One Rank, One Pension{OROP} : Rights Vs Fights

WHY DO THE POLITICIANS AND THE BUREAUCRATS DESPISE THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES SO MUCH??

Dear People Of India,

As you know OROP (One Rank One Pension) has been announced though with some warts which need rectification and after getting the war heroes and war widows, many in their eighties, on the streets, a sad spectacle. As there has been a lot of disinformation and lack of awareness, you need to know some facts. These have gone unnoticed.

1 We are Indian Army Soldiers. Countries like the US and UK and most other advanced democracies, with Armies that are facing conflict, venerate the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces. The UK parliament has even passed a law called Armed Forces Covenant . An Armed Forces Covenant is the expression of the moral obligation that the government and the nation owe to the armed forces community. The covenant acknowledges that members of the armed forces sacrifice some freedoms and often face dangerous situations. It recognises that families play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of the armed forces. It is only in India where our men and women have to go through the humiliation of a comparison with a discredited bureaucracy. 
 In the United States, 15 presidents have served in the Army/Army Reserve , 9 in the State Militias, 6 in the Navy/Naval Reserve, with 2 presidents having serving in the Continental Army. In addition, eight presidents served during World War II, while seven served in the military during the American Civil War. That was the kind of military service they did before becoming the President and Commander in Chief of the US of America. No wonder they respect their Armed Forces and their Veterans. 

 2 Your Armed Forces  cannot be compared with the IAS,  IPS, BSF, CRPF, ITBP,  CISF , NSG,  Railway Protection Force, Rapid Deployment Force or the State Armed Police Forces.
 A Nation can have only one Military. 
The renowned sociologist Morris Janowitz had famously said: “The intimate social solidarity of the military profession is both envied and resented by civilians.” A bureaucrat is in no way comparable to a man or woman who serves in the Armed Forces. Nowhere is this comparison even attempted, not in the United States, the United Kingdom or even China. It’s laughable and making that comparison is ludicrous. Neither can the Armed Forces be compared or equated to other police forces of a Country.

3   WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO YOU AND TO NO ONE ELSE BECAUSE :
        (a)  WE  HAVE PLEDGED TO PROTECT YOU, AND WE LIKE TO KEEP OUR WORD !
        (b). WE  ARE SURE THAT YOU LOVE US AND WE KNOW THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT THE INDIAN MILITARY IS THE LAST BASTION OF HOPE WHEN THE GOVT MACHINERY, IAS,  IPS, BSF, CRPF, ITBP,  CISF , NSG,  RPFHAVE FAILED ----- AND WHEN FINALLY THE ARMED FORCES FAIL ; INDIA WILL BE LOST.       
PLEASE KNOW THESE FACTS.
4  THE GOVT, FINANCE MINISTRY AND THE IAS/IPS LOBBY IS DENYING YOUR SOLDIERS OROP UNDER THE PLEA OF FINANCIAL SCARCITY . THE FOLLOWING WILL TELL YOU THEIR SCARCITY : 
        (a)  OROP ALREADY EXISTS FOR 100% OF THE BUREAUCRATS, JUDICIARY AND  ALL THE PARLIAMENTARIANS.
        (b).  OUR PENSION WAS BROUGHT DOWN  FROM 70% to 50 %WHILE THEIRS WAS RAISED  FROM 30% TO 50% IN THE 3rd CPC . 
        (c).  IN THE 6th CPC THEY DOLED OUT NFU - A SYSTEM BY WHICH ALL IAS, IPS OFFICERS & GROUP A SERVICES  (LESS ARMED FORCES)  WOULD RETIRE AT THE HIGHEST PAY SCALE -THEREBY GIVING THEM HIGHEST PENSION PLUS OROP. THEY LEFT FORCES OUT OF IT.
        (d).  THE IAS ,IPS  and the CENTRAL SERVICES  also gave themselves ACP -  ASSURED CAREER PROGRESSION - BUT AGAIN LEFT FORCES OUT OF IT . BY DOING THIS , THEY BROUGHT US DOWN SEVERELY AND HAVE MADE THE FORCES LEAST LUCRATIVE AND LEAST HONORABLE JOB. Without doubt the aim was to downgrade the Armed Forces of India. OUR ENEMIES ARE HAPPY AND WATCHING THIS GREAT DRAMA WITH GLEE ! Do you know that till date  a DIG was was between a Lt Col and a Col . Now a Col has been equated with Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG). The rank of a DIG  is now officially equal to a Brigadier. Both are now on a Grade Pay of Rs 8900. Because of the machinations of the Govt and the Central Services to run down the Military.
         (e)   THEY CAN  "DONATE"  $ 1 MILLION TO MONGOLIA, DONATE 1.25 LAC CRORE TO A STATE VOTE BANK, LET SCAMS OF LACS OF CRORE IN GOVT , IPL AND BCCI, give bailouts of hundreds of LAKHS to AIR INDIA but feel poor when it comes toRs. 8,300 crores for the ArmedForces personnel who  are" FORCED " TO RETIRE YOUNG SO THAT THE NATION CAN SLEEP EASY. 
     
       
5  It is not just Modi's promise but a four decade old promise, AN APPROVED PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE (KOSHIARY ) REPORT, A FAVOURABLE SC JUDGMENT (Maj Gen Vains ) and a promise by all Govts.

6  YOU CANNOT REMAIN INSULATED  AND SEE VETERANS AND WIDOWS IGNORED AND THE STATUS AND PARITY OF THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES vis-a- vis  OTHER GOVT SERVANTS DISTORTED. AND THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE 1947 !!

