OROP, Suicide and the Aftermath

OROP, Suicide and the Aftermath

Major General Mrinal Suman

Time for some frank speaking.

The news of the suicide by retired Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal on November 1 was highly upsetting. Precious life of a veteran had been lost. Expectedly, true to their selfish agenda, the political parties and the media played up the tragic incident to score brownie points. Kejriwal announced an award of rupees one crore to the deceased’s family. Award for committing suicide – even the insurance companies do not cover suicides.

However, the most disconcerting was the reaction of some of the veterans. Many went to the extent of eulogising Grewal as a martyr in the cause of OROP. When the head of IESM claims that his sacrifice would not go in vain, one hangs one’s head in shame. Since when, have we (the soldiers) started equating suicide with martyrdom and calling it a sacrifice? Suicide is no act of bravery. It is an act of cowardice. It shows pessimist, defeatist, despairing and escapist tendencies. It is a sign of a loser.

Soldiers are fighters and never capitulate. His suicide goes against the very grain of soldierly traits. As per the military convention soldiers who commit suicide are not accorded military funeral and colleagues attend the last rites in civil dress (and not uniform).

Reasons for Suicide

VK Singh has been unfairly criticised for his comments. Court of Inquiry in respect of every suicide case is mandated to seek detailed information about the mental state of the individual. Taking one’s own life is not a typical human response of a sound mind, whatever is the distress. A man has to be in a disturbed psychic condition to take such an extreme step.

Let us see the reasons for the suicide. Although a detailed enquiry will only reveal the truth, press reports have indicated that Subedar Grewal was upset as he was getting a pension of Rs 23,000 instead of Rs 28,000 due to some miscalculation at the bank end. Hence, it was a case of delayed payment and not denial of entitlement. In due course, the anomaly would have been sorted out and he would have got his full entitlement with arrears. His pension would have gone up further after the award of the Seventh Pay Commission.

As Sarpanch of his village, he was living a life of respect and dignity. He was not living in penury. As per IESM, Subedar Grewal had never participated in OROP agitation. His colleagues and friends saw him leaving the village on the fatal day in a pleasant mood. He got a request typed for a meeting with the Defence Minister on 31 Oct. Instead of submitting it, he wrote the suicide note and swallowed poison the very next day.

Evidently, shortfall of Rs 5,000 in pension could not have been the trigger for suicide. Has the current wave of negativity in the social media created an environment of disenchantment and resignation amongst the veterans? Did the prevailing pessimism overwhelm Subedar Grewal? If that be so, all agitating veterans are guilty of abetment.

  

OROP and Agitation

It is a misconception that the government was forced to grant OROP because of the agitation at Jantar Mantar. We agitated for so long during the UPA regime. We returned thousands of medals: a junior official from the President’s office condescended to receive them. We wrote letters in blood: government refused to accept them. Instead of understanding our demands, it was repeatedly asserted by UPA that OROP was not acceptable as a principle.

Let us accept the fact that no government gets coerced by such agitations. Did the current government succumb to the long-drawn strike by the students of the Film and Television Institute of India against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman? No.

If the weak and corrupt coalition government of UPA could brush our demand aside nonchalantly, what could have forced a strong and stable NDA government to grant us OROP? It is the same antagonistic bureaucracy. The difference: solid support by Modi-Parrikar duo. Had they not overruled all impeding elements, OROP would have remained a pipe dream. One recalls the unabashed boast of a conceited defence secretary that OROP would be granted over his dead body.

Undoubtedly, the NDA government could have handled the issue with more grace and sensitivity. Due to poor perception management, it has failed to earn credit for granting OROP (whatever be the form). Unfortunately, the environment got vitiated first by some senseless remarks by the ruling leaders and thereafter by our most outrageous action of burning medals. We forgot that medals are our nation’s recognition of our service. They are not given by any political party. Many contain Ashoka emblem and the ribbons carry tricolours. Burning them showed us in a very poor light.

