Fate of retired Army officers

ARMY officers are the healthiest and disciplined segments of any society. The bulk of them, unfortunately, retire at the age of 52 years or less. After retirement they enter in a new phase of life and face a lot of problems.

A truncated career as a consequence of early retirement has been one of the major repellents which discourage young men from making the armed forces as a career.

At present, the Army officers who retired before 1973 are all above 70 years of age, and a majority is in the vicinity of 80 years. They took active part in World War II and all other wars upto 1965.

Another point for the government’s consideration is that these old officers were not given the following facilities. (a) Free ration; (b) gratuity and insurance. They faced a lot of problems to support their children and dependents with a meagre pension.

We feel our one rank, one pension demand will remain pending for a couple of years more. our political leaders will never say no and prefer to give long statements in favour of ex-servicemen.

We accept this policy as disciplined soldiers. The Indian Army has proved its worth during the Kargil operation and the countrymen have realised the importance of the armed forces. We sincerely hope our political leaders will spare some time to decide our outstanding demand for pension and other facilities. Old age is a factor which needs government help at this critical juncture.

Major D.C. KATOCH (retd)
Una

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Shattered faith

There is really a lot of good sense in Mr Hari Jaisingh’s (“promises can’t sway voters”, Aug 27) suggestion that to restore people’s faith in political parties, the only way is to field candidates with a clean record.

In fact, elections are an act of political faith. The faith has been shattered by the way candidates are selected and by the manner in which they fight elections and subsequently conduct themselves in legislatures. After all, legislatures reflect the attribute and behaviour of society. One cannot practise the politics of banality and preach parliamentary democracy. Nor can the candidates be selected despite criminal record be expected to follow parliamentary norms. Unfortunately, no party seems keen to accept parliamentary scrutiny. Hence the mess.

There are two levels in which both political thinking and action are being expressed in India. The more widely noticed is the manner in which political power is being sought by all kinds of individuals and groups, constantly shifting in affiliations and alignments; not on the basis of principles or ideologies but simply on the logic of numbers.

Three and a half decades ago, political parties fought elections entirely by themselves. The voter had a definite choice. Where have all the parties gone today? Now we have only fronts and alliances. Can the voter say the same thing today? The voter is helpless.

The politicians and parties that have brought things to this pass have evolved a fraudulent philosophy in support. They tell us that this is the unfolding of a great new era, an era of coalitions in which ideologies and one-party governments have no place. They also call it true federalism where regional parties, even one-man outfits, must rule over one thousand million people. This thus is the scene in our wonderful democracy. And what a choice the voter could have in a situation where the whole is equal to the s(c) um of its parts!

K.M. VASHISHT
Mansa

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Pensioners in Haryana

In this international year of senior citizens, the Haryana government has not given the benefit of the Fifth Pay Commission to its pensioners, who retired before January 1, 1986, and deserve a sympathetic treatment.

Most of them are on three years average pension when the Supreme Court in the case of D.S. Nakra versus Government of India fixed pension at an average 50 per cent in December, 1982. It is difficult for them to make their ends meet when the cost of living is so high.

This is a clear violation of the Constitution.

S.S. KABOTRA
Panchkula

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Teachers and society

Every year teachers are eulogised as builders of the nation, and the need for improving their lot is highlighted as it happened on September 5. Awards are also given to teachers on this day.

According to Dr S. Radhakrishnan, “a good teacher is hundred times better than a priest and a good educational institution is hundred times better than a temple”. Everyone recognises that the quality of education depends, in the ultimate analysis, on the quality of teachers.

The teachers are, indeed, the architects of a nation’s destiny. No national reconstruction is possible unless the teachers gear up the educational system and adapt it to national needs and aspirations. The future of a nation is determined by the quality of teachers it produces and of the educational institutions it supports. In fact, the teacher is the index of the nation.

But it remains a painful fact that even after 52 years of Independence, the teacher of today still feels frustrated. Neither the government nor society is making any serious effort to improve the quality of teachers or to create satisfactory service conditions for them.

They are being denied the facilities and concessions to which they are entitled to by virtue of their noble profession. They are being obliged to form unions, stage dharnas and fight for a living wage and security of employment.

In fact, they have not yet been given their rightful place in society. If we want to safeguard the future of our nation, it is essential that men of proper ability should be drawn to the teaching profession. This can be ensured only if the teacher is given better emoluments and proper status in our society.

YASH PAUL GHAI
Ludhiana