Dedicated to all those unknown unsung and unwept soldiers ,
Who were killed at the first sight by the dead drop looks ........
ODE TO AN ARMY OFFICER
... For you contours are easy to read than the city maps ,
You feel comfortable in jungles and get lost in metros.
For you time is in hundred hours, 3 ' O clock is a direction,
Distance is always in multiples of hundred meters and you keep on loosing North.
When people meet near pubs, cafes and discs.
You meet near water tanks, bridges and culverts.
For you Kenwood and Motorola are familiar brands of Radio sets
and Apple and Blackberry are fruits.
You never knew cars, mobiles and bikes also had series.
The only series you know is the AK's.
You remember names of all Tanzeems,
but do not know the name of IPL teams.
Stamps on your passport are of Congo and Sudan
where as others go to US, UK and Japan.
You remember the raising days,
but forget the anniversaries and birthdays.
When others talk of CEO and COO,
You only know C with only one O.
For you lol and asap is greek
and you even look for them in Appx 'C'.
When others talk of Pune, Bangalore and Gurgaon
you talk of Poonch, Lalgarh and Bongaigaon.
For you ,
The Safety Honour and Welfare of your Country comes first , Always and Every Time
and women will be from Venus and not from Mars, always and every time.
For you green and blue are own,
Red and pink are danger zones.
For you the choice of arms was more painful than the break up
and chasing girls tougher than the march up.
You will travel 500 miles to meet her ,
But will expect her to walk the last five steps.
You can take darbar of 120 rusty men for three hours,
But will be afraid to speak three magical words.
You will crack any code or language ,
But one line message of her's
with few dots and exclamation marks will confuse you.
He is not a flirt ,
He will be the last man standing ,
True to his vows and words.........!!!!!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Ode !!
Ode to an Army Officer
Dedicated to all those unknown unsung and unwept soldiers,
Who were killed at the first sight
by the dead drop looks ........
For you contours are easy to read than the city maps,
You feel comfortable in jungles and get lost in metros.
For you time is in hundred hours,
3'O clock is a direction,
distance is always in multiples of hundred meters and you keep on loosing
North.
When people meet near pubs, cafes and discs.
You meet near water tanks, bridges and culverts.
For you Kenwood and Motorola are familiar brands
and apple and blackberry are fruits.
You never knew cars, mobiles and bikes also had series.
The only series you know is the AK's.
You remember names of all Tanzimes,
but do not know the name of IPL teams.
Stamps on your passport are of Congo and Sudan
where as others go to US, UK and Japan.
You remember the raising days,
but forget the anniversaries and birthdays.
When others talk of CEO and COO,
You only know C with only one O.
For you lol and asap is greek
and you even look for them in Appx 'c.
When others talk of Pune, Bangalore and Gurgaon
you talk of Poonch, Lalgarh and Bongaigaon.
For you ,
The Safety Honour and Welfare of your Country comes first, Always and Every
Time.
and women will be from Venus always and every time.
For you green and blue are own,
Red and pink are danger zones.
For you the choice of arms was more painful than the break up
and chasing girls tougher than the march up.
You will travel 500 miles to meet her,
But will expect her to walk the last five steps.
You can take darbar of 120 rusty men for three hours,
But will be afraid to speak three magical words.
You will crack any code or language,
But one line message of her's
with few dots and exclamation marks will confuse you.
For all those who thinks he is a flirt,
He will be the last man standing,
True to his vows and words.
Dedicated to all those unknown unsung and unwept soldiers,
Who were killed at the first sight
by the dead drop looks ........
For you contours are easy to read than the city maps,
You feel comfortable in jungles and get lost in metros.
For you time is in hundred hours,
3'O clock is a direction,
distance is always in multiples of hundred meters and you keep on loosing
North.
When people meet near pubs, cafes and discs.
You meet near water tanks, bridges and culverts.
For you Kenwood and Motorola are familiar brands
and apple and blackberry are fruits.
You never knew cars, mobiles and bikes also had series.
The only series you know is the AK's.
You remember names of all Tanzimes,
but do not know the name of IPL teams.
Stamps on your passport are of Congo and Sudan
where as others go to US, UK and Japan.
You remember the raising days,
but forget the anniversaries and birthdays.
