INVITE ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORT INDIAN ARMY

He will win, who knows , when to fight and when not to fight.
He will win, who knows , how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
He will win, who knows, whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all it's ranks.
He will win, who prepared himself ,waits to take the enemy unprepared.
He will win, who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign."


Spread the word. Every invitation counts:
Invite Friends. The link is:
http://www.causes.com/posts/911531?template=bulletin_mailer%2Fposting&causes_ref=email

What the fauj and parents taught me - from the Salute magazine

Nitin A. Gokhale

Last week, a friend in the Army, reacting to my latest documentary on the endless-and thankless-war that Indian soldiers fight in Kashmir, paid a heartfelt compliment by calling me a ‘soldier-journalist’. Flattered though I was for a moment, the remark also embarrassed me no end. For I have never donned the uniform. To me soldiering is the only profession in which men and women go beyond the call of duty and therefore deserve the highest respect in the society. To me soldiers are a breed apart. In my chosen profession of journalism, this attitude is regarded as partisan. Many feel I am blind to many sins of commission and omission that the armed forces personnel seem to indulge in these days.

The charge may be partially true but I am not ashamed about it mainly because our forces are still way above the rest of the society when it comes to upholding the values of honour, teamwork, professionalism, ethics and camaraderie. But let me also confess: the biggest reason for my soft corner for the forces comes from the fact that I too am a fauji kid and sub-consciously somewhere deep down I still live by a dictum one learnt as a kid: Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana (Do your duty to the best of your ability and don’t seek rewards).

When I look back, I realise that my father, who retired as a subedar major in 1982 and with him my mother, followed this practice in their daily life and passed it to us three brothers without making a song and dance about it. Throughout my 28-year career as a professional journalist, I have been fortunate that I could follow this principle without even realising that I was practicing what my father did all his professional life. Now, wiser and little more experienced than before, I am in a position to analyse some of the reasons behind the moderate success that each of us-three brothers-have managed to achieve in our respective professions.

Adaptability, my biggest strength, has been a second nature through our growing years thanks to the frequent transfers and constantly changing schools. In the 1960s and the 1970s, ordinary soldiers - and my father was one - had a tough life in the Indian Army. They lived far from their families, toiled hard for a pittance and yet possessed a dignity that is not found in an ordinary civilian. The soldier never complained, never whined and never expected anything in return for what he did. I changed eight schools in 10 years and studied in three different mediums - English, Marathi and Hindi before entering junior college in 1978. Sub-consciously, without ever preaching to us, our parents drilled a motto into us: “Take life as it comes.” And we did.

We met the challenges head on. I remember travelling from Pune to Lekhabali in Arunachal Pradesh by train in the late 1970s. It used to take us four days and five changes at Kalyan, Allahabad, Baruani, New Bongaigaon and Rangiya before we could reach the destination. Reservations were never confirmed. Dad was never with us.

One lived by one’s wits and survived. Frequent transfers meant frequent dislocations and packings. And unlike today, there were no movers and packers in those pre-liberalisation days. So we learnt to adapt.

To be responsible for our actions. Discipline and punctuality was given.

Colleagues laugh at me when I start getting uncomfortable if I am late for an appointment. They laugh at the fact that I sleep by 10 pm and up by 5.30 am. But I know no other way. I mentioned adaptability earlier. My parents not only taught us how to adapt and accept but also practiced the principle. The biggest proof is my being a journalist. In the summer of ’83, the world was at my feet as far as my parents were concerned.

I was selected to be a flying officer in the Indian Air Force. All that remained was for me to submit my
graduation certificate by June 30 and start my training in July. As luck would have it, my graduation results were delayed by over a month. So the dream of joining the Air Force was put on hold. I had six months to kill before I could appear for another round of combined defence services exam that December.

That’s when destiny dealt a decisive, and now in retrospect, a lucky blow. The Sentinel, a Guwahati based newspaper was just starting out and was looking for trainee journalists for their sports pages. Having played all games from kabaddi to squash and from kho-kho to cricket as a child, I thought with all the cockiness of the callow youth that I could become a sports journalist, at least for a while. So just for the heck of it, I appeared for the written test that the newspaper held.

