The Last Straw?

Involvement of a serving officer in terrorist activities has generated a lot of consteration within the services as well as amongst the people at large. Is it the begining of the end? The last straw? Crumbling of the citadel? While these are extreme views, the fact is that there is need for introspection.

The British had a policy, right or wrong, of keeping the armed forces insulated from the populace, at the same time treating them well enough in terms of emolutments and 'izzat'. Over the years, the insulation has vanished, and the armed forces no longer enjoy the pre-eminence in the society it once did. These, I feel are the two major contributing factors to the radical changes that are coming about in the thinking. Of course, the present incident is very obviously an aberration - a one in a lakh case I would put it. But I would also view is as a magnification of the changes that are coming about microscopically.

Management of change is a key command responsibility, which I am afraid has not got due credence as of now. When change is a fact of life, there is a need to firstly acknowledge that it is occuring, secondly to analyse it in all its dimensions, and lastly to take appropriate steps to mould the system and organisation to ensure that it continues to function optimally after due corrections to cater for the change. Change may be good or bad - either ways, the system has to make allowances to either benefit from it, or to restrict its impact. Our approach to either deny that a change is taking place at all, or to castigate it and persist with a rigid system promoting status quoism, is self defeating.

Constitutional Crisis - Threat Vs Reality

The recent actions by the service chiefs, wherein the implementation of the pay commission recommendations were put on hold till a final decision on the anomalies is taken by the governemnt, has drawn considerable comment and flak from a section of the media. Similarly, the Naval and Army Chiefs' communication to their respective commands, informing them of this delay, has been criticized. The critics have termed their actions as 'defiance' and 'insubordination'. Fears have been expressed that such an unprecedented move, if left unchallenged and unpunished, would embolden future chiefs. It may the constitutional order .... maybe even the dreaded C word!

The voices, apparently inspired by motivated interests, are crying wolf about something which may happen in the future . What about what is already happening for the past so many years - isn't the bureacracy already undermining the system for their personal gains every day?

A simple exercise will tell you the difference between the military and the bureaucrats. Go down to NOIDA. First visit Sector 15A - the abode of babus (old babus never retire - they just step into other roles to continue receiving government patronage). Notice the houses, the parks, the cars. Now drive on further to Sector 28 where the retired faujis are fading away. Notice anything? Any differences? These are not the palatial bungalows like you saw a little while back. Why? aren't the two services supposed to be paid similarly? Where does the difference lie?

The fact is that the bureaucrats are eating their way into a plush lifestyle - at the cost of the nation. Where is the sacntity of the constitution that these people keep beating their collective breasts about?

Chief's Actions - Inspired by Loyalty

The action (actually, inaction) of the service chiefs with regards to implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations has drawn flak from several quarters. It is being viewed by the critics as insubordination, indiscipline. Fingers are also being raised on the propriety of sending out signals to all ranks informing them of the delay.

The fact of the matter is that the politicians and the bureaucrats have been caught in flagrante delicto in their attempt to rush through the implementation, warts and all. This, despite that it has been pointed out that the final recommendations have glaring discrepancies as regards the armed forces. The inexplicable down gradation of Lt Cols and Lt Gens, and the reduction in pension of the jawans, defy logic and cannot stand scrutiny. Interestingly, these discrepancies were not part of the original pay commission report, but were introduced by the Committee of Secretaries during review.

Attempts to browbeat the services into accepting the award along with discrepancies, with the unconvincing assurance of looking into the issues post implementation, did not work. The principled stance of the chiefs, uncharacteristic of the incumbents in recent years, took them by surprise. The chiefs probably realized that once implemented, the urgency in rectifying the discrepancies would no longer exist, and the issue would get mired in typical bureaucratic delaying tactics. It is notable that the anomalies of the fourth and fifth pay commissions have still not been removed. The lowered status and pensions of the armed forces would have similarly become fait accompli.

Ethos of the armed forces is centred around loyalty – a concept difficult to understand for outsiders in today’s self serving opportunistic environment. Loyalty in the forces has many dimensions – loyalty towards the country, towards the services, towards one’s unit or ship, your superiors – and most importantly, towards the men under your command. The ‘Chetwoode Motto’ is deeply ingrained in the psyche of every officer :-

"The safety, honour and welfare of your country come first, always and every time.

The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next.

Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time."

The stance taken by the service chiefs is in pursuit of these ideals. Individually, the chiefs have no personal stake in the removal of the anomalies. They have been well compensated in the pay commission report. On the contrary, in taking a strong stance, they have possibly staked their personal self interests such as post retirement appointments. It is only their strong sense of loyalty to their subordinates that prompted this action.

Unlike all other services affected by the pay commission, the armed forces have no unions, no associations. The jawans and officers have absolutely no mechanism of expressing their dissatisfaction with the pay commission discrepancies. They would have no option but to ‘lump it’. Life would carry on, the soldiers and officers would continue to spill their blood securing this nation. But, as the chiefs are well aware, it would be yet another blow to the already beleaguered edifice of the morale of the services, another threat to its basic fabric.

