A shattered army - Pay commission has ill-served the nation

THE Indian army, used here generically to include the navy and the air
force, has now reached the end of its tether, with the Sixth Pay
Commission's recommendations for the defence forces. The citizens of
our country have not really understood the magnitude of despair
amongst the rank and file of the army. There is great anger and a high
degree of frustration at every level, but particularly at the level of
the PBORs (personnel below officers' rank) and the junior and middle
level officers. Both constitute the 'cutting edge' of the defence
forces.

India has a hundred per cent volunteer army. Officers and men have
joined the army for a variety of reasons, the main ones being the
honour that comes by wearing the uniform; a desire to serve the nation
in the best way possible; family traditions; and of course, suitable
remunerations that are compatible with the highly turbulent conditions
of service.

Its ethos has been painfully nurtured by the hierarchy of the army for
the last 60 years, despite major provocations from many quarters,
especially the self-serving bureaucracy, which the country has to
unfortunately endure. The latter has consistently prevailed on the
political leadership and subtly instilled fear amongst them that the
army needs to be kept down, lest it also follow what militaries in the
immediate neighbourhood and in the extended region have done, in
usurping power by force.

This is despite the unflinching loyalty the army has displayed in even
the most difficult circumstances. It is surprising that our political
leadership, which is so astute in politicking, nurturing vote banks
and diffusing highly volatile situations of all types, has been unable
to see through this game of the bureaucrats. Or is it that they
deliberately do not want to understand it?

The institutions, structures, ethos and working environment built
painstakingly and prevailing in the army, ensures that all ranks fully
understand their duties, obligations and power-equations in a
democracy like ours. In simple terms, it means that the nation has
nothing to fear from the army. The earlier it is understood by the
political leadership and all other instruments of the state, the
better.

The defence forces came under the purview of pay commissions with the
Third Pay Commission and since then every pay commission, loaded as it
was by the bureaucracy, has worked very hard to ensure that there is a
gradual decline in the pay, emoluments and the status of all military
personnel.

All requests by the hierarchy of the defence forces to set up separate
pay commissions for the military have been studiously ignored and at
the behest of the bureaucracy, even a representative of the defence
forces has not been permitted to form part of any of the pay
commissions. This, when nearly 40 per cent of the government servants
under the purview of the pay commission are defence forces personnel!

That the defence forces have tolerated this skewed arrangement speaks
on one side of the perseverance, patience and discipline of the
defence forces and, on the other, the utter insensitivity of the
political leadership to the only institution that works effectively in
our country. The Sixth Pay Commission has of course taken the cake for
their utterly callous approach to the guardians of the nation.

There is no need to emphasise what has already been stated regarding
the highly adverse effect the recommendations of the pay commission
will have on the intake of officers in the defence forces, except to
state that every middle level serving officer I have talked to has
either already put in his papers or is planning to do so shortly.

The disastrous implications need not be amplified when it is well
known that our fighting units are already functioning at 50 per cent
strength of officers. The PBOR, unfortunately, do not have the option
of leaving the service, because they will end up with no jobs,
considering the present situation in the country of gross unemployment
and under-employment. However, in the long run, the impact of the
recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission on the PBOR is bound to be
a fall in standards of the recruits who will be willing to serve for
the peanuts thrown at them by the Commission.

The government's response to the large-scale resentment has been the
usual ploy of forming a committee! First, a committee of three
bureaucrats was formed, but it was the Railway Minister, at whose
behest an enlarged Review Committee has now been formed, while the
Minister of Defence only repeated homilies and soothing words, as he
had done in the past!

Even the Review Committee has no representative from the defence
forces, while the railways, the postal department and sundry others
not so well known, have found a place for themselves. So, we are back
to square one. This committee will repeat, ad nauseum, what the
Commission has stated, perhaps in more flowery language, except for
some minimal tinkering that will satisfy no one in the defence forces.

A continuation of such inadequate and delaying tactics will slowly
destroy a first rate army, which has served the nation with sacrifices
and élan and has saved the nation umpteen times in these last 60
years. The political leadership is either unable or unwilling to
ameliorate the genuine demands of the defence forces.

Under the circumstances, it may be best to disband the army and let
the bureaucracy become 'pseudo soldiers' and look after the security
of the nation. In the bargain, they will be able to further improve
their cadre too! If the reader discerns a sense of cynicism, déjà vu
and desperation, it is indeed intended. Sudden death would any day be
a more satisfactory arrangement. The noble "profession of arms" is
being turned into a "profession of alms"!