Five days later, they called me for an interview. With no expectations, I went for the interview and landed a job at a princely sum of 700 rupees. I still remember the entire sequence in my head as if it happened just yesterday. At the end of the interview that fateful afternoon, the editor asked me, “When can you join?”

My answer was, “Whenever you want.” He said, “Can you join, tonight?”

And I agreed to join that very evening. Then I became a journalist.

Of course at that time, I had no inkling that I would stay the course. I was sure I would do the job for six months and then move on. But that was not to be. As I joined the paper and started picking up the nuances of the job, I felt at home. The thrill of being part of the team that put together a newspaper for the benefit of thousands of readers can only be experienced. It can never be described in words. The duty hours were erratic. One went to office at 2 pm and never returned home before 5 am. Three months down the line I decided to remain a journalist and not to pursue the aim of becoming a fighter pilot.

My parents were aghast and crestfallen. For a junior commissioned officer in the earlier 1980s, there was no greater honour than seeing his son becoming a commissioned officer. But like a true soldier, my father
accepted my decision without rancour. All that my parents said at that time was “Excel in whatever you choose to do.” So I stuck on in Assam.

My parents moved back to Pune soon after but again luck smiled on me. Neha married me in 1988 and
continued to encourage me to take risks with life and with career. Never ever complaining that I chose to take up risky assignments touring deep into north eastern states, reported the Kargil war, the Sri Lanka conflict, when I could have played safe and remained a desk bound journo. Today those risks have paid off. I can say with a bit of immodesty that I can compete with the best in business without feeling inferior.
The urge to do better than yesterday comes naturally to the men in uniform. If I behave that way even now, it is thanks to my upbringing in a military environment. Despite all its faults and foibles, the military remains a vital part of my life for whatever I am today is thanks largely to the fauj and its ethos.

http://nitinagokhale.blogspot.com/2011/11/last-week-friend-in-army-reacting-to-my.html

6 CPC : AGONY FOR DEF OFFRS CONTINUES; ISSUE OF NFU (NON FUNCTIONAL UPGRADATION) NEEDS URGENT ATTN

1. All Defence Offrs, please be informed that Offrs of other services with whom you interact on functional basis, like MES Civ Offrs, GREF Civ Offrs, Offrs of BSF, CRPF ,ITBP, Def Accts(IDAS), Test Audit(IA&AS), Ord Factory Bd etc, will now get the salary and grade pay of Joint Secretary/ Maj Gen (GP Rs 10000/-) in 19 yrs of service, and will draw the pay of Addl Secretary to Govt of India which is equal to a Lt Gen(GP Rs 12000/-) in 32 yrs of service by virtue of their service being Organised Gp A Service.

2. The above condition has been brought about consequent to acceptance of 6 CPC recom on NFU by GoI , wherein it recommended that whenever any IAS officer of the state or joint cadre is posted at the Centre to a particular grade carrying a specific grade pay in Pay Bands PB-3 or PB-4,the officers belonging to batches of Organised Group A services that are senior by two years or more and have not been promoted so far to that particular grade would be granted the same grade on a non functional basis from the date of posting of the IAS officers in that grade at the centre. Hence if an IAS officer becomes Joint Secretary in 17 years of service the offrs of Org Gp A Service(like the ones mentioned in Para 1) will start drawing the salary of Joint Secretary in maximum of 19 years of service and similarly that of Addl Secretary / Lt Gen in 30 and 32 yrs resp.

3. Why is it not applicable to Def Offrs : Because as per Govt of India Def Offrs are NOT part of Org Gp A Service and the above recom is applicable to only to the latter.

4. If Def Offrs are not part of Org Gp A service then what are they :They are just ‘Commissioned Officers’.

5. If all the above is correct then who all form part of Org Gp A Service and how Def Offrs call themselves Class 1 offrs ; Central Civil Services mainly include AIS (All India Services, namely, IAS, IPS and Indian Forest Service) and Org Gp A service .There are a total of 58 services forming part of Org Gp A service. Please see the attachment. Def Offrs are not part of Civil Services but have been broadly kept at par with Gp A Offrs of Civil Services( erstwhile known as Class 1 offrs) by various Pay Commissions. The reference to same since independence is attached.

