We miss you, SAM

Wish you were around today Sam Bahadur,

you would never have permitted the treatment being meted out to the Veterans [Ex Service Men] and Veer Naris.

Not a word from The Present Chiefs or Past Chiefs 

even though insult upon insult is being heaped upon the Services by no less a person than the PM!

Less said about the RM, the better!!

The PM claims, in public rallies, that we are a financial burden on the poor of the country, and he does not care if we keep sitting on a 'Dharna' at Jantar Mantar.

The posters strung out across Delhi boasting that the Government has given us OROP is a pack of blatant lies.....

Yet, our Chiefs, Present and Past, are silent. They are not the leaders like You.

Even Our Repeated Humble Appeals to them have been ignored.

I'm sure you would have had something stronger to say to The PM ,

and something more to this ungrateful nation, who want a young Armed Forces to save their hinds.

:":":":":":":" 

 An excellent article by a banker

We need a permanent solution to this tussle over emoluments so that the armed forces need only confront the enemies of the nation, says T.R.Ramaswami , an ex-NDA cadet (41st. course) having had to leave the academy on account of an injury, been a banker throughout his life.

 

 In the continuing debate on pay scales for the armed forces, there has to be a serious and transparent effort to ensure that the country is not faced with an unnecessary civil-military confrontation.That effort will have to come from the netas, who are the real and true bosses of the armed forces and not the civil bureaucracy. A solution may lie in what follows. 

This country requires the best armed forces, the best police and the best civil service. In fact that is what the British ensured.. By best one means that a person chooses which service he wants as per his desires/capabilities and not based on the vast differential in prospects in the various services. How much differential is there? Take Maharashtra, one of the most parsimonious with police ranks thus still retaining some merit - The 1981 IPS batch have become 3-star generals, the 1987 are 2-star and the 1994 1-star. In the army the corresponding years are 1972, 1975, 1979. ie a differential of 10-15 years. While the differential is more with the IAS, the variance with the IPS is all the more glaring because both are uniformed services and the grades are "visible" on the shoulders. 

 First some general aspects. 

Only the armed forces are a real profession, ie where you rise to the top only by joining at the bottom. We have had professors of economics become Finance Secretaries or even Governors of RBI. We have any number of MBBSs,engineers, MBAs, in the police force though what their qualifications lend to their jobs is a moot point. You can join at any level in the civil service, except Cabinet Secretary. A civil servant can move from Animal Husbandry to Civil Aviation to Fertilisers to Steel to yes, unfortunately, even to Defence. 

But the army never asks for Brigade Commanders or a Commandant of the Army War College or even Director General Military Intelligence, even from RAW or IB. Army officers can and have moved into organizations like IB and RAW but it is never the other way round. MBBS and Law graduates are only in the Medical or JAG Corps and do nothing beyond their narrow areas. Every Army Chief - in any army - has risen from being a commander of a platoon to company to battalion to brigade to division to corps to army.

In fact the professionalism is so intense that no non-armoured corps officer ever commands an armoured formation , first and possibly only exception in world military history is General K. Sunderji.Perhaps it is this outstanding professionalism that irks the civil services. 

 Next, one must note the rigidity and steep pyramid of the army's rank structure. In the civil services any post is fungible with any grade based on political expediency and the desires of the service. For example I know of one case where one department downgraded one post in another state and up-graded one in Mumbai just to enable someone continue in Mumbai after promotion! You can't fool around like this in the armed forces. 

A very good Brigadier cannot be made a Major-General and continue as brigade commander. There has to be a clear vacancy for a Major General and even then there may be others better than him. Further the top five ranks in the army comprise only 10% of the officer strength. Contrast this with the civil services where entire batches become Joint Secretaries. Even the meaning of the word "merit" is vastly different in the army and the civil services. 

Some years back an officer of the Maharashtra cadre claimed that he should be the Chief Secretary as he was first in the merit list.Which merit list? At the time of entry more than 35 years before! The fact is that this is how merit is decided in the IAS and IPS. Every time a batch gets promoted the inter-se merit is still retained as at the time of entry. In other words if you are first in a batch at the time of entry, then as long as you get promoted, you continue to remain first! This is like someone in the army claiming that he should become chief because he got the Sword of Honour at the IMA. 

Even a Param Vir Chakra does not count for promotion, assuming that you are still alive. In the armed forces, merit is a continuous process - each time a batch is promoted the merit list is redrawn according to your performance in all the previous assignments with additional weightage given not only to the last one but also to your suitability for the next one.Thus if you are a Brigade Commander and found fit to become a Major General, you may not get a division because others have been found better to head a division. That effectively puts an end to your promotion to Lt. General.