7  GOD FORBID IF ONE OF YOUR OWN SON or DAUGHTER or RELATIVE IS IN THE FORCES ~~ WOULD YOU STILL FEEL THE SAME ?? WILL YOU SEND YOUR NEXT GENERATION TO THE ARMED FORCES NOW ??
..
8  WE ARE BARRED FROM STRIKES , PROTESTS, UNIONS ETC -FOR REASONS OF DISCIPLINE , BUT REST OF THE COUNTRY CAN GET WHAT THEY WANT ANY TIME BY RESORTING TO RIOTING, RAIL-ROKO etc !

9 HAVE WE EVER FAILED YOU IN PEACE,  WAR OR TERRORISM, RIOTS, FLOODS, EARTHQUAKE ??   JUST  LAST WEEK, EVEN THE SMALL SCALE  RIOTS IN GUJARAT COULD NOT BE CONTROLLED BY THE POLICE OR THE PARA MIL FORCES ( !! ) AND THE ARMY DID THE JOB !! 


CAN THIS  NATION SURVIVE WITHOUT ITS ARMED FORCES  ?? 

REMEMBER SALARY MAKES US DO OUR JOB BUT ITS HONOR AND RECOGNITION THAT IMPELS US TO EMBRACE DEATH WILLINGLY WHILE EXECUTING OUR JOB.THE POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS HAVE DISHONOURED US.

बाज़ एवं चील : अनन्तगामी उड़ान /Eagle: The maiden Story of winning attitude

बाज़ एवं चील : अनन्तगामी उड़ान 

बाज लगभग 70 वर्ष जीता है,
परन्तु अपने जीवन के 40वें वर्ष में आते आते उसे एक महत्वपूर्ण निर्णय लेना पड़ता है।

उस अवस्था में उसके शरीर के तीन प्रमुख अंग निष्प्रभावी होने लगते हैं-

1. पंजे लम्बे और लचीले हो जाते है व
शिकार पर पकड़ बनाने में अक्षम होने लगते हैं।

2. चोंच आगे की ओर मुड़ जाती है और भोजन निकालने में व्यवधान उत्पन्न करने लगती है।

3. पंख भारी हो जाते हैं, और सीने से चिपकने के कारण पूरे खुल नहीं पाते हैं, उड़ानें सीमित कर देते हैं।

भोजन ढूँढ़ना, भोजन पकड़ना
और भोजन खाना....
तीनों प्रक्रियायें अपनी धार खोने लगती हैं।

उसके पास तीन ही विकल्प बचते हैं,
या तो देह त्याग दे,
या अपनी प्रवृत्ति छोड़ गिद्ध की तरह त्यक्त भोजन पर निर्वाह करे...
या फिर
स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करे,
आकाश के निर्द्वन्द्व एकाधिपति के रूप में।

जहाँ पहले दो विकल्प सरल और त्वरित हैं,
वहीं तीसरा अत्यन्त पीड़ादायी और लम्बा।

बाज पीड़ा चुनता है
और स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करता है।

वह किसी ऊँचे पहाड़ पर जाता है,
एकान्त में अपना घोंसला बनाता है,
और तब प्रारम्भ करता है पूरी प्रक्रिया।

सबसे पहले वह अपनी चोंच चट्टान पर मार मार कर तोड़ देता है..!
अपनी चोंच तोड़ने से अधिक पीड़ादायक कुछ भी नहीं पक्षीराज के
लिये।
तब वह प्रतीक्षा करता है
चोंच के पुनः उग आने की।

उसके बाद वह अपने पंजे भी उसी प्रकार तोड़ देता है और प्रतीक्षा करता है पंजों के पुनः उग आने की।
नये चोंच और पंजे आने के बाद
वह अपने भारी पंखों को एक एक कर नोंच कर निकालता है और प्रतीक्षा करता पंखों के पुनः उग आने की।

150 दिन की पीड़ा और प्रतीक्षा...
और तब उसे मिलती है वही भव्य और ऊँची उड़ान, पहले जैसी नयी।

इस पुनर्स्थापना के बाद वह 30 साल और जीता है,
ऊर्जा, सम्मान और गरिमा के साथ।

प्रकृति हमें सिखाने बैठी है-
पंजे पकड़ के प्रतीक हैं,
चोंच सक्रियता की और
पंख कल्पना को स्थापित करते हैं।

इच्छा परिस्थितियों पर नियन्त्रण बनाये रखने की,
सक्रियता स्वयं के अस्तित्व की गरिमा बनाये रखने की,
कल्पना जीवन में कुछ नयापन बनाये रखने की।

इच्छा, सक्रियता और कल्पना...
तीनों के तीनों निर्बल पड़ने लगते हैं.. हममें भी चालीस तक आते आते।

हमारा व्यक्तित्व ही ढीला पड़ने लगता है,
अर्धजीवन में ही जीवन
समाप्तप्राय सा लगने लगता है,
उत्साह, आकांक्षा, ऊर्जा....
अधोगामी हो जाते हैं।

हमारे पास भी कई विकल्प होते हैं-
कुछ सरल और त्वरित.!
कुछ पीड़ादायी...!!

हमें भी अपने जीवन के विवशता भरे
अतिलचीलेपन को त्याग कर नियन्त्रण दिखाना होगा-
बाज के पंजों की तरह।

हमें भी आलस्य उत्पन्न करने वाली वक्र मानसिकता को त्याग कर ऊर्जस्वित सक्रियता दिखानी होगी-
"बाज की चोंच की तरह।"

हमें भी भूतकाल में जकड़े अस्तित्व के
भारीपन को त्याग कर कल्पना की उन्मुक्त उड़ाने भरनी होंगी-
"बाज के पंखों की तरह।"

150 दिन न सही, तो एक माह ही बिताया जाये, स्वयं को पुनर्स्थापित करने में।
जो शरीर और मन से चिपका हुआ है, उसे तोड़ने और नोंचने में पीड़ा तो होगी ही,
बाज तब उड़ानें भरने को तैयार होंगे,
इस बार उड़ानें
और ऊँची होंगी,
अनुभवी होंगी,
अनन्तगामी होंगी....!

