
Nice information General Saab. Thanks for it.
nice post..awesome
Dear Prakash,
Will OROP benefit any OR’s (Other Ranks) who account for 90% of the Ex-Servicemen (also 90% of serving men) in this country?
Have you done anything to benefit the nation or other ranks during your 30 plus years in the service?
I know. You were powerless then. You are powerless now.
Please make it explicitly clear that OROP will benefit only retired officers and NOT OR. Else, I will assume that you were cowardly then to take cover under the Army Act and cowardly now to take cover under the large blanket of numbers that Ex-Servicemen (OR) run up.
regards,
Harshan
Dear Harsharan,
I am glad I looked up responses to this article, which I normally don’t, least I would have missed your remarks. OROP till last years count, affects some 20 Lakh other rank veterans. In the Army alone, 60,000 retire annually, of which officers are a small part. As for what I did while in Service, I am afraid you need to ask others about me. It is not for me to speak.
Regards.
Prakash.
Indian service personnel are mercenaries/indentured labor. They have no say in anything that concerns them, including arms and equipment, leave alone pay and perquisites ! This is of course due to the political establishment surrendering its authority and responsibility to the Babudom. This has been so since 47!
The men in Uniform have great expectations from this Govt. We hope this govt lives up to our expectations, and deals with the service headquarters on one to one basis.
Kind Attention: Lt. Gen. Prakash Katoch (Retd) PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SC Please.
1. Please refer your article “OROP – diminutive in deeper malaise” of 30 August 2014.
2. You have listed a rather exhaustive “quiz” that “readers may wish to answer”. There is nothing new in these revelations. These issues have been since quite a while, perhaps during your tenure at the exalted rank of a Lieutenant General.
3. You have rightly stated the “that most damaging part was the deliberate campaign launched to keep the military ‘subdued’ by not only keeping them underequipped but through hitting at their status, pay and allowances, and vilification”.
4. That leaves one pertinent question unanswered. Do permit me the audacity to ask you as to what did you do to set things right during your service.
5. Therefore, it may not be outlandish to presume that a contributory factor for the “deeper malaise” is lack of commitment of our senior officers, while in service. Post retirement, It is quite convenient to write elaborate articles on what ails the Services. That’s how I rate your write up.
Dear R Singh,
Every time a veteran government official writes something in public domain, the query by people like you is what did you do while in service. I am afraid I don’t owe you any explanation. What I did in service and what i fought for as per my principles you may ask from others. The difference only is that while in uniform, you cannot write in public domain. Have you ever picked up your pen and written anything to improve the system? Are you from the bureaucracy by any chance?
Regards.
Prakash.
who betrayed the trust of the lakhs of solders sailors , airmen who are tongue tied and cannot speak for themselves . it is the stupid command and control system of the defence services which should only be till the corps and fighting formations . scores of service chiefs and those aspiring have betrayed the total trust by accepting the chicken feed from babus and mantris all for a few small and petty perks so that they can masqurade like viceroys with band baja and courtiers .last heard the serving chiefs have openly connived with the cda accountant by sending out the exservicemen representatives and tamely accepted that they want more guns , missiles and ships and aircraft rather than have the starving exservicemen and officers paid OROP. AS LONG AS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IS NOT ALLOWED THE SERVICE CHIEFS WILL INVARIABLY BE CHECKMATED BY THE CLEVER BABUS AND MANTRIS.THE ARMED FORCES ARE TREATED LIKE CHOWKIDARS AND PALLBEARERS WHENEVER A FAT POLITCAN OR BABU EXPIRES AND THE RED TABS TAKE PRIDE IN LICKING THEM . ONE WALK ALONG THE DIRTY DARK CORRIDORS OF SOUTH BLOCK WILL PUT TO REST WHAT THE UNIFORM RANKS ARE CAPABLE OFF.
who betrayed the trust of the lakhs of solders sailors , airmen who are tongue tied and cannot speak for themselves . it is the stupid command and control system of the defence services which should only be till the corps and fighting formations . scores of service chiefs and those aspiring have betrayed the total trust by accepting the chicken feed from babus and mantris all for a few small and petty perks so that they can masqurade like viceroys with band baja and courtiers .last heard the serving chiefs have openly connived with the cda accountant by sending out the exservicemen representatives and tamely accepted that they want more guns , missiles and ships and aircraft rather than have the starving exservicemen and officers paid OROP. AS LONG AS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING IS NOT ALLOWED THE SERVICE CHIEFS WILL INVARIABLY BE CHECKMATED BY THE CLEVER BABUS AND MANTRIS.
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