*Understanding KB Lal and Bureaucracy*
_by Alex Thomas -
Please bear with a *brick-by-brick account of how the Army was walled in leading to this explosive reaction, with the spark lit by a political promise by a PM-designate in 2014*.
Post 1971 war, the nation was euphoric. Our countrymen were lauding the Indian Armed Forces for a spectacular victory that had *changed the geography of the sub-continent*. The nation was savouring the victory and *more than 97,368 prisoners* were in our Prisoners of War Camps. It was the *second largest surrender* in the Military History; second only to the surrender of Gen Von Paulus, German 6th Army at Stalingrad in the Second
World War. The Armed Forces were feted everywhere for its courage and people were convinced that it was one instrument that would never let the country down.
World War. The Armed Forces were feted everywhere for its courage and people were convinced that it was one instrument that would never let the country down.
> Unknown to the services, a band of bureaucrats were conspiring as to how to cut the Armed Forces to size.
Defence Secretary was Mr K B Lal, who was literally there for the entire duration of the Third Pay Commission. He was the one who provided inputs to the Third Pay Commission.
The Commission was constituted a year before the war and concluded two years after the war. It's final recommendation marginalising the Armed Forces was *made public two months after Fd Marshal Manekshaw relinquished the post of Chief*. Indeed it was a clever move as the most popular person in the country was not able to take up cudgels against the government. This *Pay Commission cut the Armed Forces to size for winning the war for the country*. Even Fd Marshal Manekshaw was not spared; more of it later.
*'Ingratitude unkinder than the winters wind' to adopt Shakespearean phrase to an ungrateful government.*
*How did the Government go about the act?*
> Firstly they *abolished a separate Pay Commission for the Armed Forces* and *formulated an equivalence between the Armed Forces and Civilians*. It was here that the Pay Commission struck its vilest blow when they considered
that 'a *trained infantry soldier with three years of service is below a skilled labour*. Little do they know _(because of the iq they acquire at administrative academies)_ that it is the *infantry soldier who does the actual fighting and charges the enemy with naked bayonet literally on the very front edge of the battle and makes eye and steel contact with the enemy*. He is the one who bears the brunt of more than 90% of casualty in all wars and yet he was considered the lowest strata to base their comparison. It also means that the *infantry soldier with less than three years' service was considered an semi-skilled/unskilled labour ?* Just mark the irony of the sinister and ignorant move? *Rest of the soldiers were equated based on this preposterous formulae?*
> *Next step was to reduce the percentage of pension for the Armed Forces. The OROP that was effective till 1972, was annulled after the third pay commission. A soldier then served only for 15 years and went on pension at the ages ranging from 33 years to 36 years of age. In view of this, his pension was 70% of his basic pay and an officers pension was 50% of his basic pay as the bulk of them retired at 50 years of age. The civilian counterparts were getting only 30% of their basic pay as pension. Please note they served till they were 58 years of age (now 60 years) and the soldiers retired a quarter century earlier. The wretched Third Pay Commission did not consider the additional 25 years of service his civilian counterpart served and raised their pension to 50% and reduced a soldiers pension from 70% to 50% in order to achieve the so-called parity.*
that 'a *trained infantry soldier with three years of service is below a skilled labour*. Little do they know _(because of the iq they acquire at administrative academies)_ that it is the *infantry soldier who does the actual fighting and charges the enemy with naked bayonet literally on the very front edge of the battle and makes eye and steel contact with the enemy*. He is the one who bears the brunt of more than 90% of casualty in all wars and yet he was considered the lowest strata to base their comparison. It also means that the *infantry soldier with less than three years' service was considered an semi-skilled/unskilled labour ?* Just mark the irony of the sinister and ignorant move? *Rest of the soldiers were equated based on this preposterous formulae?*
> *Next step was to reduce the percentage of pension for the Armed Forces. The OROP that was effective till 1972, was annulled after the third pay commission. A soldier then served only for 15 years and went on pension at the ages ranging from 33 years to 36 years of age. In view of this, his pension was 70% of his basic pay and an officers pension was 50% of his basic pay as the bulk of them retired at 50 years of age. The civilian counterparts were getting only 30% of their basic pay as pension. Please note they served till they were 58 years of age (now 60 years) and the soldiers retired a quarter century earlier. The wretched Third Pay Commission did not consider the additional 25 years of service his civilian counterpart served and raised their pension to 50% and reduced a soldiers pension from 70% to 50% in order to achieve the so-called parity.*