The move to withhold the implementation till a final decision on the anomalies was the only way the import and urgency of the issue could have been highlighted, since all other quarters had only drawn assurances. It also made administrative sense, since it would avoid having to do the salary calculations of more than 15 Lakh people twice in (hopefully) a month or so.

As regards the signal informing their command of the delay in implementation, it was perfectly in order to keep all ranks of the services informed about an issue that every one of them is obviously monitoring closely and is affected by. This is as per the best practices of command, to avoid rumour mongering and ensuring the correct picture is known to all.

The chiefs were sanguine that loyalty to the nation lay in being loyal to their services and their subordinates, and acted accordingly, even at potentially grave personal costs. It is probably for the first time, after the late Field Marshal Manekshaw insisted on delaying the commencement of operations in 1971 till the army was fully ready, that such a principled and selfless stance has been taken by any service chief. They have lived up to the line in the NDA Prayer – “Help me to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.”The nation, media and the government must view their actions in this light, and not now go on a witch hunt, lest they cause irreparable damage to the morale of the armed forces.

--- A Soldier's Letter To Our Dear President

--- A Soldier's Letter To Our Dear President While we awaited the pay commission bounty The IAS got there first and now, President Aunty We have no choice but to be blunt We are third class citizens, though manning the front The bureaucrats who decide things for us Have truly shown their animus And we who defend our dear nation Have again been shown our lower station When the seventh pay commission comes around We will no doubt lose more ground Then Colonels would equal civilian clerks In salary, status and other perks Generals will wait on worn out chairs Outside IAS Officers' lairs A once proud service is now so degraded That though their uniforms still be braided They are demoralised and wait to retire And then take up their pens to fire At those they served all their life In times of peace and in times of strife The lesson from this, our children we tell Is that, if in life you want to do well And this, I am sure, every soldier endorses Do not ever join the forces Just become a doctor or a pleader Perhaps, even better, a political leader Or an IAS officer, with his red light Why face the enemy, why risk a fight When the nation you guard does not value you much And treats you merely like a handy crutch To support the government in civil disorder Or when the enemy threatens the border But when the time comes to share the pie They get all antsy and ask - why??? So Madam President, hear us out A change is going to come about And we, the most courageous of all Will soon be replaced by the petty and small Alas, your government would be squarely to blame For this avoidable national shame

Terror Attacks

Isn't it a matter of introspection for the Indian authorities that while the US homeland has been free of terror attacks ever since 9/11, India has been suffering them with alarming regularity. Hardly a month passes without a major terrorist incident in one of India's major cities. What are the lessons that we need to take from the US ability to keep terror at bay? What are the factors that make India so much more vulnerable? Following are possibly some.

Although America is a much more open society in terms of freedom from restrictions on civil liberties and imposing on citizens through intrusive checks and balances, the law enforcement and intelligence agencies appear to be doing a better job of preventing any incidents. One aspect is sheer competence, which needs a drastic improvement in our case. The second, I suppose is techincal support available to the US agencies, which is not unachievable for us. The third aspect is the sheer size of our population and the unorganised or disorganised nature of our society at large. Fourth, I suspect is the fact that in the largely anglo saxon population of a country like the US, the perpetrators of such incidencts who would by and large be asian, would stand out, affording better monitoring ability.

Besides, there are some more serious issues in our case. The politician - criminal - police nexus on one hand, and the policy of vote bank politics leading to minority appeasement, or at least exaggerated sensitivity to minority sentiments in dealing with terrorist suspects, on the other, are other factors that facilitate the perpetrators of such hideous acts in India. US, on the other hand, apparently is free from such encumberances when it comes to dealing with terrorism, which it very rightly treats with the severity that it deserves.

It is high time that our political class wakes up, takes a reality check and putting national interest over and above any other considerations, personal or political ambitions notwithstanding. They must strengthen the hands of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies in every way possible. The country must have effective legislation to deal with terrorism, which is nothing short of war on the nation and humanity. The issue of terrorism must be tackled with complete political consensus, rather than playing petty politics on the issue to score brownie points.

The time has come for our country to stand up as one and face the menace of terror in a concerted and decisive manner.

Ant and the Grasshopper Really a class analogy..

An Old Story:
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Indian Version:
The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.
Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?
Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house.
Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.
Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities.
Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance) .
Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for 'Bengal Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry.
CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.
Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services.
The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, its home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.
Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.
Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '.

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '
Koffi Annan invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.
Many years later...
The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley,

100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India,

..AND

As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers, .
India is still a developing country…!!!

Considerations

It is easy to fob off kids with irrelevant or non commital answers when you do not want to actually respond to their innocent little queries. You can tell them that they will find answers when they grow up, or that they are too young to understand. Or even with a simple "I don't know". But doing so for genuine queries that childlike curiosity throws up every now and then, and in most cases more now than then, is actaully stifiling a very healthy habit of investigating their surroundings.

It must be our endeavour to be as patient as possible when dealin with our children. The gift of patience and of our time is the best that we can give them. It is the best way of imparting our values to them, the DNA of real life that will see them through the evolution from childhood dreams to the cruel world of adulthood.