When others talk of CEO and COO,
You only know C with only one O.
For you lol and asap is greek
and you even look for them in Appx 'c.
When others talk of Pune, Bangalore and Gurgaon
you talk of Poonch, Lalgarh and Bongaigaon.
For you ,
The Safety Honour and Welfare of your Country comes first, Always and Every
Time.
and women will be from Venus always and every time.
For you green and blue are own,
Red and pink are danger zones.
For you the choice of arms was more painful than the break up
and chasing girls tougher than the march up.
You will travel 500 miles to meet her,
But will expect her to walk the last five steps.
You can take darbar of 120 rusty men for three hours,
But will be afraid to speak three magical words.
You will crack any code or language,
But one line message of her's
with few dots and exclamation marks will confuse you.
For all those who thinks he is a flirt,
He will be the last man standing,
True to his vows and words.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Freedom isn't free
I watched the flag pass by one day it fluttered in the breeze.
A young Lieutenant saluted it,And then he stood at ease..
I looked at him in uniform -
So young, So tall, So proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him had fallen through the years.
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant Amen.
When a flag had draped a coffin,of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children of mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands with interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in valley,
Of the price they paid for you and me,
Oh!This FREEDOM ISN'T FREE !
A young Lieutenant saluted it,And then he stood at ease..
I looked at him in uniform -
So young, So tall, So proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him had fallen through the years.
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of Taps one night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play,
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant Amen.
When a flag had draped a coffin,of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children of mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands with interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea,
Of unmarked graves in valley,
Of the price they paid for you and me,
Oh!This FREEDOM ISN'T FREE !
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Article by an IAS Officer
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 IAS.
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
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
Thursday, September 29, 2011
WHY DO I FEEL CHEATED?
An article by Lt Col A K Rai, Member XISF
Many people have asked me why do I feel cheated after having read my article "I Feel Cheated" in the Indian Defence Review and Sify .com. My answer:
All along my stay at RIMC, Dehradun and Training at National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun I was informed by my seniors and the armed forces officers that the Officers of the Indian Army were at par with the IAS and certainly better than the IPS and that the Major (A rank attained after 13 Years of Service at that time) in the Army was equivalent to IAS officer with not less than 12 years of service an SP with not less than 15 years of service in the IPS. We were also told that where as the IAS Officers started his career at Rs. 700/- pm an army officer started his career with Rs.750/- pm
When I got commissioned into the Indian Army on 13 June 1981 I was thrilled to have been lucky enough to join this elite service. I continued to live with this illusion till I was transferred to the Army Ordnance Corps after seven years as I had broken my knee ligament and medically downgraded. From the 7 SIKH Regt I was posted to Ordnance Depot, Shakusrbasti, New Delhi. Here my illusions were broken by the ground reality. All along we had been told that the JCOs were Class II gazetted officers. But here the JCOs were equated with non gazetted civilian employees. The equation as existing today vis a vis clerical cadre of the army and the civilian clerical cadre in the organizations having both the civilian and the armed forces personnel like the three services Headquarters, Ordnance depots etc is as given below :
Army Ranks (Clerical Cadre) Civilian Clerical Cadre
Sepoy, Lance Naik, Naik and Havildar Lower Division Clerk
Naib Subedar (Gazetted Rank) Upper Division Clerk (With less than --- five years service) (Non Gazetted Post)
Subedar (Gazetted rank) Upper Division Clerk (With more than ---- five years service), and Office Supdt ---- Grade -II (both Non Gazetted Posts)
Subedar Major (Gazetted rank) Office Supdt Grade -I ( Non Gazetted Post)
I asked how? Nobody could answer. Then as luck would have it a civilian ordnance officer (a direct entry Class II gazetted who had joined the AOC in 1981) got promoted and became CSO and thus became equivalent to a major and also became senior to me as I was a Captain then. Now this was disturbing, as a person joining AOC as a civilian Class II officer with one promotion had become senior to an Army officer who had got two promotions (Lt and Capt). More importantly did he also became equivalent to a SP with not less than 15 years of service in IPS? There was something wrong somewhere. The truth was different? I started researching I read Reports of all the Pay commissions. The end result was that over the period starting right just a few years before independence the JCOs who were gazetted officers were degraded and made equivalent to non gazetted civilian employees. The officers were degraded two ranks and that is why we find Major Generals complaining that they with 32 y6ears of service are equivalent to Civilian officers with 18 years (now 14 Years) 0f service. Surprisingly some of the very knowledgeable officers have floated this myth that "the slow promotions in the armed forces are because of the steep pyramidical hierarchy".