●●●●●जीत तक ज़ारी जंग●●●●●

जाति से सवाल

" जाति "

जाति ,,, जाति ,,, जाति ,,,
जाति ,,, जाति,,, जाति ,,,

जाति से सवाल ,,,,,,,,,,,,,

ऐ " जाति " तू कौन है ,

तू कहाँ से आई ।

तू किस लिए आई ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से ब्राह्मण कहता है कि मैं सबसे बड़ा , क्षत्रिय और वैश्य कहता है कि मैं भी बड़ा ।

ऐ "जाति" क्या तुझे मालूम है ये तीनो ऊपर वाले कहते हैं कि शुद्र सबसे निचा ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से दलित समाज ने हजारों सालों से अमानवीय यातनायें झेला है।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से दलित समाज को जानवरो से भी बदतर जीवन जिना पड़ा ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से दलित समाज को हजारों साल से नीच अछूत बनाया गया है ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से दलितों को कुओ और तालाबो से पानी भरना मना था । जिन तालाबो में जानवर मल मूत्र त्यागते थे अगर दलित समाज का व्यक्ति उस तालाब से पानी भर लेता था तो वह तालाब अपवित्र हो जाता था ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है तेरी वजह से ऊंच लोग हमारे पूर्वजो की परछाई से दूर भागते थे ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है की तेरी वजह से हमारे लोगो को गले में मटकी और कमर में झाड़ू बंधना पड़ता था ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से हमारे पूर्वज अनपढ़ , गंवार , निर्धन , निर्बल , लाचार असहाय बने रहे ।

ऐ " जाति क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से 33 करोड़ देवी देवता और भगवानो ने हमारी कोई मदद नही की ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से शम्बूक ऋषि की हत्या राम ने की ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से एकलव्य को अपना अंगूठा गंवाना पड़ा ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है तेरी वजह से संत रविदास को अपमानित होना पड़ा ।

ऐ "जाति ' क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से छत्रपति शिवाजी महाराज के माथे पर काशी का गागाभट्ट ब्राह्मण शुद्र मानकर अपने पैर के बाये अंगूठे से तिलक लगाया

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से छत्रपति शाहू जी महाराज को अपमानित होना पड़ा ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से ज्योतिबा फुले जी को ब्राह्मण दोस्त की शादी में से अपमानित कर के निकाल दिया गया ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम कि तेरी वजह से माता सावित्री बाई फुले के मुंह पर गोबर फेका गया ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि हमारे उद्धारकर्ता परम पूज्य डॉक्टर बाबा साहेब भीम राव अम्बेडकर जब पढ़ने के लिए पाठशाला गए तो उन्हें कक्षा के बाहर बैठाया गया ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से महान विद्वान् होने पर भी बाबा साहब को कदम कदम पर अपमानित होना पड़ा ।

ऐ "जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से आज भी हमे जाति के नाम पर अपमानित होना पड़ता है ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से हमारी माँ बहनो पर सबसे ज्यादा जुल्म अत्याचार होते हैं ।

ऐ " जाति " क्या तुझे मालूम है कि तेरी वजह से खैरलांजी में बलात्कार और हत्या होती है ।

ऐ "जाति " तेरी वजह से दलित समाज ने 5000 सालो से न जाने कितने जुल्म अत्याचार सहे ।

ऐ " जाति " तेरी वजह से इंसान , इंसान को घृणा और और नफ़रत की नजर से देखता है ।

ऐ " जाति '" तू इस धरती से हमेशा हमेशा के लिए चली क्यों नही जाती ।

ऐ " जाति "

तू पापन है ,

तू कलंकिनी है ,

तू निर्दयी है ,

तू बेरहम है ।

तू कस्टदायनी है

तू जुल्मी है

तू हत्यारनि है

तू अत्याचारनी है

तू ढोंग है

तू पाखंड

तू अन्धविश्वास है

तू किसी नदी नाले में डूब कर
मर क्यों नही जाती ।

तू मर जा

मर जा

मर जा

डूब के मर जा ,,,,,,,,,,,,

ताकि

इस देश में समानता हो ।

एक दूसरे का सम्मान हो

इस देश में भाईचारा हो

इस देश में अमन सुख चैन हो

और

यह भारत देश बौद्धमय हो

नमो बुद्धाय

जय भीम

One Rank One Pension(OROP) Mystery Resolved

FOR ALL THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND OROP – HERE IS HOW THE IAS STOPPED THE OROP THAT WAS IN VOGUE FOR THE ARMED FORCES FOR 26 YEARS (FROM 1947 TO 1973) AND REDUCED THE PENSION OF MILITARY PERSONS FROM 70% OF PAY TO 30% - SOMETHING THAT THE MODI GOVERNMENT PROMISED TO RECTIFY BUT IS NOW WANTING TO TRADE THE LOWEST POSSIBLE UNDER PRETEXT OF “JATIL SAMASYA” SO THAT THE MAFIA AND THE BABUS CAN EXTRACT THEIR POUND OF FLESH. HERE ARE THE EXTRACTS OF THE 2011 KOSHIYARI COMMITTEE AND THE LINK TO THE PDF OF THE FULL REPORT WHICH WAS ACCEPTED BY GOI BESIDES OROP FOR ARMED FORCES HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY TWO PARLIAMENTS. CAN THE MODI GOVERNMENT RESTORE WHAT IS DUE TO MILITARY VETERANS WITHOUT RESORTING TO BANIAGIRI AND WITHOUT MORE LATHI CHARGES – THAT THE FIRST LATHI CHARGE ON MILITARY VETERANS IN INDEPENDENT INDIA HAD THE STAMP OF APPROVAL OF THE PMO IF NOT THE PM WAS OBVIOUS – SENDING A SCAPEGOAT POLICE OFFICER TO APOLOGIZE CANNOT ABSOLVE THEIR COMPLICITY IN ORCHESTRATING SUCH NATIONAL SHAME. WHAT NEEDS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED IS THAT TRADE CANNOT SUBSTITUTE DEFENCE AND SO CAN’T TRADERS SUBSTITUE SOLDIERS !