6. Background to recom of NFU for Org Gp A Service as per 6 CPC:

(a) The Sixth CPC observed that there is a conventional edge of two years between IAS and other AIS/ Central Group A services and stated that though the Fifth CPC had taken the view that the edge need not be disturbed, in practice, however, the gap of two years (for posting to various grades in the Centre in form of empanelment of IAS officers and promotion for other Group A officers), has increased in respect of many organised Group A services.

(b) The sixth CPC felt that this is not justified as Organised Group A services have to be given their due which justifiably should mean that the disparity, as far as appointment to various grades in Centre are concerned, should not exceed two years between IAS and organised Central Group A services. It recommended that the Government should, accordingly, consider batch-wise parity while empanelling and/or posting at Centre between respective batches of IAS and other organised Group A services with the gap being restricted to two years.

(c) Therefore whenever any IAS officer of the state or joint cadre is posted at the Centre to a particular grade carrying a specific grade pay in Pay Bands PB-3 or PB-4,the officers belonging to batches of Organised Group A services that are senior by two years or more and have not been promoted so far to that particular grade would be granted the same grade on a non functional basis from the date of posting of the IAS officers in that grade at the centre.

(d) The higher non-functional grade so given to the officers of organised Group A services will be personal to them and will not depend on the number of vacancies in that grade.

(e) These officers will continue in their existing posts and will get substantial posting in the higher grade that they are holding on non functional basis only after vacancies arise in that grade. This will not only ensure some sort of modified parity between IAS and other Central Group A services but will also alleviate the present grade of disparity existing between promotional avenues available to different organised Group A services.

(f) The Government accepted the recommendations of Sixth CPC and granted the NFU to Organized GP A Services .

7. Why should the def offrs get NFU :Because of the following
reasons :

(a) None of the Org Gp A service faces as much stagnation as the Armed Forces offrs because of its pyramidal structure. In fact, on the contrary, most of the Gp A service offrs, as it is, reach the level equal to Addl Secretary due to cylindrical structure of promotion of their service. Only issue for them is,’ in how many years’. In comparison, 97% def offrs retire at the levels below Joint Secretary / Maj Gen. Hence, if the logic of giving NFU to Org Gp A offrs is stagnation, then, no one deserves it more than the Armed Forces Offrs.

(b) Traditionally, since independence, there has been a broad parity between the Class 1 / Gp A offrs of Civil Services and the Defence Services Offrs which has been acknowledged by different Pay Commissions in their reports. In such a case ,the differential behaviour of 6 CPC not only disturbs the financial parity, it pushes down the def services in status as even direct recruit offrs of Gp B services attain a better pay and promotional avenue and manage to reach the level of Joint Secretary / Maj Gen before retiring . In fact, now Sub Inspectors of CRPF/BSF/ITBP too can beat Def Services Offrs when they too will retire with the salary of Addl Secretary / Lt Gen, if they get promoted as Asstt Comdt / DSP in 8 yrs. All this will only fuel frustration, disgruntlement and will have a demoralising effect on the Armed Forces Offrs.

(c) Since Def Offrs will have to work alongside some of the Organised Gp A Services mentioned, a disparity of this magnitude will lead to functional problems .In some stations, it is already being heard that Civ Offrs have started projecting themselves as senior to top military offr like Stn Cdr. In a specific case a Civ Chief Engineer of MES has started considering himself senior to a COS due to NFU and started saying so all around. Such problems will only increase in future. Moreover, this issue must not be allowed to linger till 7th CPC for resolution. If our top brass stands up united on this issue, the govt will have to accept it. Service HQs are aware of this issue and had sent a proposal to MoD, but it has been rejected. However , the issue needs a more forceful pleading duly backed by Service Offrs unanimously.