Now before I go further, it is necessary for the readers especially armed forces officer as to the structure of the Group A Civil Services (Class- I, II , III and IV of yesteryears have been rechristened as Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D) has been . Like the army officers get promoted from a lower rank to a higher rank, the civilian officers get promoted from a lower Pay grade to a higher pay grade. Like the Army has the same ranks for all the arms and services the Group A Civil services (including the postal and the accounts) have standard pay scales as follows. I have given the comparative table before the "upgradation of The Army ranks" took place in the early 1980s.
Civil Services Army
Pay Grade Years required for Promotion Rank Years required for Promotion
Junior Scale On Appt 2nd Lt On Appointment
Senior scale 4 years (Incl Training Period) Lt 3 1/2 Years
Junior Administrative Grade 9 years Capt 7 1/2years
Selection Grade 13 Years Major 13 years
Higher Administrative Grade 14 years Lt Col 16 years
Higher Administrative Grade- Level I 18 years Col 20 years
Higher Administrative grades As per vacancy Brig, Maj Gen, Lt Gen
By a look at the above table you will feel that in the initial years the promotions in the army are faster whereas later the promotions in the civil services are faster. So what do I feel cheated about? Because the equation is not as given above but as given below:
Civil Services Army
Pay Grade Years for Promotion Rank Years for Promotion
Junior Scale On Appointment 2nd Lt, Lt and Capt
Senior Time scale 4 years(incl training period)Major 13 years
Junior Administrative Grade 9 years Lt Col 16 years
Selection Grade 13 Years Col 20 years
Higher Administrative Grade-Level II 14 years Brig 25 years
Higher Administrative Grade-Level I 18 years Maj Gen 32 years
Higher Administrative Grades As per vacancy Lt Gen As per vacancy
It for anyone to understand that the ranks in the armed forces have deliberately been degraded by equating first three ranks of the Indian army with the lowest pay grade of the civilian Group A services and by dividing the officers in the rank of Lt Gen into Army Cdrs and equivalent other Lt Gens.
The mechanism of the degradation can be clearly seen in Para 2.3.9 Page 73 and 74 of the "Report of the Sixth Central Pay commission where till Third Pay Commission the equation of the first four ranks of army was as follows:
Junior Scale 2nd Lt and Lt
Senior Time scale Capt and Major
And at the time of Fifth central Pay Commission as follows
Junior Scale 2nd Lt, Lt and Capt
Senior Time scale Maj
This is a clear evidence of deliberate degradation of ranks where till third pay commission four ranks were made equivalent to two pay grades and then between the third and fifth pay commissions the rank of Capt. was further degraded from Senior time scale to junior scale. Incidentally this was the same very period when all out efforts were being made improve the career prospects by upgrading the appointments.. And they have again done it by degrading the rank of Lt Col. The method is very clear. First down grade and then form "AVS Committees to Upgrade" so as to improve the career prospects of the officers of the Indian Armed forces. You may see the reason why the rank of 2nd Lt was abolished. Now to upgrade they may want to do away with the rank of Lt also.
There is very simple solution, equate the gazetted with the gazetted and non gazetted with the non gazetted i.e. equate JCOs with the Group B gazetted ranks and as far as armed forces Commissioned officers are concerned introduce the rank of 2nd Lt and give one rank one pay grade as is applicable to even the most unattractive Group A civil services department of Posts and Telegraph and the accounts department. The fair and just pay scales and pay grades should be as given below to bring the army ranks on par with the civil services
Rank Pay Band Grade pay
Sep PB-1 1900
Lance Naik PB -1 2400
Naik PB - 2 4200
Havildar PB - 2 4200
Nb Subedar PB- 2 4800 (5400 after 4 years)
Subedar PB -2 6400
Subedar Major PB - 2 6400
2nd Lt PB- 3 5400
Lt PB - 3 6600
Capt PB- 3 7600
Maj PB- 3 8700
Lt Col PB - 4 8900
Col PB- 4 10000
Brig PB -4 12000
Maj Gen 80000 Status Special Secretary to Government of India
Lt Gen 80000 Status Secretary to Government of India
Lt Gen (Army Cdr) 80000 Status Principle Secretary to the Government of India
Some of the bureaucrats will say that this will result in changing of the equation that has existed since pre independence days where Maj Gen and Brig is equated with IG and DIG. My answer is the IG and DIG that the Maj Gen and DIG were equated with are rechristened as DG and ADG today.
