Musings on OROP and the Ministry of Defense

Two facets of neighbours

Recently I read a letter written by Lt General SK Bahri, PVSM to the Raksha Mantri making a very relevant point, that the civilian officers of the MOD are not involving the service headquarters in the formulation of the tables in the implementation of the OROP. From the letter of the Lt General it appears that the experts in the defense services are not involved in the formulation of the tables and government implementation letter. I do believe in every word the general has written.

At the outset I must state here that General SK Bahri has done a great service to the military fraternity by writing on a very important point to the RM. All credit must also go to General Satbir Singh and his team  for fighting and representing to the government facts for the approval of OROP. But I must also say that this sanction for OROP would not have come if the PM, Narendra Modi had not given a fiat to the RM and FM to approve OROP. After all this demand was pending for 2 decades and many representations made to previous governments and nothing happened. If Modi had not intervened, there is every chance that OROP would not have come. Please read

http://wwwemge.blogspot.in/2015/03/one-rank-one-pension-is-at-last-reality.html

Where do we go from here? The one fact that is consistently highlighted is the complete irrelevance of the general Staff and COAS for the last 2 decades plus or shall I say 6 decades?. By a combination of circumstance coupled with lack of will power the general staff is unable to pressurize the government on any point. To always blame the ‘Babus’ is not correct.

 The fact is the top brass are like lost sheep in a valley. If the top brass had any say,  the MOD would not have had  the temerity to ignore the services in the formulation of the tables and the government of India letter. This makes sad reading and one wonders why in a country like India with a massive army such things happen. I have earlier also pointed out that even in a pacifist nation like Burma the army calls the shots.

I am a dreamer and hope that things will even out. Maybe at one stage a strong army chief will come who will fight for national interests, for it is in the national interest to look after men who have donned the uniform for the nation. More important there has to be an awareness that the Indian soldier is ‘our’ man. He is the pride of India and this has to be instilled in the hearts of the common Indian.

My father ( retired Group Captain) , my great uncle ( Army doctor during WW II) and me have put in over a 100 years in the service of the Indian armed forces, I hope I have the right to write these lines.