8. Benefits of NFU : It will not only benefit the offrs facing stagnation at the level of Lt Col, Col, and Brig, but will also benefit senior offrs like Maj Gen and Lt Gen who otherwise pick up their ranks in 29 yrs and 35 yrs resp, as they will too start drawing the pay of Maj Gen in 19 yrs of service and that of Lt Gen in 32 yrs of service.

9. What can you do : Don’t accept ‘ fait accompli’, Spread awareness, as knowledge is power. Apprise more and more offrs about this discrimination. Raise it in appropriate forums to escalate its level and let the top brass take it up as seriously as PB-4 issue with the govt for IT IS, AS SERIOUS AN ISSUE. It not only affects pay, it also affects status. So please do your bit, at least ask for it from your seniors. If you have anything more to add to this mail, which is relevant and factually correct, please go ahead and add on for the benefit of all, and circulate this in your yahoo/google/any other groups of various courses/ batches on the internet.

How to treat our Soldiers?

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight from Gatwick. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short sleep,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of British Army Youngsters came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you blokes headed?' I asked the young man seated nearest to me.

“Cyprus! We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed in Afghanistan”, he said.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that lunches were available for five pounds. It would be several hours before we reached Cyprus, and I decided a lunch would help me pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his mate if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just an airline lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five Quid. I'll wait till we get to Cyprus. His mate agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty Pound note. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers’. She grabbed my arms & squeezed it tightly. Her eyes were moist with tears when she said 'My young bloke was a soldier in Iraq, it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten lunch boxes, she headed up the aisle to where the boys were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked.
She turned and went to the front of the plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from First Class. This is your thanks.

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. An old bloke stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five Pounds.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he wasn't looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seat-belt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was an army pilot a long time back. Once someone bought me lunch! It was an act of kindness I never forgot.'

I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A kid who looked about 18 was sitting about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five Pounds in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to depart. Waiting just inside the aeroplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five Pounds!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their Trip to their training area.. I walked over to them and handed them the seventy-five Pounds.
'It will take you some time to reach your training area. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You Blokes.'

Ten young blokes left that flight, feeling the love and respect of their fellow Brits. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a meal. It seemed so little...
A Serviceman is one, who, at some point in his life, writes a blank check payable to ' His Motherland ' for an amount 'up to and including his life.'

That is an Honour, and there are such ways too. However, most folks in this country, don't understand it.'

How I wish our Politicians could understand the value of a soldiers life.

What goes in Course Parties by Capt Uttam Gill

“ Hang up there IAM COMING…And those who are hanging out somewhere else just rush to robin...weekly bonanza... lots of drink...get two weeks hangover free and a trip to Bombay to chill out for monthly hangover...For more details Robin the MASTREO OF HOLY WATER will perform his scintillating Abracadabra…the magic sermon …COME ONE COME ALL”

All set up with Abracadabra of my adage and I ask myself with huff…Why on earth we all are so damn serious…Quantifying the concern to the extent that mass of our existence in its exasperating mood rebel and qualify my action for all of us to be bit easy. Cool Down and relax and ENJOY THE EVENING

Time 8 PM:

“Are you feeling something…Oh! No it seems still I need to do more…Okay Here I bring some glasses…can anyone help me in making drinks for everybody out here…That’s good…I can see Tyagi coming forward…Here the MASTREO OF HOLY WATER…Thank you Tygai… are you okay? I mean to say your hangover…I can feel you are geared up for the night…Come on buddies get the party rolling…Andrews could you mind selecting nice music from Rock & Roll to Rock & Dhol…Capt Ian look there inside the kitchen get some ice from the freezer…Hey Rakesh (Gulati) what you are waiting for pick up your glass…Umesh look we have catered for sufficient stock of Beer…Chill out buddy…Let’s raise the toast for our friends and enemies too…Come on Arun (Moudgil) don’t frown …don’t be furious we will explain to you why toast for enemies too…Let me pour a soft drink for you and RAJBAHADUR TOO…Okay buddies !!!CHEERS!!!