EXTRACTS OF OBSERVATIONS, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE
KOSHYARI COMMITTEE , AS RECORDED IN ITS REPORT ON GRANT OF ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP), SUBMITTED TO THE PARLIAMENT ON 19 DECEMBER 2011

http://164.100.47.5/…/En…/Committee%20on%20Petitions/142.pdf

The Koshyari Committee on One Rank One Pension
1. The Koshyari Committee was constituted by the Rajya Sabha in March 2011 to go into the genuineness of the demand for grant of ONE RANK ONE PENSION (OROP). The Koshyari Committee after having studied the requirement in detail, strongly recommended grant of OROP to Ex-Servicemen; and, in Para 3 of its Report submitted to the Parliament on 19 Dec 2011, it has unambiguously defined One Rank One Pension (OROP) as:

One Rank One Pension.
One Rank One Pension (OROP) implies that uniform pension be paid to the Armed Forces Personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement; and, any future enhancement in the rates of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.
This implies bridging the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.
In armed forces, equality in service has two components, namely, rank and length of service. The importance of rank is inherent in armed forces as it has been granted by the President of India and signifies command, control and responsibility in consonance with ethos of service. These ranks are even allowed to be retained by the individual concerned after his/her retirement.
Hence, two armed forces personnel in the same rank and equal length of service should get same pension, irrespective of date of retirement; and, any future enhancement in rates of pension be automatically passed on to the past pensioners.

FINDINGS.
2. Findings.
Para 10.2 &10.3 of the Report
The Committee observes that One Rank One Pension was in vogue till 1973 when the Third Central Pay Commission took an ex-parte decision against the One Rank One Pension formula. If this formula was working satisfactorily for more than 26 years after the country's Independence what was the harm in continuing this formula? The same procedure could very well be followed even though this demand is accepted by the Government.
The Ministries of Defence (Dept. of Ex-Servicemen Welfare) and Finance (Dept. of Expenditure)] in their submissions have attempted to draw a rosy
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picture about the pension being given to the Armed Forces personnel according to length of service. If this is beneficial to them then why are the Ex-Servicemen consistently demanding for One Rank One Pension Formula? Why they are agitated? They serve the nation with utmost devotion and selflessness but their demands are consistently being ignored, not by the heads of Armed Forces, but by the Bureaucrats. It’s a typical example of Bureaucratic apathy.
To continue this apathy, the Ministries apprised the Committee that if OROP is to be implemented for the armed forces personnel, similar demands may be raised from the civilian Government employees. To this argument, the Committee finds that it is a baseless apprehension of the Government as soldiering is a different profession and they retire by rank while civilian Government employee retired by age.
The terms and conditions of armed forces are tougher and harsher than the civilian Government employee. There are restrictions of fundamental rights to the armed forces. Risk to life of a soldier is always higher as they work under severe strain and sense of insecurity with undefined and unlimited working hours. Transfers and dislocation alongwith bleak career prospects are other disadvantages attached with the Armed Forces. Their family life is also non-comparable with that of civilian Government employee.
The Armed Forces are also subjected to Court Martial system for the sake of military discipline. In view of aforesaid uniqueness of Armed Forces it can not be equated with a civilian Government employee.

Para 10.4 of the Report.
The Committee is distressed to note that the Defence personnel of our country have returned their service medals to the President of India in view of theGovernments' apathetic attitude towards their demand of grant of OROP.

OBSERVATIONS.
3. Observations.
Para 9 (i) of the Report.
The Armed Forces of the Union are 'rank based structure' organisations. The Ex-Servicemen are associated with their rank even after their retirement and death. There is strong bondage between Serving and Ex-Servicemen community, as in most cases the siblings of Ex-Servicemen join the Defence services as a matter of honour and pride. Their mindset, attitude, commitment and dedication to the Nation do not change even after their retirement.
Till 1950, Armed Forces were enjoying an edge over their civilian counterparts in respect of pay and pension. The pension for armed forces was almost 90 percent of their last pay drawn, which was gradually reduced to 50 percent of their last pay drawn; whereas, the pension of civilian employees was enhanced from 33 percent to 50 percent of their last pay drawn in due course.
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Para 9 (ii) of the Report.
Pay and pension of Armed Forces personnel was governed by separate Pay Commission which was substituted with Common Pay Commission for both Civilian and Defence personnel w.e.f. Third Pay Commission.

Para 9 (iii) of the Report.
Armed forces have to retire early as a matter of policy of Government which
causes loss of earnings to them because the benefits given by successive Pay Commissions which could have accrued to them if they were made to retire at the normal retirement age of sixty. They are made to retire at a point of time when they have maximum liability of their family on them; nearly eighty five percent of armed forces retire at the age of 38; ten percent retirements take place at the age of 46; and remaining 5 percent retirements happen at the age of 56 to 58;

Para 9 (iv) of the Report.
The demand for One Rank One Pension has its basis in the past precedence as well as truncated service career of the Armed Forces which causes loss of earning to them. Furthermore, armed forces personnel are deployed in toughest terrain and roughest weather including Siachin Glacier during their service career.

