I have seldom written about any ongoing National issues on my personal blog. It has always centred on the finer aspects of
life and relationships, morals and spirituality. But since I read the high-drama
article of Mr. Chetan Bhagat in Times of India last Sunday, my mind has been
wondering and conscience questioning that if we have ever hailed him as the
Voice of the Indian youth.
· Where do we - the young Indians stand in terms
of morality and basic conduct?
· Have we completely lost our gray matter to the gimmicks
of grabbing public attention wherever we can?
· Is our education system armed appropriately to
provide us wisdom and not just printed papers under the cover of degrees?
My
conscience, awareness and education tell me that there is a deep rooted evil in
the system that is denying our veterans their right to OROP. So when an article
like “It's time to
analyze OROP with our head, not our heart” publishes under the pen
of an army officer’s highly qualified Son, I can only look at it with pity and
compassion.
I am not good at numbers, nor equipped to fetch the
factual data at this point in order to judge whether there is any truth behind the
calculation of Rs. 12,000 crore annual liability in the article. However, I cannot
stoop low to put a price on the sect who ensure my Nation’s sovereignty. Additionally, my understanding of the subject
says that the delays caused by one government after the other and interplaying
role of babus has brought us to the figure of Rs. 12,000 crore. The burden
should not be put on OROP alone. The Army has been committed towards National
well-being. At the time of Independence, on the appeal of the then Prime Minister, they accepted lesser salaries. This was a measure taken so that the government, that
was already stressed under revenue collection would not be burdened anymore. We have
come a long way since then. I think the time is long overdue when that one time
measure needs to be revamped.
It has been very conveniently put in the article that in
a country with limited resources, pensions amounting to Rs.60,000 crore per
year is being spent on services (of the Army) already rendered. With no offence
to the oh-so-revered Members of Parliament, I would like to ask, what makes
writers like Chetan Bhagat keep their pen capped on the pension scheme for ex-MPs
irrespective of their tenure. As if it was
not enough, the govt. is furthering the cause and is set to increase the rate
of additional pension for each completed year in excess of five years, and
an additional pension of Rs 2,000 per month instead of the current rate of Rs
1,500. Where is the money for this extravaganza coming from?
The Nation’s Army is meant to be taken pride in, respected
and rewarded for their services today and forever. If they risk their lives, go
to war during hostilities, let us at least have the audacity to support them
when they are asking for their due.
Comparing the Army to several other government jobs that don’t
have pension schemes shows a high degree of ignorance on the part of the
writer. The Army doesn’t retire at 60. They don’t work for 8 hours flat. They don’t
get paid for overtime. They don’t sleep in the cozy environs of their home.
They work at field areas in not so friendly conditions, stay away from families
and do not enjoy the best of all. I am sure there is much more to add to this
list and other innumerable stories of their courage and valour.
My consistent following of the OROP on the news channels,
newspapers, social media and basic understanding alone convince me on its
genuineness. It’s a dismay that a celebrated national bestseller writer connects
it to a prevarication that the army “guards the borders and so
it should get what it wants”. They have earned it, they
deserve it. They are peacefully seeking justice for somethings that has been long overdue.
And as far as the article published last Sunday in the National
Newspaper is concerned, let us not forget; fiction writing places a person in a
cocoon where there is ample space to give wings to one’s imagination. Seems like our writer fell a prey to it. Let
imaginations fly but keep them restricted to fictitious characters and be sensible
and sensitive enough to not target real people and events.
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