PARTY HAS BEGUN

TIME 9 PM:

Tyagi: “It’s good over here…nice arrangements…Surinder Sharma hasn’t come…” and in one go gulps the drink down to his throat.
Prashar : ”That bugger is always late…”lights up his fag .
Umesh: “This beer is damn good…absolutely chilled “
Bhupi:(With red scarf ) Crane out his neck to look towards the entrance…”Oh there he is…agaya…agaya come on jodh pick up the glass”
Joe(Jodh Singh Dhillon)…”Kaya baat hey…Liquor is flowing”
Sanjay Anand: “We are meeting after 29 years why not we have fun”
Vishvinder Pathak: Whispers into the ear of Ian…”I think we have sufficient stock”
Rajbahudar:”Don’t worry I have one crate of scotch in the boot of my car; we have enough up our sleeves…to cater for this night”

PART IS BUILDING UP”
TIME 10 PM:
Dele Ram:”What the hell no music yet”
Surinder Sharma:”Pehley pee to lay yaar…sub kuch hoga nach gana bhi…We gonna Rock”
Arun Moudgil:”Kya yar koi vegetarian snacks nahi hey…Waiter koi paneer shaneer ley aao na”
Prasahr:”Abey bhootni key na to tu cigarette pita hey na to meat khata hey..aisa kar ja bahar ja choley kharid key kha…”
Moudgil :He smiles…”Parashar tune kabhi nahin sudharna…”
Chouhan:”Nice arrangements …I am really looking at you all people…so much has changed but our basic traits are same”
TAYAGI:”Hum Nahi sudhrengey…OTS wale mujhey change nahi kar paye..”
Vajpai: “So happy to be with you all…Oye Jodh yaad hey fire alram to nangey pare chala gya tha”
Prashar “:Good old days” takes a deep puff…”oye yeh to pura nanga gaya tha..”

PARTY IS GEARED UP
11 AM:
Surinder: “I tell you I wish My Co would have heard my suggestion but that ass hole refused to…I tell you he messed up the entire show…I knew he will goof up...and just see what happened…I tell you ..I feel so miserable recalling that…”
Umesh: “Then why you are recalling…I tell you go and charge your glass…”
Surinder: “Oh! Yes..Umesh you are right I tou don’t care CO.. SHIUO…Who cares about them but Umesh I tell you that bugger was a real timid guy…Umesh tuo nahin janta that chap was hell of a chap…I tell you Chap…I know how I lived that time…It was hell…And I know only you Chaps can understand…I tell you I gonna kick his ass…”
Umesh “Surinder where is he now…”
Surinder “God knows where he is…I don’t care..I just don’t care…Do you understand…I just don’t care…I tell you what the fun talking about that lunatic…oh! My glass is empty let me pour drink for myself…”
Bhupi: “Surinder is right..he is right…very much right..he knows his rights and very rightly he fought for his right..what do you say TAYAGI am I right.
Tayagi: “You are always forthright in coming out with right things…abey yaar choro is CO-VO ko…Lets have drink and be marry”

Music is on and everybody dancing…PARTY IN ITS REAL JOLLY GOOD MOOD…And Venky enters….rest break key bad

My buddies I just thought of collecting some tits and bits of the party…Party is going on…enjoy your drink and keep conversing…

This is only for fun no offence to anybody!!!!!

LIEUTENANT DID YOU DIE IN VAIN?

I learnt about your demise from the ticker tape on one of the news channels, last evening. It was a big encounter and a very fierce one at that. A feeling of deep saddness enveloped me as I reflected on your youth which had been sacrificed in Gurez Sector,in the line of duty. What does your death mean?

By now your mortal body would be lying embalmed at the Base Hospital and will be flown out of Srinagar later in the day,on its final journey to the cremation ground in your native town or village.

You were too young to die,far too young! For whom and for what did you die then? This question haunted me last night and I will attempt to answer you.

You were probably from a village or a small town of India. You were perhaps the son of an army officer or JCO, or from an urban or rural civilian background. You could not be from one of the big cities where iron has entered the soul of our youth and where the only driving motivator is quest for money in the surreal environment of the corporate world.