Para 11.2 of the Report.
The Committee is not convinced with the version of the Ministry of Finance that the grant of OROP to the Defence personnel would eventually generate similar requests from the civilian work force of the country under the Central Government and the State Governments.
The Committee would not like this argument or apprehension to stand in the way of the legitimate and fair demand of the Defence personnel.
The Committee feels so because of the quite different terms and conditions of service of the two different categories of employments. The terms and conditions of armed forces are tougher and harsher than the civilian Government employee.
Risk to life of a soldier is always higher as they work under severe strain and sense of insecurity with undefined and unlimited working hours.
There are restrictions of fundamental rights to the armed forces.
Transfers and dislocation alongwith bleak career prospects are other disadvantages attached with the armed forces.
Their family life is also noncomparable with that of civilian Government employee.
The Armed Forces are also subjected to Court Martial system for the sake of military discipline.
In view of aforesaid uniqueness of Armed Forces it can not be equated with a civilian Government employee.

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On the issue of returning of service medals by the Defence personnel of our country to the President of India in view of the Governments' apathetic attitude towards their demand of grant of OROP, the Committee is of the view that our Defence personnel should not feel alienated to this extent again and they are not forced to surrender their hard earned service medals in this manner to exhibit their discontent with the government policies.

Para 11.3of the Report.
There is another dimension of the issue under consideration, i.e., the necessity and justification for bringing about the change through the Third Central Pay Commission. Nothing has been brought before the Committee which could explain or justify the circumstances in which the Defence personnel were
applied the same criteria as applicable to the country’s civilian work force under the Central Government for the purpose of determining their pay, allowances, pension, family pension, etc. It is quite obvious that the terms and conditions of service, more particularly their span of service, i.e., the age at which they enter service and the age at which they become due to retire, vary drastically from the civilian work force. There is no doubt that the span of service of the armed forces is much-much less as compared to the civilians. The defence personnel in the PBOR category retire when they are around 35-40 years of age. Even the officers retire when they are around 55 years of age. That is the time when they have lot of family and social responsibility to discharge for which they need a sound financial support. This is certainly not the case with the civilian work force where the age of retirement is 60 uniformly. Further, under the rules governing pension/ family pension of the civilians, the longer a person serves, the more pay he gets and consequently he becomes entitled for higher pension / family pension. This being so, our Defence personnel are bound to remain at a disadvantageous position since the period for which they serve is definitely much less. On top of this, the fact that they retire at a younger age aggravates their hardship.

Para 11.4 of the Report
In the above situation, the Committee feels that the decision of the Government to bring our Defence personnel on the pattern of the civilians with regard to their pay, pension, etc. (from Third Central Pay Commission onwards) is not a considered decision which has caused hardship to the Defence personnel and has given birth to their demand for OROP. The Committee understands that before the Third Central Pay Commission, the Defence personnel were getting their pay/pension on the basis of a separate criteria, unconnected with the criteria devised for the civilian work force. That criteria acknowledged and covered the concept of OROP which has been given up after the Third Central Pay Commission.

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Para 11.5 of the Report.
The Committee is not convinced with the hurdles projected by the Ministry of Defence (Dept of Ex-Servicemen Welfare) in implementing of OROP for Defence personnel. They have categorized the hurdles into administrative, legal and financial.
The financial aspect has already been dealt with by the Committee. So far as the administrative angle is concerned, the Committee is given to understand that all the existing pensioners/ family pensioners are still drawing their pension/family pension based upon the lawfully determined pension / family pension. In that case, revision of their pension / family pension, prospectively, as a one time measure should not pose any administrative hurdle.
So far as the legal aspect is concerned, the Committee is not convinced by the argument put forth against the implementation of OROP because the pension / family pension is based upon the service rendered by personnel while in service and comparison of services rendered during two sets of periods does not seem to be of much relevance. If seen from a strict angle, in each set of periods, the army officer performed the duties attached to his post and it may not be proper to infer that the officers who served at a later period performed more compared to the officers of earlier period. On the contrary, facts tilt towards treating past pensioners/family pensioners at par with the more recent ones.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE KOSHYARI COMMITTEE

4. Recommendations
Para 11.6 of the Report.
Government should implement OROP in the Defence forces across the board at the earliest; and,
Further that for future, the pay, allowances, pension, family pension, etc. in respect of the Defence personnel should be determined by a separate Pay Commission so that their peculiar terms and conditions of service, the nature of duties they are required to perform, etc., which are quite different from the civilian work force, are duly taken into account while taking decision on the same.
(Point to note: Here the word ‘separate pay commission’ means a Pay Commission exclusively for the Defence Services; and not combined with Pay Commission meant for the Civilian Govt servants.

Life of an IAS officer: In the words of an IAS as Anonymous fellow

There have been question pouring out from the UPSC aspirants and citizens of India, communities. I would try to answer in the words of a fellow friend who is an IAS.

Q:// What is the lifestyle of an IAS officer?

I am an IAS officer and writing this answer anonymously for two obvious reasons.

1. Don’t want to do self boast “by name”.
2. Can’t criticize the system and IAS (for wrong things) openly, myself being a part of govt.

Will also try to compare with other jobs, esp other govt services.

I have done more than a decade into the field (i.e. DM, Commissioner, etc) are reasonably good posts, though not best ones. My answer is for the most powerful position enjoyed by us i.e. DM. When you become secretary, you are just like any other govt servant in state capital or Delhi. No one will recognize you there. On an average statistics are like this.

1. More than one week leave- only once for my marriage.

2. One week leave- only once. To go for family trip on LTC. (Could not avail two LTCs due to work, so was determined to go this time. This time also called on penultimate day to join back for some urgent issue).

