The government announced, on 29 June, with much fanfare, its acceptance of recommendations for the seventh pay commission. The anger and disgust within the armed forces – on being singularly targeted and let down was such, that for the first time in the history of the nation, the three service chiefs refused to implement it.
The defence minister did attempt to bulldoze his way, stating that it be accepted while the government considers its shortcomings – but facing resentment, backed down.
The same was the case with various allowances, where a soldier serving in Siachen or facing hostile Pak action in J&K, would draw far less than his civilian counterpart serving in a safe and plush office in Guwahati. Adding to its misery was a drastic reduction in disability pensions, wherein again, the soldier suffering major injury in battling militants would draw far lower than his civilian counterpart suffering a heart attack due to a sedentary lifestyle in Delhi’s Lutyens.
Justice Mathur and his eminent team had in one swoop broken whatever little trust existed between the military and other central services.
Setting Up Anomaly Commission
The government referred all cases of dispute to an anomalies commission. It announced two anomaly commissions. The first – comprising of 22 members, under the Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), would – amongst other anomalies – also consider military objections on its pay issues. The second is the allowances commission which has eight members under the Finance Secretary. As usual, the armed forces have been ignored in both these commissions, although they are the main ones directly affected.
Once again, the very cadre which seeks to discredit the military is sitting on judgement to decide a case which they themselves created. Feeling that it may still not be given its due, a serving army officer – representing a hurt military – approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September, seeking inclusion of a military member in both the commissions.
A first of its kind in Indian history, the case is sub judice.
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Political Machination
The government today talks in a variety of voices when it comes to the military. The Prime Minister speaks in high volumes, claiming his government respects and stands for them; his Defence Minister shows helplessness in controlling his own department where bureaucrats issue degrading instructions quoting his approval; while the Finance Ministry passes directions which severely hamper the military’s morale and lower its status.
The opposition and critics of the government indicate support for the military, but only when it suits them. They vanish from the scene as soon as a better photo opportunity comes their way.
A clear case is the suicide of veteran Subedar Grewal, that saw Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi and Amarinder Singh creating a hullabaloo, and then vanishing as soon as demonetisation was announced – for they now had a new issue to play with.
Taking the Army For Granted
A clear lesson emerges. There are no friends when dealing with the government and politicians. Even our own veterans – now ministers in the present government – have, like seasoned politicians, turned against their own alma mater. The military must be prepared to battle its exterior and interior enemies alone. It may win the battle with exterior enemies, have the nation smiling as it dominates them (despite casualties), but its chances of winning its interior battles are dim, as the government’s intentions seem dubious.
The Prime Minister may sound positive (after all elections are round the corner) – however, his ministers project true government attitude, which is, ignore the military and keep it apart from all decision-making bodies. The military may finally, as with earlier issues, take the battle to court, the only bastion which can pass strictures to an otherwise unrelenting government.
The government is aware that the soldier would continue to perform and produce results, irrespective of when they announce new scales. They also know that performance and discipline would remain unaffected, irrespective of what is offered. Further, with those sitting on judgement being least affected, as their salaries have been released, there is no pressure. Had civilian government employees been affected, by now Lutyens Delhi would have come to a standstill by strikes and anti-government protests in front of both North and South Blocks.
The government realises it cannot play games – with employees capable of going on a strike – but with a disciplined military, it is a different story.
Parity with Babus
The question which arises is whether the government is genuinely interested or playing for time. The military simply seeks matching status, nothing more. If the government was to decide in its favour, it would be easy – if not, then it would delay the process till the military gets exhausted complaining – then release whatever it has planned. Two of the three service chiefs retire end of this year; hence, with two new appointees, the government could plan and apply more pressure to accepting what is being offered. After all, they would be new and settling in.
The government will also consider its dependence on the bureaucracy and other services that have since been elevated. It cannot bring any of them down or reduce their status. Thus, it would need to choose whether it should bring the military at par or keep it notches below. Any action to keep it below, would only be counter- productive as anti-government sentiments would rise. The one fact which it appears to ignore is that keeping it at par would have no adverse impact on government functioning, except possibly hurt egos at a bureaucratic level.
Eyeing the Assembly Polls
However, there is always a cat in the government’s bag. Elections in UP and Punjab – two major states with a sizeable serving and a veteran community – are due next year. The anomalies commission report (prior to the announcement of elections) will benefit the NDA. If not released prior to elections, then the military should expect nothing but a token enhancement in status, as no other major elections are due in a near time frame. Government actions are always planned and this is likely to be another such finely timed release – or in present parlance, a surgical strike.
(The author is a retired army officer based in Lucknow. He can be reached @kakar_harsha. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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