Ill-treament of military veterans today will produce an insidious impact: An Armed Force bereft of motivation
This writer is no longer angry with either the BJP’s perfidy or the theatre of the absurd that is playing out over the question of one-rank-one-pension. That this demand will be fulfilled is a foregone conclusion and not in doubt, though questions as to what extent and by when continue to plague us. But what should be of serious concern are the consequences that may visit this nation on the road to its implementation.
Sadly, neither civil society nor the fourth estate has, in any substantive way, bothered to understand the consequences of all the wrongs that have been done to the military community, serving soldiers and veterans, over the years.
Attention has only been focused on shedding crocodile tears when some soldier is martyred or other such hypocritical acts of faux patriotism such as the recent celebrity Twitter campaign to support the Indian Armed Forces under the ‘SaluteSelfie’ hashtag.
That the public at large, which could have forced our political establishment to do the right thing through active engagement, has shown itself to be lazy, callous and self-absorbed, only reinforced the belief among veterans that the civil society is no different to our politicians.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do well to remember that his fate is completely tied, not to the riveting drama and bombast of his speeches in Dubai, New York, or Sydney, but to his actions in his own country.
While he may continue to comfort himself with the fact that there is no opposition leader worth the name who could pose a problem in the coming years, dealing with the complex security challenges that we face with the Armed Forces on life support, may be a bigger handicap than he can handle.
The Prime Minister has no choice but to act, and act quickly.
Most importantly, the three serving chiefs need to re-discover some spine and inform the Prime Minister of the looming disaster ahead, if they wish to save the Forces they venerate and command.
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