3. Out of 52 Sundays per year, zero work Sundays are around 5 to 10. Saturdays, despite being holidays are usually working. Field officers usually do most of the work on holidays because on that day less no of visitors and phone calls disturb thinking process. All judgments, complicated files are usually cleared only on holidays or after 10pm.

4. Usual working hours are 9.30 am to 9 or 10pm. In situations like disasters, elections, major events, etc usual working hours are 8 am to midnight. I personally remember having worked upto 2 or 3am in the morning for at least 50 times. Then I also remember having worked for 36 hours at a stretch with only 1-2 hour break for 5-6 times. Mostly elections and disasters. Once for “non emergency” i.e. clearing 1100 certificates of candidates who were interested in filing nominations for gram panchayat elections. All DMs could have easily said that applications filed only 24 hours ago need not be disposed as officially we have 15 days to take decision. But I remember that then almost all DMs in my state didn’t sleep to ensure that these are disposed off.

5. During slow emergencies/crisis like drought and organizing major events (unlike say earthquake or floods), for months together, I have consistently clocked more than 100 hours a week. 70-75 hours a week is a norm during routine days. (Mind well, things are worse for CMs and senior ministers).

6. All DMs and Commissioners of major places “normally” clear files past midnight, many a times upto 2am, as a matter of routine. At small places, one can go to bed by 10 or 11 pm.

7. Even secretaries and chief secretary usually sit till late night because it is not possible to work during daytime due to visitors and other meetings, etc.

8. Now coming to facilities, the only facility which stands out is really good house. But that is enjoyed by family and not by IAS officer who goes there only to sleep. About vehicle, IAS officers (and any officer for that matter) are not allowed to use official vehicle for personal or family use. Some states allow so at payment. I am paying around Rs. 1000-1500 per month in govt treasury for family use that happens in my case. (I had asked school auto rickshaw for my son but my ADM told me that this will create “uncalled for news” and suggested this “official way out”). Btw, why single out IAS officer for this misuse? It is maximum in uniformed forces followed closely by PSUs and IAS.

9. Free phone facility depends upon post and state. In one state, DMs are entitled for only Rs 2000 per month for residential landline plus residential internet plus mobile. So around 20% DMs in such case quietly pay around Rs. 1000-2000 per month from their pocket. Others tell their subordinates to bear these expenses unofficially (You know what I mean). All states have some upper limit on bills. Handsets: in some states govt provides, in other officer has to purchase himself. Btw, almost all phone calls done by us are official. Don’t have time for chatting on personal matters. Not even with spouse or kids. My son has learnt to send me a recorded voice on whatsapp at the age of 5. Usually it is a request to come home early which he sends as feels sleepy. He knows I don’t speak much on phone.

10. Cable wallas usually don’t take monthly rent if you are DM. But around 10% DMs still pay. Again, most of us have shifted to sky TVs and this option is not there. Many of us infact don’t watch TV. Really. Electricity bills: Those posts with camp offices (like DM) have two meters. One is paid by office. Another should be paid by officer and many a times is paid by his subordinate (unofficially). Sometimes a trick is made by which most of the load is shifted to office meter. And electrical engineers themselves will give you this idea.

11. Around 30% DMs get their household things like vegetables, milk, etc. Rest pay. (For such courtesy’s, add 20% for states north of Vindhyas and deduct 10% for south of Vindhyas).

12. Restaurant and cinema hall owners usually refuse to take payment. But this is usually 2-3 times in a year luxury.

13. Body guard is there when you are DM, Divisional Commissioner and Chief Secretary. That is around 5 to 6 years in your career. Rest of the time, no such facility even if you are equally vulnerable.

14. Most of the states officially allow 2 to 4 class 4 employees at residence. Few states don’t allow this. Even in these states, some class 4 employees are posted at home “unofficially”. But this is a huge risk these days due to video cameras, etc. Again armed forces, IPS, judiciary, railways, PSUs have these facilities institutionalized in far better way than IAS.

15. When you are secretary to govt, you reside in big 3 BHK flat in posh locality of state capital usually near secretariat. All other perks and facilities are gone. You get your maid, you go to bazaar like normal person, can go to restaurants/movies without being watched by press and people and that’s actually a good return to being a normal human being.

16. About hobbies, many of us are voracious readers. Many don’t read at all. I am moderate one who reads when travelling, otherwise not. Usually we are like anyone of you on quora. Like movies, trekking and what not. I have typically noticed that many don’t like TV though. Around 40% go for regular sports. This is yet another perk in IAS since in most of the cities you get easy membership in best club. However all is not free. I know one secretary rank officer who didn’t want to spend Rs 12k per year for availing club facility as his son was in higher studies and he wanted to save money. He would do morning walk on roads like any other middle class person. In many cities like Delhi or Mumbai, even these perks are not easy now. Also, some good singers or painters or writers are there in IAS. Remember English August?

17. Coming to official work, I would request corporate honchos or MBAs or technocrats on quora to imagine if they are reporting to Lalu or Mulayam or Mayawati and still work without breaking the rule. These kinds of characters are usually in all districts from MLAs upward. Usually all ministers are unreasonable. However must say that all senior ministers (like in top 2 to 5 in the state including CMs), most of the times are reasonable and won’t bother you if they know that you won’t do anything illegal.

18. Then also imagine when you have to deal with subordinates whom you can’t select/recruit/transfer/punish (all state service officers). Just imagine this in private sector. In few states, DMs can’t even transfer or punish even class 3 person.