The compensation package must therefore address all the above issues. In each service, anyone must get the same total compensation by the time he reaches the 'mode rank' of his service. "Mode" is a statistical term it is the value where the maximum number of variables fall. In the IAS normally everyone reaches Director and in the IPS it is DIG. In the army, given the aforementioned rank and grade rigidities and pyramidical structure, the mode rank cannot exceed Colonel. 

Thus a Colonel's gross career earnings (not salary scales alone) must be at par with that of a Director. But remember that a Colonel retires at 54, but every babu from peon to Secretary at 60 regardless of performance.Further, it takes 18-20 years to become a Colonel whereas in that time an IAS officer reaches the next higher grade of Joint Secretary, which is considered equal to a Major General.These aspects and others - like postings in non-family stations - must be addressed while fixing the overall pay scales of Colonel and below. Thereafter a Brigadier will be made equal to a Joint Secretary, a Major-General to an Additional Secretary and a Lt. General to a Secretary. 

The Army Commanders deserve a new rank -Colonel General - and should be above a Secretary but below Cabinet Secretary. The equalization takes place at the level of Cabinet Secretary and Army Chief. If this is financially a problem I have another solution. Without increasing the armed forces' scales, reduce the scales of the IAS and IPS till they too have 20% shortage. Done? Even India 's corruption index will go down. 

 If the above is accepted in principle, there is a good case to review the number of posts above Colonel. Senior ranks in the armed forces have become devalued with more and more posts being created.But the same pruning exercise is necessary in the IAS and more so inthe IPS, where Directors General in some states are re-writing police manuals eg one is doing Volume I and another Volume II! Further the civil services have such facilities as "compulsory wait" ie basically a picnic at taxpayers cost. 

And if you are not promoted or posted where you don't want to go they seem able to take off on leave with much ease. In the army you will be court-martialled. Also find out how many are on study leave. The country cannot afford this. Let not someone say that the IAS and IPS exams are tougher and hence the quality of the officers better. An exam at the age of 24 has to be tougher than one at the age of 16. 

The taxpaying citizen is not interested in your essay/note writing capabilities or whether you know Cleopatra's grandfather. As a citizen I always see the army being called to hold the pants of the civil services and the police and never the other way round. That's enough proof as to who is really more capable. Also recall the insensitive statements made by the IG Meerut in the Aarushi case and the Home Secretary after the blasts. 

Further, when the IAS and IPS hopefuls are sleeping, eating and studying, their school mates, who have joined the army, stand vigil on the borders to make it possible for them to do so. Remember that the armed forces can only fight for above the table pay. They can never compete with the civil services and definitely not with the police for the under the table variety. Finally, there is one supreme national necessity. 

The political class, not the bureaucracy - which represents the real civil supremacy better become more savvy on matters relating to the armed forces. Till then they are at the mercy of the civil service, who frequently play their own little war games. 

At ministerial level there are some very specialized departments eg Finance, Railways,Security (Home), Foreign and Defence, where split second decisions are necessary. It is always possible to find netas savvy in finance, foreign relations and railways. Security has been addressed in getting a former IPS officer as NSA at the level of a MoS.

Is it time that a professional is also brought into the Defence Ministry as MoS? 

The sooner the better. In fact this will be better than a CoDS because the armed forces will have someone not constrained by the Army Act or Article 33 of the Constitution.

Of course the loudest howls will come from the babus. The netas must realize that a divide and rule policy cannot work where the country's security is concerned. Recall 1962?

Our army, already engaged in activities not core to their functions, including rescuing babies from borewells, should not have to engage in civil wars over their pay scales. I only hope our defence minister or anyone who would take a reasonable stand for defence forces ever gets to see this article. It would definitely affect any person with an iota of integrity source n credits :

http://iesmorg.blogspot.in/2010/07/article-by-ex-ias-offr-tr-ramaswamy.html

http://exairwarriorsgroup.blogspot.in/2010/04/read-this.html

Just a thought…

Chitra Doraiswami

How Kammanahalli has grown! (Or Kamanaali as some exotic residents call it).

Many moons ago, this WAS a ‘halli’, village. The only sign of civilization was ‘Vinu Stores’ run by two sweet Malayali gentlemen. We had our own ‘Mama’s’ shop which supplied milk and sundry stuff. Our surly Dhobhi cum dry cleaner was there, I think. Even HOPCOMS came later.

Most of us were the newly retired and we were pretty ecstatic to have a roof over our heads. Forget add ons like extending the living room into the garage, adding a gazebo like structure on the terrace, etc. We were strapped for cash. So the JVV inner roads looked broad and neat.