Further the government *put mandatory 33 years of service for full pension fully knowing that the soldier then retired after 15 years of service. They further as a largesse made a seemingly generous gesture to the Armed Forces by pegging the mandatory service for full pension (50%) to 25 years*. *Just
look at the clever move; fully knowing that the soldier retired after 15 years of service. Thus the soldier in effect got only 30% of pay after 15 years of service, as extrapolated from full pension of 50% of pay with 25 years of service. Thus the Government ingeniously cut a soldiers pension from 70% to 30% of pay at the same time enhancing the civilian pension from 30% to 50%. *Look at the perfidy; how can possibly a Government run down her own Armed Forces? It is indeed a remarkable feat from a nation that was a slave nation for over two centuries, yet disregards her Armed Forces who ensure her hard earned freedom?*
> Our Defence Ministry were hand in glove with the proposals. There was not a whimper of protest to set right the injustice. The soldiers had to pay heavily for having won the war for the country. *Their travails were not over; more was yet to come!*
> One would wonder why the soldiers did not protest against the brash injustice perpetrated on them? It would be difficult to believe, as those were the times the officers in particular were told that politics and pay were not to be discussed. They were naïve and had full faith in the government that in the long run; no injustice would be done to them? The disarming naivety of our officers appear incomprehensible now; but it was true then. Hence the entire master stroke of cutting the armed forces to size by impoverishing them was done with so much of dexterity, it took us couple of decades to realise its negative impact.
The running down of the Armed Forces in the Third Pay Commission could not have been done without active and positive consent of the Political leadership then!
> Their next target was the most popular figure in the country-- *Fd Marshal Manekshaw*. He was made a Field Marshall and the appointment is active for life, though ceremonial in nature. A Field Marshall does not retire and continues to wear his five star rank for life. He was *entitled to Pay and Allowances for life. The bureaucrats who were literally jealous of his popularity ensured that he did not get his pay and allowances for the next 36 years, Lo and behold! A lump sum of ₹ 1.60 crore of arrears was released to him on intervention by then President Abdul Kalam!*
look at the clever move; fully knowing that the soldier retired after 15 years of service. Thus the soldier in effect got only 30% of pay after 15 years of service, as extrapolated from full pension of 50% of pay with 25 years of service. Thus the Government ingeniously cut a soldiers pension from 70% to 30% of pay at the same time enhancing the civilian pension from 30% to 50%. *Look at the perfidy; how can possibly a Government run down her own Armed Forces? It is indeed a remarkable feat from a nation that was a slave nation for over two centuries, yet disregards her Armed Forces who ensure her hard earned freedom?*
> Our Defence Ministry were hand in glove with the proposals. There was not a whimper of protest to set right the injustice. The soldiers had to pay heavily for having won the war for the country. *Their travails were not over; more was yet to come!*
> One would wonder why the soldiers did not protest against the brash injustice perpetrated on them? It would be difficult to believe, as those were the times the officers in particular were told that politics and pay were not to be discussed. They were naïve and had full faith in the government that in the long run; no injustice would be done to them? The disarming naivety of our officers appear incomprehensible now; but it was true then. Hence the entire master stroke of cutting the armed forces to size by impoverishing them was done with so much of dexterity, it took us couple of decades to realise its negative impact.
The running down of the Armed Forces in the Third Pay Commission could not have been done without active and positive consent of the Political leadership then!
> Their next target was the most popular figure in the country-- *Fd Marshal Manekshaw*. He was made a Field Marshall and the appointment is active for life, though ceremonial in nature. A Field Marshall does not retire and continues to wear his five star rank for life. He was *entitled to Pay and Allowances for life. The bureaucrats who were literally jealous of his popularity ensured that he did not get his pay and allowances for the next 36 years, Lo and behold! A lump sum of ₹ 1.60 crore of arrears was released to him on intervention by then President Abdul Kalam!*
_*A non-descript bureaucrat gave him his pension dues on his deathbed in Jun 2007, a few days before he breathed his last.*_
*Isn't Indian Bureaucracy, a national tragedy?*
Brig Narinder Dhand,
http://signals-parivaar.blogspot.in
http://signals-parivaar.blogspot.in
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