19. Salary of young IAS officer SDM is upto Rs. 40k and most DMs get Rs. 50-65k per month. That’s simply not enough in present times. We have our aspirations and do feel like going once in a while to say Dubai or Singapore or to some resort in Kerala. Our wives and kids do feel like going to 5 star hotel or resorts. It is not possible for us for the reason of time and money both. It does feel bad when you see your wife (who must have had other ideas when marrying) walking past windows in malls and selecting which is in “our budget”. When travelling, many like me are bag packers and usually manage with govt rest houses, which usually has no room service and simple room for private purpose can cost from Rs 500 to 1500 per day. Just imagine, govt guideline for giving LIG house states upper limit of monthly income at Rs 50k per month, which is more than juniormost IAS officer’s salary handling small district or a subdivision.

20. To add further, seniormost officer of the country, cabinet secretary gets Rs 90k basic (around Rs 1.7 lakh pm) for being right hand man of the PM. Chief Secretaries and Secretaries to Govt of India gets Rs 80k basic (around Rs 1.6 lakh pm). I sincerely feel this is paltry compared to the responsibilities entrusted on them. Btw, almost all district judges, senior professors and of course all VCs and HC/SC judges get far better salaries compared to these heads at state and centre. DGP and PCCF gets equal to Chief Secretary but they are head of one dept each and CS is head of all departments including police and forest. So why this logic of pay parity? Ever imagined concept of pay parity between Mukesh Ambani and all directors/VPs of Reliance?

21. At district level, SSPs and all dist heads get equal to DM. (same pay parity concept). Taluka level judges get more. Almost all engineers, doctors, college teachers/professors get far more for far less no of working hours and stress. Armed forces get equal or more for the same seniority. Colonels get more salary than DMs. And lesser said about facilities better. But with all due respect, ask them how many hours of stress and work they do. Ask them to report to Madhu Koda and then show performance after following his instructions.

22. I request readers not to talk about corruption. This is irrelevant for this topic. Corruption is there in all fields including private sector. In fact, maximum booty of corruption in govt goes to politicians and private parties and govt officers get lesser share. Percentage of corrupt IAS officers vary statewise but I can say around 10% are extremely corrupt looking for money in each and every file and all these facilities/perks really don’t matter to them. They make a tens of crores every year. Other 20-40% are moderately corrupt with rates fixed for certain types of works (like layout approvals). They also make a few crore rupees every year. Next 20-40% are less corrupt as they take money if offered otherwise don’t really harass if bribe not paid. Usually builders, industrialists, etc do offer rather than not as a matter of routine. Others don’t offer as a matter of routine. Another 10% (i.e. total upto 90%) will accept freebies like free cinema ticket, free dining, free vehicle to go somewhere, free hotel stay, etc. Remaining 10% are extremely honest and I have seen at least 10 officers travelling in state transport bus or sleeper coach of train (for personal travel) to save money. (10 is a big no in one state with 200 IAS officers).

23. IAS usually enjoys more public attention including media coverage. This was an advantage over other services but these days media usually focuses on non issues and makes IAS officers in all districts villain for which he is not at fault or even when there is nothing wrong. False and defamatory news items are routine now.

24. After these many years, I have saving not more than Rs 10 lakh. No house or plot as yet. There are many like me. We can’t purchase a plot or flat in state capital at current salaries. And after spending 30 years in state capitals can’t really think of going back to hinterland. That is why in most states, govt was providing houses at very cheap cost by way of societies. But now that has also stopped after Adarsha scam. If there is one worry in my life, it is this one. How do I purchase a plot/flat?

25. All these concerns apply if you are straightforward. But then I can confidently state that in terms of percentage of honest officers, IAS ranks just below armed forces and higher judiciary and way above all other services including IPS, IRS, PSUs, engineering services, lower judiciary and of course politicians.

26. About so called perceived work load on other services vis-à-vis IAS, just let me tell you some figures. Typically police is seen as very stressful service. Take the example of Mumbai or any metro. No of IPS officers doing city policing is more than 50. No of IRS officers in metros varies from around 150 in Chennai to 400 in Mumbai. Mumbai has 12 CCITs (equivalent to Chief Secretary of the state). Mumbai suburban is overseen by 100s of IRTS/IRES/IRPS/etc officers. Compare this with around 10 IAS officers in BMC and Collectorate combined who looks after all other aspects except these. From hospitals, schools, roads, buses, electricity distribution, crematoria, slaughter houses, water supply, street lights, building permissions, land use, town planning, encroachment removal, slum rehabilitation and what not. Or compare SSP handling one dept with focused work with DM looking after 30 departments including police, few of the departments being much larger than police force. Still you feel, IAS is all luxury and no work?

27. Try getting an appointment of Judge of High Court, Lt Gen of Armed forces, GM railways, CP of Mumbai/Delhi and Commissioner of BMC or Secretary of dept for any complaint and tell me who is more accessible and responsive. Try this at all levels in any state/city, btw. Though I must admit that this edge which we typically had in earlier days is being lost fast or probably lost. Still I maintain, IAS is only slightly better than other services.

28. Those of you still thinking why have a generalist service, try observing any election or response to disaster or management of any event by any IAS officer. And think if this is really a generalized job or specialized one. Indeed to be a good generalist is most difficult specialization one can achieve. Also try to interact with any secretary to Govt of India and tell me if you feel that his knowledge in that subject is less than what is required to guide the officers in the field. Just compare for example, performance of govt in management of commonwealth games in New Delhi before and after IAS officers were given charge of the situation. IAS officers were brought in for last few weeks, btw. Or see the state of affairs of those departments which are purely headed by experts of those fields. Like Universities or PWD and Irrigation dept in few states. Or compare performance of countrywide work of census or national population register or socio economic survey (headed by an IAS officer) with Aadhar card distribution (earlier headed by Mr Nandan Nilekani) with exactly same machinery down below. Also compare the money spent on these exercises so far. Still you want all lateral entries? (Btw, all is not well in IAS also and there are very incompetent officers but I repeat their proportion is much less. Also I am in favour of lateral entry but on merit and not lobbying as is happening now).

