Our Shameless, Selfish, Rhino skinned babus will do everything in their power to destroy India and keep it an impoverished state. Shame on these as*holes for misguiding the ministers and the PM on this issue or other issues and holding back the progress of the country.

We should send babus involved in such activities to the border areas to be used as human shield by the soldiers.

Articles such as this are the reason why I'm a fan of Swarajya's writer line-up. The grief and frustration of the upright Indian fauji, who has really no advocate (nor ally in the despicable Indian civil services) is v well articulated...Hits close to home as well, alas.
Thanks, Mr. Bhattacharjee.

Thanks a lot to Mr Jay sir, for taking up the side/cause of the poor/neglected and slighted jawan in this country. Perhaps, NaMo is right in quoting, to have born in this country is a curse (earlier) ? But now also?

The ex-soldier had been treated as a 2nd class citizen. After having served the country in prime youth (best part of his earning capacity), he is thrown out citing laws/rules (citing the forces youth profile). Does this happen in any family? Does this happen in any company/organisation? No. When soldier becomes dis-abled due to service exigencies, the doctors conduct med exams and declare mathematical 20% or more or less 20% disability status and board him out. Why? Cant he do any other suitable in the Forces or the Defence PSUs? (41 Ord Factories and scores of other Def Org).

In civil they can appoint disabled and untrained youngsters, why notautomatically absorb the disabled veterans. For this Disability Act does not apply to Armed Forces. When all other laws apply to AF personnel, this is exempted.

The less said the better about reservations to ESM. Strange and devious are the brains of these babus. Priority a},b),c) is for the for dependents of those killed, war wounded, disabled etc and the lastly the ESM. This is applicable not only in allocation of petrol/diesel/outlets etc. even in admission. The very definition of ESM has probelms. So many categories. With pension, without pension, SSC etc.etc. Only recently the Govt issued a notification.

Virtually, the esm is treated with contempt in the forces offices like the Zilla Sainik Welfare Offices, CSD Canteens, ECHS, Mil hospitals. Then the scenario in Civil offices, Revenue/Police/other depts is worst. When your own house is not in order, how can you change the outside world?

But despite all these odds, the jawans lead the life clinging to the nitty-gritty taught to them in Military service, without much of complaints. That is - Bash on, regardless.

Thank you sir, thanks again.

I think by far the best and direct write up .No-nonsense with sugar coating politically correct statements as done by most commentators . My sincere thanks to Mr Jay. May your tribe increase , Our country needs direct speaking people

My cousins in the armed forces were a cheerful, disciplined, committed and fearless bunch who never batted an eyelid when called upon to do the most dangerous and difficult tasks. I always looked up to them with admiration and awe. I lost two of them over the years, though not in battle, but I shed tears for their valour and courage. Little did I know that they were also being short-changed by the Indian government, i.e. the babus and the netas, even as they were giving everything for the country. From overseas, it is not possible to know all the developments in the mother country, but this article is an eye opener. My heartfelt thanks to the author for presenting the entire scenario so cogently and elegantly. A country that does not keep its promises to its warriors is bound to suffer sooner or later. The Prime Minister and the Defence Minister had better get their acts together.

As another commentator before me has written, this is easily the best assessment of the OROP imbroglio and the shameful treatment of our country's defenders by the babu-neta nexus. The only essay I can remember that comes up to this level is this writer's own effort in a national daily a few months ago. The article is passionate, elegant, informative and insightful. I am sending it to my friends and contacts, and requesting them to absorb this superb piece.

Dear Mr Prime Minister,
We the Veterans don't wish you to make a POLITICAL STATEMENT ON OROP.
You are a very caring person who would like to make history by implementing the OROP as per agreed norms before the month runs out. Please over rule the Ministers & Babus and make things happen.
We would like to remain in the forefront of NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT as conceived by you. Please ensure a better future for all the 70,000 retirees who be joining the large population of Veterans on an yearly basis.
The Armed Forces are looking upto you for immediate implementation of OROP.
God Bless you in all your endeavours to make this Nation a HAPPENING PLACE IN THE WORLD.
Regards,
Maj Gen PS Malhotra (Veteran)

Hon’ble PM, You are showing helplessness/inability to give
the date of implementation of OROP,WHERE AS YOU HAVE ALREADY SAID BEFORE THE
SERVING SOLDIERS BEFORE DIWALI IN SIACHEN THAT YOU HAVE IMPLEMENTED OROP. It
just takes max of 1 month to finalize OROP, And your Govt is in power for more
than 1 year.are you aware Hon’ble PM AS TO HOW MUCH TIME THE Army takes to get
into the operation may be War or a Natural Calamite? This is called
Governance. And what Governance you are giving to such efficient and motivated
soldiers who have brought the greatest honour and respect to the Country since
independence by winning all wars with the greatest and a toughest enemy next to
our borders.