May I request the readers who agree that the armed forces deserve a better treatment to as well as the ex servicemen to pressurize the government in not listening to the bureaucracy by sending a post card stating "I too feel Cheated. Why this step motherly treatment to the armed forces" to the Prime Minister, Defence minister and their MPs.
Many people have asked me why do I feel cheated after having read my article "I Feel Cheated" in the Indian Defence Review and Sify .com. My answer:
All along my stay at RIMC, Dehradun and Training at National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun I was informed by my seniors and the armed forces officers that the Officers of the Indian Army were at par with the IAS and certainly better than the IPS and that the Major (A rank attained after 13 Years of Service at that time) in the Army was equivalent to IAS officer with not less than 12 years of service an SP with not less than 15 years of service in the IPS. We were also told that where as the IAS Officers started his career at Rs. 700/- pm an army officer started his career with Rs.750/- pm
When I got commissioned into the Indian Army on 13 June 1981 I was thrilled to have been lucky enough to join this elite service. I continued to live with this illusion till I was transferred to the Army Ordnance Corps after seven years as I had broken my knee ligament and medically downgraded. From the 7 SIKH Regt I was posted to Ordnance Depot, Shakusrbasti, New Delhi. Here my illusions were broken by the ground reality. All along we had been told that the JCOs were Class II gazetted officers. But here the JCOs were equated with non gazetted civilian employees. The equation as existing today vis a vis clerical cadre of the army and the civilian clerical cadre in the organizations having both the civilian and the armed forces personnel like the three services Headquarters, Ordnance depots etc is as given below :
Army Ranks (Clerical Cadre) Civilian Clerical Cadre
Sepoy, Lance Naik, Naik and Havildar Lower Division Clerk
Naib Subedar (Gazetted Rank) Upper Division Clerk (With less than --- five years service) (Non Gazetted Post)
Subedar (Gazetted rank) Upper Division Clerk (With more than ---- five years service), and Office Supdt ---- Grade -II (both Non Gazetted Posts)
Subedar Major (Gazetted rank) Office Supdt Grade -I ( Non Gazetted Post)
I asked how? Nobody could answer. Then as luck would have it a civilian ordnance officer (a direct entry Class II gazetted who had joined the AOC in 1981) got promoted and became CSO and thus became equivalent to a major and also became senior to me as I was a Captain then. Now this was disturbing, as a person joining AOC as a civilian Class II officer with one promotion had become senior to an Army officer who had got two promotions (Lt and Capt). More importantly did he also became equivalent to a SP with not less than 15 years of service in IPS? There was something wrong somewhere. The truth was different? I started researching I read Reports of all the Pay commissions. The end result was that over the period starting right just a few years before independence the JCOs who were gazetted officers were degraded and made equivalent to non gazetted civilian employees. The officers were degraded two ranks and that is why we find Major Generals complaining that they with 32 y6ears of service are equivalent to Civilian officers with 18 years (now 14 Years) 0f service. Surprisingly some of the very knowledgeable officers have floated this myth that "the slow promotions in the armed forces are because of the steep pyramidical hierarchy".
Now before I go further, it is necessary for the readers especially armed forces officer as to the structure of the Group A Civil Services (Class- I, II , III and IV of yesteryears have been rechristened as Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D) has been . Like the army officers get promoted from a lower rank to a higher rank, the civilian officers get promoted from a lower Pay grade to a higher pay grade. Like the Army has the same ranks for all the arms and services the Group A Civil services (including the postal and the accounts) have standard pay scales as follows. I have given the comparative table before the "upgradation of The Army ranks" took place in the early 1980s.