Why did you join the army? Ofcourse to get a job. But than that is over simpliying the question. You were possibly motivated by the traditions in your family and clan,you were probably enthused by the sight of your elder brothers,uncles or other men from your community in uniform,you were perhaps enchanted by the cantonement life where you may have spent your growing years.

As your body comes home, you will not get the adulations from the Government which a soldier's body gets in the USA. Your name will not be read out in any obituary reference in Parliament,as is done in the UK for all soldiers who fall in combat in the line of duty.Your name will not be etched on any national memorial because we do not have one! Symbolically you will become the unknown soldier for the Nation, for whom the flame burns at India Gate, but your name will not be etched there.The names engraved on that monument are of the soldiers who died fighting for the British Indian Army and not those who have made the supreme sacrifice for independent India! Can it get more ironic?

But do not despair Lieutenant. Your comrades will do you proud! The seniormost officer will lead the homage that your brother officers will pay you before you leave the Valley of Kashmir one last time. Your unit representatives will escort your body home. You will be carried to the funeral pier draped in the flag for which you died fighting.The darkened and tearful eyes of your grief-stricken mother and the stoic figure of your father, benumbed by the enormity of this tragedy, will move even the most cynical.

I do not know Lieutenant at what stage of the encounter you fell, mortally wounded. But the fact that you were there on the lonely vigil across the Line of Control in Gurez, is enough to vouch for your valour. Your unit and formation commanders will see to it that you get the gallantry award which you so richly deserve. In due time your father or your mother will be presented the medal and parchment of your gallantry,which will be framed and find the pride of place in your home.Time will dull the bitterness of this tragic parting, which right now is the only feeling that engulfs your parents and siblings, in its enormity.

Lieutenant you were lucky. You did not live long enough to get married and leave behind a grieving widow. You did not live long enough to have children. For when they would have come of age you would have seen in them a cynicism towards the army for which you died. You will not see a young son who thinks his father is a hero and wants to follow his footsteps in joining the army only to be harshly disuaded by his mother (or even father!) from following a profession which ranks so low for the youth of our country. You were lucky not to serve long enough to see the army getting belittled . You did not live long enough to see the utter indifference and even disdain for the army. Like you a large number of valiant soldiers laid down their lives on the rocky heights of Kargil,fighting against self-imposed odds. Today it is not even felt fit to publicly commemorate the anniversary of that stupendous military victory,won by blood and gore,in a befitting manner.

But do not despair Lieutenant. Your name will be etched for posterity in the annals of your Unit and your Regiment. A silver trophy with your name inscribed on it,will grace the centre table of the unit mess.You will also find your name in the unit Quarter Guard,where annual homage will also be paid to you.The war memorials at the Formation HQ where you served and at your Regimental Centre will proudly display your name for eternity.If you joined the Army through the NDA, your name will be written in the Hut of Remembrance through which each cadet will pass,paying homage before his Passing Out Parade.

There will be an obituary reference to you from your comrades in the papers, which will be flipped over by most but which will be read in detail by people who have a connect with those who wear or wore the uniform.

As your parents head into the evening of their life,memories of your valour will be their most precious possession. When ever your mother will think of you her eyes will mist over but there will be more stars in them than you ever wore on your shoulders.Your father may speak quietly about you but no one will miss the swell of pride in his chest. For your siblings you will always remain the real hero,and for that matter even for your community and village. A school or a road may well be named after you and you will become a part of the local folk-lore.

You died Lieutenant, because when the test came, you decided that you could not let down your family,your clan and your comrades, who always expected you,without ever saying so, to do your duty.You, Lieutanant, have done more than your duty and made your memory their hallowed possesion.

LIEUTENANT YOU DID NOT DIE IN VAIN!

Course Reunion at Simla: 15th-17th July 2011

Reunion at Simla:15th-17th July 2011

Those were the days...

The Things that Soldiers Do….

