The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : `Polls pass ex-servicemen by'

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Wednesday, Apr 14, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

`Polls pass ex-servicemen by'

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI

Ex-servicemen and their dependents continue to feel neglected by the political parties and think the electoral process has little to offer them, says the former Chief of Army Staff and Rajya Sabha MP, Shankar Roy Choudhury. Pointing out that over 90 per cent of retired defence personnel not only draw less pension than their civilian counterparts because most of them retire earlier, they feel that they are denied respect, by the Centre and the States.

Gen. Roy Choudhury puts the number of ex-servicemen at over 18 lakh, besides the 3.5 lakh service widows. With four dependents on an average, the ex-servicemen community is about 88 lakh. Yet, ex-servicemen find only cursory mention in the election manifestoes of most political parties. "They can well ask themselves a very legitimate question — what's in it for us?'' Every political party has an ex-servicemen's cell but their views are largely ignored, he says.

He has suggested institutionalised representation for ex-servicemen in Parliament through reserved seats in the Lok Sabha on the lines of the reservation for the Anglo-Indian community. At least one of the 12 nominated seats in the Rajya Sabha should be reserved for ex-servicemen, he says. A national commission for resettlement of ex-servicemen should be immediately created by an Act of Parliament to monitor implementation of welfare schemes by states. The proposed national commission, he feels, would correct the problem of States not heeding the Central Government's directives. While conceding that some States have done excellent work in implementing ex-servicemen oriented welfare schemes, many Rajya Sainik Boards and Zilla Sainik Boards are non-functional. Most ex-servicemen, especially those below officer rank retire early and are entitled to extremely low pensions. Therefore, there is a need to rationalise pensions.

The former army chief has also advocated the setting up of a national war memorial on Rajpath in Delhi with names of the war dead from the Second World War onwards (The names of those who died in the First World War and earlier military campaigns are inscribed on India Gate). The memorial should include the names of those who died while serving with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Azad Hind Fauj.

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