It was quite a different story the moment you stepped outside the gate. You would be forgiven for thinking you were living on the edge of a moon crater! TOI ran a contest to find the worst roads of Bangalore and both Kammanahalli and the road at the rear, Kachrakanahalli, had the dubious honour of winning!

The auto wallahs, bless their devious hearts, would act up and you would pay princely sums to come home from a loaf in Brigade Road. But Both Sena Vihar and JVV those days had the bonhomie of a Military Base. If you were mooching around near the Main Gate wondering how to get to the bright lights of town, you would be offered a lift. And if anyone recognized you in or around MG Road, you could be sure of coming back too, albeit on top of each other in the rear seat!

Our Iyengar baker baked his goodies to an appreciative audience. His ‘pups’ were very popular.(No, don’t report me to SPCA. This is the more common pronunciation of puff). His tasty bread sold for a mere Rs.7/-. Now it’s sold at a pricey Rs.30/- and it’s been dieting as well. It has shrunk quite a bit.

It was a red letter day when both the infamous roads and 80 Ft road all got a coating of bitumen. We, the locals, walked up and down and beamed at each other with proprietary pride. Progress!

Shanti Sagar’s opening signaled a downing of the ladles in many households. Now idlis and dosas were had there or ‘parcelled’ by those ubiquitous ‘boys’, to be had at home. Of course, we got uppity when Nandhana, followed much later by ‘AtoB’, graced our locality and some witty youngster nicknamed it Vanti Sagar (Puke Sea)! Cheeky!

We could have held our AGM in Food World the day it was declared open! Everybody rushed off and bought all sorts of stuff in the ‘buy one get one free’ category! Mainly us ‘old girls’ who can never resist a bargain. We even liked standing in a queue. It gave us such a big city feel! Before this, our mini mall was the (pseudo)Nilgiris up towards the more ‘halli’end of the road. Mr, Padmanabha Reddy graced our Kalyan Nagar by building his house here and he ushered in prosperity, popularity and BMTC. Could you ask for more? Yes, we could!

A large eye-sore of a bar opposite JVV was razed to the ground and mysterious hammering and tonging went on behind the barricade. Could it be…would it be…a MALL? That would be the ultimate ‘tick’ to indicate that Kammanahalli had ARRIVED! Ah, well. Our transports were premature but in no time, CMR Road turned into EAT STREET. Beyond our wildest expectations: We have Filter Coffee to HiSeoul that serves Korean. We have more Ice Cream parlours and Cafes than you can count. And , ok, no mall but lots of hi-end shops at the Ring road end of our street.

It’s true that nothing comes free. We have lost a lot of ‘walking spaces’. Now , if you have the temerity to try and walk to the Pink Water Tank on Ring Road, you will be knocked down by an SUV (twice) or get a dose of asthma from all the pollution! I can’ wait to see what else ol’Kamanaali is going to bring on!

photos by JP

Property Tax - 50% for Armed Forces in Karnataka

 

Property Tax - 50% for Armed Forces in Karnataka

Read the full Gazette Notification here -> gazette01

OF MATTERS MILITARY: WE, THE VETERANS

OF MATTERS MILITARY: WE, THE VETERANS 

Major General Mrinal Suman (Retd)

1.          We, the Ex-Servicemen are a distinct segment of the society and we take pride in the fact that we belong to the noblest profession in the world – the profession of arms that ensures security of our country. Some of us prefer to call ourselves veterans or senior-soldiers or retired-servicemen. However, nomenclature and taxonomy are irrelevant. What really matters are issues related to our identity, entity and conduct.

2.          On the eve of the Republic Day 2012, an interactive session was organised by Headquarters Southern Command wherein veterans of the three services were invited. It was an unprecedented initiative to establish rapport with veterans, apprise them of various developments and obtain their inputs. After a highly informative talk by the Army Commander, senior staff officers briefed the gathering. Disappointingly, the interactive session took the shape of a unit Sainik Sammelan. Veterans took it as an opportunity to vent their grievances about the inadequacies of various welfare schemes, especially ECHS. It was sad to see that such a distinguished galaxy had nothing to contribute towards the general betterment of the services. They were concerned only with their own interests.

3.          For decades, a Command Headquarters has been inviting all veterans and their wives once a year for dinner to maintain rapport with them. It is a big affair with the strength of guests invariably exceeding 2000. A few years ago, an Army Commander directed that the dinner be replaced by a high-tea in the evening to save veterans the trouble of driving back late at night. Invitations were sent accordingly. A total of 20 guests turned up for the party. A senior officer was heard remarking that veterans come only when pegs and legs (chicken) are offered to them.