Civil Services Army
Pay Grade Years required for Promotion Rank Years required for Promotion
Junior Scale On Appt 2nd Lt On Appointment
Senior scale 4 years (Incl Training Period) Lt 3 1/2 Years
Junior Administrative Grade 9 years Capt 7 1/2years
Selection Grade 13 Years Major 13 years
Higher Administrative Grade 14 years Lt Col 16 years
Higher Administrative Grade- Level I 18 years Col 20 years
Higher Administrative grades As per vacancy Brig, Maj Gen, Lt Gen
By a look at the above table you will feel that in the initial years the promotions in the army are faster whereas later the promotions in the civil services are faster. So what do I feel cheated about? Because the equation is not as given above but as given below:
Civil Services Army
Pay Grade Years for Promotion Rank Years for Promotion
Junior Scale On Appointment 2nd Lt, Lt and Capt
Senior Time scale 4 years(incl training period)Major 13 years
Junior Administrative Grade 9 years Lt Col 16 years
Selection Grade 13 Years Col 20 years
Higher Administrative Grade-Level II 14 years Brig 25 years
Higher Administrative Grade-Level I 18 years Maj Gen 32 years
Higher Administrative Grades As per vacancy Lt Gen As per vacancy
It for anyone to understand that the ranks in the armed forces have deliberately been degraded by equating first three ranks of the Indian army with the lowest pay grade of the civilian Group A services and by dividing the officers in the rank of Lt Gen into Army Cdrs and equivalent other Lt Gens.
The mechanism of the degradation can be clearly seen in Para 2.3.9 Page 73 and 74 of the "Report of the Sixth Central Pay commission where till Third Pay Commission the equation of the first four ranks of army was as follows:
Junior Scale 2nd Lt and Lt
Senior Time scale Capt and Major
And at the time of Fifth central Pay Commission as follows
Junior Scale 2nd Lt, Lt and Capt
Senior Time scale Maj
This is a clear evidence of deliberate degradation of ranks where till third pay commission four ranks were made equivalent to two pay grades and then between the third and fifth pay commissions the rank of Capt. was further degraded from Senior time scale to junior scale. Incidentally this was the same very period when all out efforts were being made improve the career prospects by upgrading the appointments.. And they have again done it by degrading the rank of Lt Col. The method is very clear. First down grade and then form "AVS Committees to Upgrade" so as to improve the career prospects of the officers of the Indian Armed forces. You may see the reason why the rank of 2nd Lt was abolished. Now to upgrade they may want to do away with the rank of Lt also.
There is very simple solution, equate the gazetted with the gazetted and non gazetted with the non gazetted i.e. equate JCOs with the Group B gazetted ranks and as far as armed forces Commissioned officers are concerned introduce the rank of 2nd Lt and give one rank one pay grade as is applicable to even the most unattractive Group A civil services department of Posts and Telegraph and the accounts department. The fair and just pay scales and pay grades should be as given below to bring the army ranks on par with the civil services
Rank Pay Band Grade pay
Sep PB-1 1900
Lance Naik PB -1 2400
Naik PB - 2 4200
Havildar PB - 2 4200
Nb Subedar PB- 2 4800 (5400 after 4 years)
Subedar PB -2 6400
Subedar Major PB - 2 6400
2nd Lt PB- 3 5400
Lt PB - 3 6600
Capt PB- 3 7600
Maj PB- 3 8700
Lt Col PB - 4 8900
Col PB- 4 10000
Brig PB -4 12000
Maj Gen 80000 Status Special Secretary to Government of India
Lt Gen 80000 Status Secretary to Government of India
Lt Gen (Army Cdr) 80000 Status Principle Secretary to the Government of India
Some of the bureaucrats will say that this will result in changing of the equation that has existed since pre independence days where Maj Gen and Brig is equated with IG and DIG. My answer is the IG and DIG that the Maj Gen and DIG were equated with are rechristened as DG and ADG today.
May I request the readers who agree that the armed forces deserve a better treatment to as well as the ex servicemen to pressurize the government in not listening to the bureaucracy by sending a post card stating "I too feel Cheated. Why this step motherly treatment to the armed forces" to the Prime Minister, Defence minister and their MPs.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Written by a Fourth generation, 24 year old Career Officer in the Indian Armed Forces, spurred by the report of the 6th pay commission and a heartless
Written by a Fourth generation, 24 year old Career Officer in the Indian Armed Forces, spurred by the report of the 6th pay commission and a heartless article written by a 'respectable' denizen of our great country in a national daily on the armed forces and the 6th pay commission.