29. So why still I am in IAS? Or why still IAS is preferred over all other services and even armed forces. Only one answer is sense of satisfaction. (Yes, opportunities of corruption are also high but IRS has more, IPS almost at par, other services less). But this service is unparalleled and the happiness it brings to you is much more than all these things. Happiness of connecting a village by road or providing water to some hamlet or conducting smooth elections or providing relief in disasters in unparalleled. No other job provides you an opportunity to work for mankind from his birth (rather before than even birth- remember ANC care) upto his death, touching each and every aspect of his life. Only if you become senior minister or CM, you may do more but then it is not possible for everyone. I can’t explain you happiness when a poor villager bring few kg of vegetables from his farm for having done small work or just out of affection. I can’t describe the happiness when villagers eagerly wait for their DM to share their problems whenever he is on tour. My wife constantly reminds me never to indulge in corruption so that we can held our heads high. She is ok with less money and and not so ok with less time I give to her. At times, I can’t speak to my son for days together due to odd hours of my work. Still, I have no intention whatsoever to leave this job. May be I will try for foreign assignment in UN, etc to get some more white money and will seek a side post for few years to give more time to myself and family. But leaving this job? No way.

(Sorry for long answer. Thanks for patient reading. All comments welcome. But I may not respond quickly. Abuses- I don’t care. We are used to and immune to them. It only shows culture in which abuser is brought up.)

EDIT-
Thanks for tremendous response. 1.2k upvotes in 18 hours is something (I enjoy such joys of appreciation from public... Now you know what I mean).

1. And yes. How did I forget those amber/red beacons? The fact remains that these beacons and huge huge colonial bungalows in my city DID inspire me to take up this job. However in many states posts other than DM and Secretaries now can't use these beacons. And after a while, an officer also is get so used to it that it loses its charm. I used it as it came as a matter of right. However many a times I would remove it when I wanted to do say inspections or make my visit bit away from media glaze. Firstly, you can't do inspections etc in media glare. These needs to be done at peace, esp if application of mind is there. Secondly, if you scold your subordinates during inspections (usually happens with me), it becomes a big headline next day. DM saab ki phatkaar and all that stuff. This has sometimes counter effect on morale. Daat phatkaar is better kept within four walls. Govt is a family and family matters (not corruption etc, btw) should remain within family. Btw, the very fact that I forgot to mention beacon in my original answer means I have stopped thinking about it. Isn't it!

Secondly, it is necessary in my opinion to have these symbols of power. Beacons, gun totting guard, big bungalows, etc for posts like DM or Commissioner or police officers. Just one example. On 4 occasions, I have faced crowd of 1000+ agitating and emotionally charged men about to do rioting. And all the times, I was successful in persuading them not to do so with handful of police with me. Under these circumstances, what matters is the crowd mentality. Because of these symbols of powers, they know that they are talking to or are being persuaded by someone "big" and "powerful". It is simply not possible to convince these mobs if DM is seen "just like any other person". This also applies to police, magistrates, ministers, etc. Many such examples can be given, apart from law and order. Getting a clear right of way is just one reason. For the record, Indian police can control larger crowd per policeman compared to all western countries and lot of this is because of these symbols of power. Otherwise how do you reason out how could handful of Britishers (few thousand only) controlled this subcontinent with vice like grip? One thing sure. I was attracted towards this service because of these symbols of power and opulent life styles as perceived by others. Social service factor was around 20%. I would not have been an IAS officer if these symbols never existed. Now it is reversed. Social service factor is most important and feeling of being powerful matters less. So if you remove these symbols, UPSC will surely go down in preference as career. It already has gone down in last two decades. IITs, IIMs have gone ahead. Do you want it to go down further? UPSC won't attract merit otherwise.

2. I also forgot to mention about kinds of stress and mental strain. (Again it means I am used to it as a part of life.) Everyday I meet at least one and at times numerous morchas and aggressive groups demanding anything and everything. For example, a small incidence suspending an employee can take communal/caste colour in no time; usually such erring persons do everything possible to give these colours. Many a times they are aggressive physically. I know names of more than 10 IAS (yes IAS) officers who were beaten up by such mobs and in some cases their faces blackened. Then few others have false cases of molestation and atrocities lodged against them. These tactics are used by "lower level politicians". Senior politicians ensure some departmental enquiry or at times frivolous police cases. (Many well known cases are frivolous and malicious). Know a few cases where IAS officer was hiding to avoid getting arrested. I am told that around one third of IAS officers in Maharashtra has frivolous cases lodged against them, so they are demanding changes in CrPC for protection- esp in sec 156(3). (Someone can cross check). Daily pressures from top to do certain things in certain ways also takes mental toll on you.

3. Lastly, these days newspapers and media channels usually show false news than true ones. Every day every newspaper will have some factually wrong news. Like a photograph of some other place's roads to show bad condition of roads in other locality. Or demand for enquiry in innocuous matter by some social activist. (They are there in every nook and corner). I remember that in probation first such bogus news made me very upset. I have seen good officers on posts which are not as public oriented (like professors) losing their sleep over such allegations. We face it everyday.... at all levels. But there is only one answer- Just remain answerable to your own conscious and nothing really matters later on. We are three IAS officers at this place and one of them has stopped reading newspapers. This is his style to avoid such stress. I usually glance through it casually and the next moment consider it as "raddi". I also get lot of positive coverage btw. Infact lot of extremely good officers take extra precaution to ensure positive media coverage. Very small percentage also give regular or occasional gifts to reporters. But since I know what these media houses are made up of, these positive news items don't really give that much joy which they otherwise should. What gives you joy is what I am feeling after your response. And this keeps us going.

                                                                                                                    -Anonymous