4.          All arms and services start celebrations of their raising days by paying homage to their martyrs by laying wreaths at the war memorials. Though invited, only a handful of veterans attend such solemn ceremonies whereas they are present in hundreds at evening social functions for drinks and dinner.

5.          Visit any services welfare housing society and see the infighting, petty bickering and squabbles amongst the resident officers. All the sheen of their gentlemanly behaviour disappears the day they hang their uniforms. Some go to the extent of complaining against each other to municipal and state authorities on trivial matters, much to the embarrassment of the civic authorities who are reluctant to intervene.

6.          Petty jealousies make some veterans conduct themselves in an appalling manner. Their behaviour reveals a psyche of intolerance and unconcern for others. Strangely, many veterans seem to suffer from the syndrome – ‘I am unhappy because my neighbour is happy’.

7.          It is shameful to see some veterans indulging in parochial behaviour by forming religion/region based groupings. Apparently, the veneer of secular thinking and nationalist outlook that they displayed in service was only skin deep. Retirement exposes their true colours as communal and narrow-minded individuals.

8.          Many veterans do not find it necessary to bother about their appearance. They are quick to point out that they are no more under the Army Act. At the same time, they do not forget their rank and are quick to demand courtesies due to an army officer. Shabbily dressed and unshaven veterans bring a bad name to the services and project a poor image of the officer cadre amongst the civilian.

9.          Many veterans find it difficult to forego service privileges. Unabashedly, they hang on to their helpers (Sahayaks) for years together by pressurising the officers who had served under them. They brazenly invoke regimental spirit for selfish gains. Such blatant misuse of soldiers is an obnoxious sight that does immense damage to the standing of the services.

10.      Even a casual glance at email exchanges amongst members of various veterans’ associations will show that the veterans are obsessed with their self-interest issues. It is OROP, ECHS, canteen facilities and so on. Not a single issue of concern to the health of the services is ever discussed.

11.      A highly dedicated and spirited veteran made valiant efforts to create a platform for the veterans to engage in intelligent and informed debate on matters of concern to the health of the Military. The response was pathetic. Veterans have countless complaints and suggestions as regards their own welfare but show total apathy towards the welfare of the services.

12.      Leaving aside a handful of veterans who take pains to study, raise and debate serious issues, most believe in boasting of our past escapades and exploits during social interactions. They are terribly reluctant to put their experiences down in writing for the benefit of posterity. The common excuse is shortage of time and inability to get into the ‘correct mood’.

The Way Forward

13.      It is a mystery as to why retirement negates all the gentlemanly traits imbibed during long military service, causing a major change in attitude, behaviour and conduct.

14.      Most veterans feel that having rendered long service they owe nothing more to the armed forces and that it is now for the Armed Forces to reciprocate by looking after them.  There may be some justification for such an expectation but it cannot become a one-way traffic.

15.      It should never be forgotten that veterans are an inalienable part of the history of their respective arm/service/regiment. They act as conscience-keepers of their units. Serving troops look up to them for inspiration. Nothing should be done to breach their faith.

16.      Respect cannot be demanded. It has to be earned. If veterans want to be treated with due deference by the society at large, they must behave like gentlemen-officers. Alternatively, they should live in anonymity without disclosing their military rank and be treated accordingly.

17.      Public has little contact with the serving soldiers who are mostly deployed on the borders. They form their impression and opinion about the services after watching the conduct of veterans and judging their value-system. In other words, veterans act as ambassadors of the services. Therefore, their conduct has to be above board and worthy of military officers.

18.      In the ancient scripture Sukraniti, the relation of the military to the state has been compared with that of the mind of the man. And, we the veterans represent the Military. As we never tire ourselves of declaring ‘once a soldier always a soldier’, we cannot let the services down.

Valuable Information

Kindly, share this valuable information wherever possible. 

1.  If you see children Begging anywhere in INDIA, please contact:
“RED SOCIETY” at 9940217816. They will help the children for their studies. 

2. Where you can search for any BLOOD GROUP, you will get thousand’s of donor address. www.friendstosupport.org

3. Engineering Students can register inwww.campuscouncil.comto attend Off Campus for 40 Companies.

4. Free Education and Free hostel for Handicapped/Physically Challenged children.
Contact:- 9842062501 & 9894067506.

5. If anyone met with fire accident or people born with problems in their ear, nose and mouth can get free PLASTIC SURGERY done by  Kodaikanal   PASAM Hospital . From 23rd March to 4th April by German Doctors.
Everything is free. Contact : 045420-240668,245732
“Helping Hands are Better than Praying Lips” 

6. If you find any important documents like Driving license, Ration card, Passport, Bank Pass Book, etc., missed by someone, simply put them into any near by Post Boxes. They will automatically reach the owner and Fine will be collected from them. 