Dear Countrymen,
I would like to Point out that it is not the Politicians who are responsible for
backwardness of our Country, It is the BABUS RUNNING THE Govt who misguide the Politicians who come as RAW and remain in control doing nothing. Babus want Perks and Promotions and made the entire Country lethargic.babus enjoy all comforts more than any one on this Earth.

Imagine if IAS was in ARMED FORCES also,Our enemy
would have Removed INDIA from the map of the World.

if PM FM Dm cant give OROP they must reign forthwithnand go to election forvbreaking the promise made before jawans

Buck stops with leadership, not babus!

Now. Am I reading this right? In this magazine's 'neutral' jamboree of 'columnists' spouting Modi's-spit-is-nectar, theories, there is someone who actually criticises the Supreme Leader!

Since many members of my extended family and numerous friends have served proudly in the Indian armed forces, I am overjoyed to see this hard-hitting and elegant analysis of the OROP policy and the various issues related to it.

The Modi government is looking more and more pathetic as the days and months go by. I am afraid the PM and the Raksha Mantri have tied
themselves in knots with their baffling announcements every now and then. The new government owes it to the armed forces (and to the country's citizens at large) to implement OROP at the earliest. A solemn electoral commitment has to be honoured. Period.

The apprehension of the govt. on the financial implications of OROP is not ill conceived. as noted by the RM there should be a give and take in any negotiation.
the argument of the soldiers that they will retire at the prime age after doing the most difficult job is to be appretiated by the high and mighty in the govt. like wise the financial burden OROP imposes on the govt has to be taken into consideration by the soldiers. The ideal solution would be to pay OROP until the soldier reaches the age of 65, which is more than retirement age of civil servants.Freeze the basic pay at that level and pay the pension for the balance of period as being done now.
This will certainly give the pensioners a higher protection of pay for more than 20 years and the financial burden on the govt will reduce.

also ask the soldier to use only his right arm when defending the country, or to close his eyes while shooting.
The soldiers' job is not just the most difficult, it requires absolute commitment, namely, and let me spell it out for you, his L I F E. He EXPECTS from government - that he is ready to give his life for - the same commitment to his family and his later years. If you reduce it to money, then don't expect the soldier to commit his life, and don't send him to war, to fight floods, earthquakes and all types of disasters, both natural and man made. Send the finance ministry babu instead, and ask them to commit their lives to the country. You will then find out who should be paid and who should not.

the main argument put forward for OROP is retirement of an soldier at an early age and his sustenance thereafter.considering the hardship they face during in service and after retirement an amicable solution has to be found. A middle ground has to be arrived at, which is a win win situation for both the soldier and the govt.

Clearly you are not a soldier but have you also never known any?

I recommend you check out all the armies of the world, and see if their pensions stagnate the way the babudom wants it to do. For example, check out http://militarypay.defense.... to see the US pension growth and period of payment. You expect the soldier to commit his life without any clause attached, so please pay him for the remainder of his life, with no statutes of limitations and Terms & Conditions thrown in.

Please do not treat this as one of your corporate negotiations ., WIN WIN LOSE LOSE etc. Just one question. Count all our MPs in Parliament and MLAs in States . How many of their children are in the armed forces OR HAVE BEEN IN THE ARMED FORCES from the time we became Independent. No one from BABUS clnas. We dont have any onerepresentative in Pay Tribunals . you know who decides our pay . BABUS. As an officer my parachute pay was 45/ Rs . you know how much does a Policeman doing similar job gets now 1800/ suddenly our officials/ politicians found this is dangerous and these fellows dont jump in High Altitudes !!!!! Please these are CPOs Central Police Organisations and not PMF. PMF are ASSAM RIFLES AND RR Bns.

I completely endorse what other commentators have said about your stand. Typical babu nonsense. In your mental framework, there is clearly not an iota of morality or ethics.

svpban.. when you retire at young age 37 /52 what do you do??? There are no assured jobs as is for IAS/IPS. Two have you heard of NFU . Even a deputy secretary can get Secretary's pay . India is the only country in the world which officially rewards incompetence. I will take you to any hill on our Northern Borders . I am 70 i will accompany you . Just climb it once to know what we are talking about. They reduced army mans pension from 70 t0 50% . Are you aware of it and increased the pension of civilians from 30 to 50% without batting an eyelid. Financial implication is the biggest fraud. Look at trips made by Mrs Patil or for that matter by karnataka Governer or the scams. Only exception was Mr Kalam . I am quoting only fringe cases. OROP is on back burner from 1973.... and what did the bureaucrats/politicians do reduced our pension and increased own...

Well said, Mr. Ramani.

Are you hallucinating or is your mental framework totally distorted ? The bizarre recommendations that you have come up with are completely unethical and immoral.