We want annual equalisation of pension and not five-yearly. The government finds the task of issuing fresh PPOs to over 20 lakh veterans every year to be a gargantuan challenge. We may not be fully satisfied with the response, but then all negotiations between the government and its employees must be carried out in a spirit of accommodation. Ultimatums do not serve any purpose.

Spreading Disaffection and Despondency

The current atmosphere of increasing discontentment and despondency is worrisome. To further their own political ambitions, some veterans are trying to drive a wedge between the government and the soldiering community. Through a well-orchestrated misinformation campaign, they are injecting cynicism and distrust in the environment.

Modi promised OROP and has never retracted from his promise. He sought time to sort out the details. But the veterans who had waited for 40 years were not ready to give him even one year. Instead of reposing faith in Modi’s assurance, they intentionally overplayed some imprudent statements of lesser leaders to generate disconcerting doubts. It was a deliberate ploy to find an excuse to restart the agitation to remain in the limelight.

Some time back, considerable misinformation was being spread about the application of the seventh pay commission. Many self-proclaimed experts were convinced that the government would play iniquitous. However, recent government orders have proved the doomsayers wrong. Multiplication factor has been made applicable to post-OROP pay.

No Prime Minister has ever spent Diwali with the troops. Instead of lauding Modi for that, we accuse him of theatrics. When he pays tribute to the soldiers by saying that the countrymen can sleep because the soldiers are awake, we call it hollow talk. When he says that he has come to celebrate Diwali with his family (soldiers), we call it ‘drama baji’.

When the government says that in addition to paying arrears worth Rs 11,000 crore, it is accepting an annual OROP outflow of Rs 7,500 crore, we start equating it with the loan write-offs of farmers or bad loans of the banks. We forget that UPA had budgeted a princely sum of Rs 500 crores for OROP. 

With malicious intentions and ulterior motives, even other issues are being played up to incite the soldiering community. Status of the service officers is one such issue. Citing continuous downgradation since the Independence, the environment is being vitiated with all sorts of allegations against the current government. Yes, Modi and Parrikar are being faulted for the recommendations of the third pay commission as well.

A recent circular by MoD regarding equivalence of ranks is being used as ammunition to cast aspersions on Parrikar’s credentials. It is conveniently overlooked that he has ordered a review of the matter. No previous defence minister ever questioned the bureaucracy. In any case, such issues are better fought by the serving brass.  

Finally

We have a group of Modi-baters whose sole objective is to show him down. Every single issue under the sun is been listed out to justify soldiers’ unhappiness. Such veterans are doing immense damage to the nation. Healthy criticism is welcome but spreading disaffection amongst the soldiering community against the government is not.

Our continuous agitation for better pay has been disappointing many admirers of the soldiers. They wonder if we will ever be satisfied. It will be sad if we the veterans acquire an image of habitual cribbers.

A word of caution will be in order here. Every issue that concerns the soldiering community has three cogs – political leadership, bureaucracy and military. Since Independence, Indian military has been suffering (both in status and emoluments) due to the hostility of the bureaucracy and the apathy of political leadership. With bureaucracy and political leaders joining hands, military was always been the loser.

It is the first time that India has a political leadership that is pro-military. Both Modi and Parrikar have proved their sincerity beyond doubt by demolishing the 40 year old resistance of the bureaucracy to the very concept of OROP. They have delivered what the previous governments declared unviable.

Modi and Parrikar have been fighting our battle against an antagonistic finance ministry and the entrenched bureaucracy. Instead of appreciating it, many veterans continue fanning anti-government sentiments. Such a trend has the potential of putting the political leadership off. And, the bureaucracy is just waiting for that to happen. Let us not lose the support of the current political dispensation.

Finally, are things as dismal as being made out? Is such a state of dissatisfaction justified? Has not our financial state improved considerably? These posers are of immense importance. Veterans need to do some serious introspection rather than get carried away with the prevailing wave of gloom. Self-pity and persecution complex are not the traits soldiers are known for.*****