The acceptance by the Central government of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) principle in the armed forces after a prolonged agitation by ex-servicemen has brought a sigh of relief to pensioners and boosted the sagging morale of the future defence retirees. The whole episode of contention, however, has sown the seeds of indiscipline on an organised scale in the hitherto-unblemished defence forces.
That a section of ex-servicemen took to the streets and politics came to be discussed freely in a defence force that was avowedly apolitical is a negative aspect of the whole drama.
There is no denying that the governments in India wake up to the most legitimate of demands only when there is an organised protest and muscle-flexing in the figurative sense. One can well understand the sense of outrage that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s ill-advised decision to slash armed forces’ pensions from 70 per cent of last pay drawn to 50 per cent must have caused. It was only a highly disciplined workforce that stayed its hand and did not come out on the streets for as long as 42 years despite the blatant injustice done to them.
Even when the ex-servicemen took to the agitational path, they did so with Gandhian self-infliction like sitting on dharnas and undertaking fast unto death. But it is undeniable that the laxman rekha of discipline was crossed. For some of the agitating leaders to have said they would work against the BJP in the Bihar Assembly elections if OROP was not conceded because it was procrastinating in granting it at that stage amounted to a threat that they would turn political.
Threats were also held out of taking the law into their own hands. All of this may be condoned because it was said in the heat of the moment, but the fact is that the agitators have triumphed without a word from the military top brass that the threats were unwarranted and patently unfortunate. Perhaps, the atmosphere was such that any counsel would have been ignored by the agitators in the surcharged atmosphere that prevailed at that point.
There was understandable apprehension when the media release issued to announce the government’s acceptance of OROP said it would not apply to voluntary retirees. But after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held out a categorical assurance that those taking voluntary retirement and eligible for pension would be covered, there was no justification for the ex-servicemen to stick to their plan to keep the agitation going and to persist with the proposed anti-government rally on September 12.
The agitation could well have been revived if the government went back on its promises, but to refuse to suspend the agitation ostensibly because the agitators did not have faith in the Prime Minister’s assurance is, to say the least, unfortunate and regrettable.
Even now, the rally must be called off so that it may not appear that the agitating ex-servicemen are playing into the hands of the government’s detractors whose sole interest is to queer the pitch for the Modi government. But even if it is held, there should be none of the fiery rhetoric that may sour the relations between the armed forces and the government.
There is of course the deep-seated suspicion among military personnel that the bureaucracy has been always unfair towards them. That surely needs to be addressed in a constructive and fair way. k.kamlendra@gmail.com
Kanwar is a former journalist