Re: [IAC#RG] Fwd: OROP

There are many wise people speaking who have studied the problem. Others who have first hand experience.

As a lay person and someone for whom the existing pensions sound wonderful as a full salary, let alone a pension (most of India) I am in no place to comment on whether it is appropriate or not. 

That said, the argument of OROP being for all is not an unfair expectation. the pensions are not just available to armed forces, but all. I agree with the thoughts someone shared that everyone serves the nation in their own way, and the glorification of the armed forces overloads the debate with emotionalism and prevents frank debate.

But in terms of what should be done. I think Gul Panag nailed it in an article she had written as an open letter to the Prime Minister. "It is a matter of Honor. Your (PM) honor". I think she argues rightly that the time for this debate has passed. OROP has been promised already, it is a matter of implementation.

More than how much money and deserving and such things, I think promises made to people are taken too lightly in India. BJP election campaign wooed the soldiers with various promises, one of which was OROP. It was confirmed after the government came to power. Then it must be done. The money or other aspects of it, in my view are far less important than our willingness to be debated away from demanding that promises be kept. Whether it is a rupee or several thousand crore. The voice of a Prime Ministerial candidate and then Prime Minister must have more worth than a scribble on tissue paper that gets discarded. And this means implementing it in a fair and transparent manner. The manipulations, sabotage of process and other things indicate malintent on part of the government. The assault on retired veterans by police was unpardonable. This sort of insult must not be ignored with petty discussions on issues that have already been left behind in the decision making.

Recently we were shocked by a thousands strong mob lynching a man to death and injuring his son critically (http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/prime-time/prime-time-a-man-killed-due-to-rumor/385050 ). There are many comments on who is the real patriot with the surviving victim turning out to be a soldier. As several on Twitter pointed out, Muslim or not, soldiers generally receive respect from the communities they live in. Today, beyond these assaults, the soldier's sister was manhandled by the mob and would have been raped had the police not arrived. A temple was used to incite the mob against a soldier's family. Where does this kind of disregard come from? What happens when the government itself is sabotaging the dignity of armed forces and using cunning ways to discredit them, deny them their rights and have them assaulted? What happens to how the blind (and frankly demented) supporters of this view see armed forces?

It is a matter of honor. If a word given must be gone back on due to reasons that stand scritiny, it should be accompanied by a credible apology and humility and willingness to transparently renegotiate. Not reckless promises at election time and humiliation setting a precedent in full public sight once time to deliver. It should not happen to anyone, but that it happens to armed forces has additional implications to government/civil/military relationships, morale of forces as well as morale of citizens - if this is what happens to soldiers asking for rights, what humanity can the displaced adivasi expect?