On the eve of this New Year, my 10 year old boy asked me what soldiers do during these times. For him and the millions who don't know, I thought I’d tell what men in uniform do. On the New Year, less than one in 15 soldiers will be at home with their families. To visualize that, think of a typical block in colonies which have about 150 families. Only 10 of those families will have the man of their house with them. The rest will have a bland New Year. All of the men in uniform, somewhere out there, will write to their families. Soldiers write a lot. Not enough, according to their families, but far more than any others do. They try to squeeze more sentences into inland letters. Forces wives get letters of several pages. Soldiers are probably the only people other than love-struck teenagers who write several pages of handwritten letters.

The wives will console their children and parents. They will be the ‘man’ of the house. They will call their husbands and tell him the names of all who are at home. Forces wives think a lot about their husbands and children. They have to do the thinking for both of them. They also care a lot about their husband’s career. Although without exception they claim they don't know much about the forces hierarchy - every one of them is fully aware of each rank, every promotion and its implications. Their lives depend on it. Their next posting, their children’s schooling, and how long they get to live as a family in the forces all depends on it.

The soldiers worry about their postings and families. They worry if they are good fathers and when they will see their children again. Sometimes they worry if they will see their children again. They worry who their commanding officers will be. Will they be kind or strict? Will they be lenient on stuff like leave or lighter duties or will they be strict and tough. Soldiers want tough commanders, but kind as well.

Commanders worry if they will be good leaders. Youngsters fresh out of the academy worry if they will command the respect of their men. Officers good in sports worry if they will be able to do well in academics and those good in the studies worry about their sporting prowess. Officers good in both, worry about their peers and competitors and officers good in neither – well, they don't worry too much.

Senior officers worry about setting good examples and working under severe constraints. Shortages of men, meaning shortage of leave. They worry about the increase of duties each year and the toll it takes on their men.

But on the New Year, officers and their men will celebrate wherever they are. Several hundred thousands of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Parsees, Jains etc. will celebrate together. Keralite officers will wish their Gurkha troops in fluent Gurkhali. Sikhs will sing in Tamil in the Madras regiment. Asamesse officers will swear in guttural Punjabi with their Sikh units. And Lakhs of soldiers will pray in Puja Ghars which houses the beliefs of all faiths.

Special Forces units, whichever god forsaken place they are in, will wish each other. Off duty submarine crews who are deep below the sea, may get a tot of rum tonight and the Indian airspace will crackle with radio transmission of fighter pilots who fly combat air patrols every second of the day.

Our troops at some borders will wish their counterparts. At even fewer borders the counterparts will wish back but in most, the mood will be sullen. In a few, the counterparts will actually increase hostilities during festivals but the Indian forces will never do this, because for them; every festival has equal sanctity. And of course, thousands of them would have their leaves cancelled because of the heightened security, as they would have during every festival or national celebration.
This will be the first New Year for many young officers. Many would be invited to some senior officer’s house for dinner. Most youngsters don't give a damn about getting invitations though. It is the privilege of all bachelor officers to be able to call on any married officer’s house for dinner at any time of the night. Married officers hate youngsters for this, but they forget about the time they were youngsters.

The youngsters will always be told by their seniors about how much of a ruckus they would create when they were young. They will also be told that things are much easier for youngsters these days. They lie.

With each passing decade, soldiers have had more hard postings than ever before. Each year, internal security requirements increase and troops are moved within the country incessantly, having to fight in different terrains all the time. Some of these troops will die before this year ends. A few will die before today ends. Their families will never forget this New Year’s eve or any New Year for that matter. But I hope their children will be told. What their fathers did…

This article was published on the New Years Eve and is a tribute to all men and women in uniform….
http://www.livemint.com/2010/12/29201428/The-things-that-soldiers-do.html

Capt Raghu Raman

Meeting Coursemates at Ambala & Chandigarh on 31 Jan 2011

For my official purpose I made a visit to Ambala and Chandigarh. I was planning to meet some of our course mates and sought help pf Ian Kerr.

It was very thoughtful of Ian Kerr to mobilize all the course mates at DSOI, Chandimandir. I met many of them for first time after POP! We might have aged but spirit of the course mates is still the same. At Ambala I met Negi and Naithani. Jallo came along with one of his relative as he was coming from Ludhiyana and was proceeding home - therefore his stay was very short.