Thursday, 29 September 2016
In the recent months, there have
been instances when this author has been called pro-establishment by a
certain few, not because of any valid reason, but because of the fact
that I made an attempt to counter disinformation campaigns planted by
anti-national elements with an aim to demoralise our security forces and
which were gullibly bought as truth by many of our own, including
military veterans already (rightly) touchy after
the incoherent recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.
Labels of pro-this or anti-that is what I loathe, because if at all I would want to embrace such tags, it would be pro-fact and anti-disinformation.
I would also like to confess that I, over the past two years or so,
have toned down what I write. It is not that I have changed, but because
of the very dangerous tendency of some people to use writings penned as
a mirror and a tool of introspection to be circulated in an
out-of-context manner by those with an axe to grind, or spread
discontentment and disaffection — a much too heavy a price.
More often than not, blogs and articles, even if harsh on the
surface, written to educate the society at large, the political
executive and higher echelons of the system,about faulty policies of the
Government and the Armed Forces, or purely to stimulate betterment, are
not projected as ‘Look, this is what we need to improve’ as per the spirit behind them, but ‘Look, this is what your Government is doing to you’, leading us to a dangerous zone that I am going to discuss.
The unfortunate incident at Uri has again brought into focus the pain
experienced by military families in such dastardly acts of terror, or
for that matter, any form of violence against the state.
However, soon thereafter, messages were floating on social media
deprecating the meagre compensation of Rs 2 lakh or Rs 5 lakh granted by
the ‘Government’ to such families. Infuriated notes went around, people
expressed their anguish and what not.
Then there were others who offered their wisdom that military widows
in such cases must be paid the ‘salary’ of the deceased employee and
should not be left to fend for themselves.
At one level, one feels happy that the general population is
increasingly getting concerned about the welfare of our men and women in
uniform and their families and there is no cavil with the proposition
that the system has been unfair in many aspects to the military
community and we must stand with full might behind them. Yet, one needs
to be extremely wary of forwarding such messages without verification,
for most of these are planted untruths with the aim to trigger
frustration and discontentment.
To clarify, the meagre compensation that was the subject of this talk
was the one given by some States and not by the Central Government.
The Centre pays an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 35 lakh for deaths in
militant and terrorist attacks and Rs 45 lakh for deaths in war or war
like engagements. These are the rates applicable and accepted with
effect from 1 January, 2016 and the earlier rates were Rs 15 lakh
and Rs 20 lakh respectively.
These new rates have been accepted by the Government on
the recommendations of the Seventh Central Pay Commission and the
implementation instructions have already been issued for Central
Government employees such as the Central Armed Police Forces.
Similar instructions for the defence services are also expected soon
and would be retrospectively applicable from 1 January, 2016.
The group insurance amount (for which defence personnel pay their own
premium) is over and above these amounts. There is no universal policy
however for ex-gratia by various States since it is a State subject and
the Central Government cannot force the States to universalise such
payments.
However, the Centre on its part, irrespective of the party in power,
has time and again requested States to rationalise these figures to
provide a reasonable and respectable amount to such families.
As far as pension is concerned, liberalised family pension at the
rate of the emoluments last drawn by the employee is paid to widows of
such defence personnel for the rest of their lives and hence all this
talk of the Government not paying them enough pension is hogwash, though
it is true that no amount of monetary benefits can compensate the loss
of life.
There is however definitely a need for the Army and the Defence
Accounts Department to oil up their systems and not make such families
wait for the release of benefits on the unfortunate demise of soldiers
in such circumstances. The appreciable part however is that the parent
units and Regimental Centres offer full support to families in such
times of need.
While there is lot to be done for our soldiers and their kin,
circulating false messages and untruths about their condition is not
only demoralising for those who are serving the nation away from their
families but also leads to alienation and damage which can never be
redeemed. To top it all, it acts as a dampener for youth aspiring to
join the Armed Forces.
While it is our right to strongly question the
official establishment about the welfare and benefits to
our military families and to fight for them, and we must do so, at the
same time it is also our bounden duty to take a stand for the right
causes armed with the correct information.
As responsible citizens, the barest minimum we can do is check the
veracity of a message before tapping the keys and posting it, more so
when it is the morale of our troops and their families that could be at
stake.
Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and
views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this
website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs and views
of ABP News Network Pvt Ltd.
Source : http://www.abplive.in/blog/here-are-facts-on-soldiers-ex-gratia-benefits-stop-the-lies
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