How you play with us, did you ever see?
At Seven, I had decided what I wanted to be;
I would serve you to the end
All these boundaries I would defend.
Now you make me look like a fool,
When at Seventeen and just out of school;
Went to the place where they made 'men out of boys'
Lived a tough life …sacrificed a few joys…
In those days, I would see my 'civilian' friends
Living a life with the fashion trends;
Enjoying their so called 'College Days'
While I sweated and bled in the sun and haze…
But I never thought twice about what where or why
All I knew was when the time came, I'd be ready to do or die.
At 21 and with my commission in hand,
Under the glory of the parade and the band,
I took the oath to protect you over land, air or sea,
And make the supreme sacrifice when the need came to be.
I stood there with a sense of recognition,
But on that day I never had the premonition,
that when the time came to give me my due,
You'd just say,' What is so great that you do?'
Long back you promised a well to do life;
And when I'm away, take care of my wife.
You came and saw the hardships I live through,
And I saw you make a note or two,
And I hoped you would realise the worth of me;
but now I know you'll never be able to see,
Because you only see the glorified life of mine,
Did you see the place where death looms all the time?
Did you meet the man standing guard in the snow?
The name of his newborn he does not know...
Did you meet the man whose father breathed his last?
While the sailor patrolled our seas so vast?
You still know I'll not be the one to raise my voice
I will stand tall and protect you in Punjab Himachal and Thoise.
But that's just me you have in the sun and rain,
For now at Twenty Four, you make me think again;
About the decision I made, Seven years back;
Should I have chosen another life, some other track?
Will I tell my son to follow my lead?
Will I tell my son, you'll get all that you need?
This is the country you will serve
This country will give you all that you deserve?
I heard you tell the world 'India is shining'
I told my men, that's a reason for us to be smiling
This is the India you and I will defend!
But tell me how long will you be able to pretend?
You go on promise all that you may,
But it's the souls of your own men you betray.
Did you read how some of our eminent citizens
Write about me and ridicule my very existence?
I ask you to please come and see what I do,
Come and have a look at what I go through
Live my life just for a day
Maybe you'll have something else to say?
I will still risk my life without a sigh
To keep your flag flying high
but today I ask myself a question or two…
Oh India…. Why do I still serve you?
How you play with us, did you ever see?
At Seven, I had decided what I wanted to be;
I would serve you to the end
All these boundaries I would defend.
Now you make me look like a fool,
When at Seventeen and just out of school;
Went to the place where they made 'men out of boys'
Lived a tough life …sacrificed a few joys…
In those days, I would see my 'civilian' friends
Living a life with the fashion trends;
Enjoying their so called 'College Days'
While I sweated and bled in the sun and haze…
But I never thought twice about what where or why
All I knew was when the time came, I'd be ready to do or die.
At 21 and with my commission in hand,
Under the glory of the parade and the band,
I took the oath to protect you over land, air or sea,
And make the supreme sacrifice when the need came to be.
I stood there with a sense of recognition,
But on that day I never had the premonition,
that when the time came to give me my due,
You'd just say,' What is so great that you do?'
Long back you promised a well to do life;
And when I'm away, take care of my wife.
You came and saw the hardships I live through,
And I saw you make a note or two,
And I hoped you would realise the worth of me;
but now I know you'll never be able to see,
Because you only see the glorified life of mine,
Did you see the place where death looms all the time?
Did you meet the man standing guard in the snow?
The name of his newborn he does not know...
Did you meet the man whose father breathed his last?
While the sailor patrolled our seas so vast?
You still know I'll not be the one to raise my voice
I will stand tall and protect you in Punjab Himachal and Thoise.
But that's just me you have in the sun and rain,
For now at Twenty Four, you make me think again;
About the decision I made, Seven years back;
Should I have chosen another life, some other track?
Will I tell my son to follow my lead?
Will I tell my son, you'll get all that you need?
This is the country you will serve
This country will give you all that you deserve?
