WW-II veteran’s pension battle: 50 years and still counting

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 2

While Army veterans are on chain hunger strike to fight for One Rank, One Pension (OROP), a 95-year-old former Risaldar, settled in Canada, has been struggling to get his pension arrears released for the past five decades.

Santa Singh represented the 8 Cavalry during the Second World War in Libya (North Africa). A retired Army officer is now fighting his case, writing to every Army unit and branch to ensure that the veteran soldier gets his dues before it is too late.

“Santa Singh was enrolled in the Army on September 24, 1937 and transferred to the pension establishment on September 30, 1964 after 28 years of service. However after a few months, his pension stopped and he has not been able to get it from April 1, 1965 till date,” says Colonel GS Sandhu (retd).

“I have written reminders for the release of pension to various Army Chiefs, Defence Ministers and even the Prime Minister many times. We get replies that one or the other Army unit will release the amount soon, but nothing has been done so far,” he said.

“Santa Singh’s father served during the First World War. Thus, it is a unique case of honour for two generations to represent the country in something great. But you can see how the country treats a living legend,” says Sandhu.

Santa Singh’s father Nidhan Singh was in the 15 Sikh and had served in Flanders in Belgium during the First World War.

“Without pension, you can well imagine how he would have spent those initial years. Almost 10 years of that time was spent in jail and fighting a legal battle in Canada as Santa Singh was charged with murder. But his pension had stopped before all of that happened,” he said.

Santa Singh Tatlay is fighting his case through letters with the Defence Ministry for the past five decades to get his pension released, which initially was Rs102. Now settled in Canada and nearing 100 years of age, the Second World War veteran says he wants to die with dignity. Post retirement, Santa Singh moved to Canada where he was implicated in a murder case and served a jail sentence of 10 years from 1976 to 1986.

“The fact that Santa Singh is in jail for murder was communicated to everyone including the military’s personnel and Auditor General’s branch through letters stating the nature of the crime,” says Sandhu.

On August 17, 2009, the Army wrote, “There is no formal order for stoppage of pension of the individual either due to his migration to Canada or his conviction in a murder case there. The individual is entitled to claim the unpaid amount of pension due to him, except for the period he spent in jail, further also justified since the pension of the individual was not forfeited consequent upon his conviction. There appears to be no need for government sanction for restoration of service pension,” states the letter dated August 17, 2009, in reply to a communiqué by former Risaldar Santa Singh.

Writing to The Tribune from Canada, Tatlay said, “As a senior individual approaching the century mark of my life, I am fully aware that I do not have many years left and I hope that I will be able to receive my pension soon. Despite all this ill-treatment, as an honourable soldier, I speak highly of the Indian armed forces to my grandchildren.” The 95-year-old has penned eight books on Sikhs and their history.