7.  By the next 10 months, our earth will become 4 degrees hotter than what it is now. Our Himalayan glaciers are melting at rapid rate. So let all of us lend our hands to fight GLOBAL WARMING.
-Plant more Trees.
-Don’t waste Water & Electricity.      
-Don’t use or burn Plastics 

8.  It costs 38 Trillion dollars to create OXYGEN for 6 months for all Human beings on earth.
“TREES DO IT FOR FREE”
“Respect them and Save them”

9.   Special phone number for Eye bank and Eye donation: 04428281919 and 04428271616 (Sankara Nethralaya Eye Bank). For More information about how to donate eyes plz visit these sites. http://ruraleye.org/

10.  Heart Surgery free of cost for children (0-10 yr) Sri Valli Baba Institute Banglore. 10.
Contact : 9916737471 

11. Medicine for Blood Cancer!!!!
‘Imitinef Mercilet’ is a medicine which cures blood cancer. Its available free of cost at “Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai”. Create Awareness. It might help someone.
Cancer Institute  in Adyar, Chennai
Category:  Cancer
Address:
East Canal Bank Road, Gandhi Nagar
Adyar
Chennai -600020
Landmark: Near Michael School
Phone:  044-24910754  044-24910754 ,  044-24911526  044-24911526 ,  044-22350241  044-22350241 

12.  Please CHECK WASTAGE OF FOOD
If you have a function/party at your home in India and food gets wasted, don’t hesitate to call 1098 (only in India ) – Its not a Joke, This is the number of Child helpline.
They will come and collect the food. Please circulate this message which can help feed many children.
AND LETS TRY TO HELP INDIA BE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN
Please Save Our Mother Nature for
“OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS” 

Please don’t delete this without forwarding.
Let it reach the 110 Crores Indians and the remaining if any.

[Recd as a fwd email]

'Eyes closed'

Stand on one leg while your eyes are closed.That is all.

[The following has been cut and pasted from 'hiriyati. blogspot.in' ]

This is a simple exercise. No harm trying. In the beginning you may hold on to a chair or any support to stabilize your standing posture. Once you can get your balance, you can release that support.

Introducing a simple health exercise, simple and effective. The essence of the movement is "Eyes Must be Closed". Practise the "Jin Ji Du Li" with the eyes closed. If unable to stand for less than 10 seconds, it means body has regenerated to 60 to 70 years old level. Frequent practice can recover the sense of balance. Chinese specialists recommend daily practice of Jin Ji Du Li for 1 minute, to prevent dementia.

Daily practice of Jin Ji Du Li, can help in Hypertension, High Blood Sugar, Neck and Spinal diseases, it can also distance you from dementia. Best selling health book "Self Help is Better than Seeking Doctors' Help", has been the best selling health book in China since its was first published last year. It has been reprinted 12 times within 6 months, with more than 1 million copies sold. The popularity of the book is it teaches many simple practical health tips. The author, Zhong Li Ba Ren, disclosed the most simple and practical health method when he visited Singapore.

In recommending the Jin Ji Du Li method, Zhong Li Ba Ren said that according to the understanding of Chinese physician, diseases appear because of coordination in the various internal organs encounter problems, the body loses its balance. Jin Ji Du Li can readjust the inter-relationship of these organs. He said that many people can't even do it for 5 seconds, but later on, are able to stand for more than 2 minutes. Following the lengthening of the standing time, the feeling of "head heavy, light feet' disappears. The quality of sleep improves, the mind clears up, and the memory improves significantly. If you can practice Jin Ji Du Li with your eyes closed for 1 minute daily, you will not get dementia.

He pointed out that there are 6 important meridians passing through our legs. Standing with a single leg, the weak meridian will feel sore while getting the required exercise. The corresponding organs of these meridians and their path ways, will get the necessary tuning. This method can concentrate the awareness, and channel the body's qi to the foot. The effects to various illnesses associated with hypertension, diabetes, neck and spinal diseases are quick to see. It can also improve the swivel of the cerebellum, prevent gout.

Strengthen body Immunity rapidly; 
 

This is the basic cure for "Cold Feet Disease". It can also strengthen the body immunity. He said, it is suitable for everyone generally. Especially for the young, when they persist in practicing it daily while they are healthy, their chances of contracting the various illness associated with aging is comparative lower.

But it is not suitable for those over 70 years old, or those old people whose legs are not able to stand steadily…

Advantage - in groups?!