I heard you tell the world 'India is shining'
I told my men, that's a reason for us to be smiling
This is the India you and I will defend!
But tell me how long will you be able to pretend?
You go on promise all that you may,
But it's the souls of your own men you betray.
Did you read how some of our eminent citizens
Write about me and ridicule my very existence?
I ask you to please come and see what I do,
Come and have a look at what I go through
Live my life just for a day
Maybe you'll have something else to say?
I will still risk my life without a sigh
To keep your flag flying high
but today I ask myself a question or two…
Oh India…. Why do I still serve you?
Sunday, September 4, 2011
LIEUTENANT DID YOU DIE IN VAIN?
An article by Sarvar Bali, a budding journalist
LIEUTENANT DID YOU DIE IN VAIN?
I learnt about your demise from the ticker tape on one of the news channels,
last evening. It was a big encounter and a very fierce one at that. A
feeling of deep sadness enveloped me as I reflected on your youth which had
been sacrificed in Gurez Sector,in the line of duty. What does your death
mean?
By now your mortal body would be lying embalmed at the Base Hospital and
will be flown out of Srinagar later in the day,on its final journey to the
cremation ground in your native town or village.
You were too young to die,far too young! For whom and for what did you die
then? This question haunted me last night and I will attempt to answer you.
You were probably from a village or a small town of India. You were perhaps
the son of an army officer or JCO, or from an urban or rural civilian
background. You could not be from one of the big cities where iron has
entered the soul of our youth and where the only driving motivator is quest
for money in the surreal environment of the corporate world.
Why did you join the army? Of course to get a job. But than that is over
simplifying the question. You were possibly motivated by the traditions in
your family and clan,you were probably enthused by the sight of your elder
brothers,uncles or other men from your community in uniform,you were perhaps
enchanted by the cantonment life where you may have spent your growing
years.
As your body comes home, you will not get the adulations from the Government
which a soldier's body gets in the USA. Your name will not be read out in
any obituary reference in Parliament,as is done in the UK for all soldiers
who fall in combat in the line of duty.Your name will not be etched on any
national memorial because we do not have one! Symbolically you will become
the unknown soldier for the Nation, for whom the flame burns at India Gate,
but your name will not be etched there.The names engraved on that monument
are of the soldiers who died fighting for the British Indian Army and not
those who have made the supreme sacrifice for independent India! Can it get
more ironic?
But do not despair Lieutenant. Your comrades will do you proud! The
seniormost officer will lead the homage that your brother officers will pay
you before you leave the Valley of Kashmir one last time. Your unit
representatives will escort your body home. You will be carried to the
funeral pier draped in the flag for which you died fighting.The darkened and
tearful eyes of your grief-stricken mother and the stoic figure of your
father, benumbed by the enormity of this tragedy, will move even the most
cynical.
I do not know Lieutenant at what stage of the encounter you fell, mortally
wounded. But the fact that you were there on the lonely vigil across the
Line of Control in Gurez, is enough to vouch for your valour. Your unit and
formation commanders will see to it that you get the gallantry award which
you so richly deserve. In due time your father or your mother will be
presented the medal and parchment of your gallantry,which will be framed and
find the pride of place in your home.Time will dull the bitterness of this
tragic parting, which right now is the only feeling that engulfs your
parents and siblings, in its enormity.
Lieutenant you were lucky. You did not live long enough to get married and
leave behind a grieving widow. You did not live long enough to have
children. For when they would have come of age you would have seen in them a
cynicism towards the army for which you died. You will not see a young son
who thinks his father is a hero and wants to follow his footsteps in joining
the army only to be harshly dissuaded by his mother (or even father!) from
following a profession which ranks so low for the youth of our country. You
were lucky not to serve long enough to see the army getting belittled . You
did not live long enough to see the utter indifference and even disdain for
the army. Like you a large number of valiant soldiers laid down their lives
on the rocky heights of Kargil,fighting against self-imposed odds. Today it
is not even felt fit to publicly commemorate the anniversary of that
stupendous military victory,won by blood and gore,in a befitting
manner.
But do not despair Lieutenant. Your name will be etched for posterity in the
annals of your Unit and your Regiment. A silver trophy with your name
inscribed on it,will grace the center table of the unit mess.You will also
find your name in the unit Quarter Guard,where annual homage will also be
paid to you.The war memorials at the Formation HQ where you served and at
your Regimental Centre will proudly display your name for eternity.If you
joined the Army through the NDA, your name will be written in the Hut of
Remembrance through which each cadet will pass,paying homage before his
Passing Out Parade.
There will be an obituary reference to you from your comrades in the papers,
which will be flipped over by most but which will be read in detail by
people who have a connect with those who wear or wore the uniform.
As your parents head into the evening of their life,memories of your valour
will be their most precious possession. When ever your mother will think of
you her eyes will mist over but there will be more stars in them than you
ever wore on your shoulders.Your father may speak quietly about you but no
one will miss the swell of pride in his chest. For your siblings you will
always remain the real hero,and for that matter even for your community and
village. A school or a road may well be named after you and you will become
a part of the local folk-lore.
You died Lieutenant, because when the test came, you decided that you could
not let down your family,your clan and your comrades, who always expected
you,without ever saying so, to do your duty.You, Lieutenant, have done more
than your duty and made your memory their hallowed possession.
LIEUTENANT YOU DID NOT DIE IN VAIN!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Gratitude to the Anonymous Soldier
Gratitude to the anonymous soldier
Dear Friends,
We must salute the soldier who lays his life to make sure that we are safe and enjoy our freedom. He does not even blink an eye once his superiors give him an order, and follows it without asking any questions. But, do we remember all those martyrs and their sacrifices in our day to day lives; do we pay them the respects and homage they deserve. Let's wake up now, it is high time we all stand together and work towards cleaning up the mess in our systems, that we all have allowed for all these years by keeping our mouths, eyes and ears shut. And these criminals have taken over our country... Let's fight together to get our nation back from them. One single sacrifice will not be enough... it may take many... The only question we have to ask ourselves is "Am I ready to sacrifice whatever it takes, for my nation"?
The average age of the army man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment dole either. He's a recent college graduate; he was probably an average student from one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip -hop or country or gazals or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 5 or 7 kilos lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting the insurgents or standing guard on the icy Himalayas from before dawn to well after dusk or he is at Mumbai engaging the terrorists. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. His pride and self-respect, he does not lack.
He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of combat dress: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.
If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the Jana Gana Manavibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hands from their pockets, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is your nation's Fighting Man that has kept this country free and defended your right to Freedom. He has experienced deprivation and adversity, and has seen his buddies falling to bullets and maimed and blown.
But,
He has asked nothing in return, except our acknowledgement of his existence and understanding of his human needs. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . ..
A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it Please send this on after a short prayer. Prayer Wheel
'Lord, hold our Indian Army in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.
Amen.'
Dear Friends,
We must salute the soldier who lays his life to make sure that we are safe and enjoy our freedom. He does not even blink an eye once his superiors give him an order, and follows it without asking any questions. But, do we remember all those martyrs and their sacrifices in our day to day lives; do we pay them the respects and homage they deserve. Let's wake up now, it is high time we all stand together and work towards cleaning up the mess in our systems, that we all have allowed for all these years by keeping our mouths, eyes and ears shut. And these criminals have taken over our country... Let's fight together to get our nation back from them. One single sacrifice will not be enough... it may take many... The only question we have to ask ourselves is "Am I ready to sacrifice whatever it takes, for my nation"?
The average age of the army man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's, but he has never collected unemployment dole either. He's a recent college graduate; he was probably an average student from one of the Kendriya Vidyalayas, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip -hop or country or gazals or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 5 or 7 kilos lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting the insurgents or standing guard on the icy Himalayas from before dawn to well after dusk or he is at Mumbai engaging the terrorists. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. His pride and self-respect, he does not lack.
He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of combat dress: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.
If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the Jana Gana Manavibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hands from their pockets, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is your nation's Fighting Man that has kept this country free and defended your right to Freedom. He has experienced deprivation and adversity, and has seen his buddies falling to bullets and maimed and blown.
But,
He has asked nothing in return, except our acknowledgement of his existence and understanding of his human needs. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. . ..
A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
Prayer wheel for our military... please don't break it Please send this on after a short prayer. Prayer Wheel
'Lord, hold our Indian Army in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.
Amen.'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
