An ‘apolitical’ military : convoluted
theories
A
surge in political awareness was expected
Navdeep Singh
One keeps hearing that the
military must remain apolitical. Of course in a democracy it must. But what is
the definition of ‘apolitical’? Does it mean that the members or former members
of the military must not take part in the political process of the nation, or
does it simply mean that organizationally the military must not have political
inclination and should not interfere in the political process?
While the latter thought is
acceptable, the former is unconstitutional.
The advocates of the theory that
individual members of the uniformed forces should be politically inert are
flirting with the extreme which goes against the grain of a democracy. When the
lowest ranking Sepoy or the highest ranking Chief of the Army Staff goes out to
press that button in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), does he not have in
mind a political party which is going to receive his vote? Or is there an
option for ‘military apolitical party-less vote’ on EVMs?
In any true democracy, the military
must not interfere with the political process of the nation and should not
harbour any political dreams and should also not institutionally support any
form of political order. But that does not mean that individual members of the
military would not have a say in the political process or the voting process or
that they would cease to have in their minds an inclination towards any
political entity. Had it been so, then Article 326, which provides for adult
suffrage, would have been suspended for members of the armed forces.
The sudden debate on military
and politics stems from the fact that after an inordinately long never-ending
era of being totally ignored, military personnel, veterans and their families
have realized that the most potent tool in a democracy is the power of vote.
Treatment meted out to this
community does not only have bearing on their votes but also touches the
emotional chord of the nation at large thereby resulting a huge emotional sway
of sorts, something that political parties must realize at the earliest. So
when you hear that the maximum number of appeals filed by the Indian Ministry
of Defence in the Supreme Court are against their own disabled and war disabled soldiers related to
disability benefits granted by High Courts and Tribunals, it does not only
affect military voters but also influences the collective conscience of the
nation.
Military voters suffered in
silence for long. Then came a stage when they became vocal and open about their
grievances, especially after the Sixth Pay Commission. That did not work, then
they returned their medals, even that did not cut any ice. It is at this point
that they probably realized that the only factor that could work in a democracy
was not anger or dissatisfaction or exasperation, but that button on the EVM. And
No, I’m not referring to the ‘None of the
Above’ (NOTA) option!
It would be too mild to state
that the Government has not treated its military well. The writing has been
there on the wall- that of dissatisfaction, especially of veterans. Even well
meaning Raksha Mantris and
Secretaries of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW) have been blinded
and hoodwinked by the anti-military sentiment perpetuated by lower level staff
of the said department where the show is ruthlessly run by a handful of
officers who play around with the higher echelons with misleading inputs and
deceptive file notings. The blame is to be shared by the higher level decision
making bodies for not applying mind and not seeking across-the-table inputs
from stakeholders. Even Courts have not been spared. One Under Secretary of
DESW recently wrote to a Major General asking him to desist from sending
letters on issues of military welfare since such communications ‘clog the department’. Another officer
who since times immemorial had remained in the pension wing of DESW was clandestinely
re-employed as an ‘Officer on Special Duty‘ (OSD) in DESW by circumventing and
flouting rules. Ironically the said officer has been re-employed to fight cases
against defence pensioners and disabled soldiers in courts but he is getting
his salary disbursed from the ‘Armed Forces Flag Day Fund’ which is meant for
the welfare of those very people he is pitted against. Though top brass of the
DESW realizes that the department is plagued with ‘negative attitude’ they feel
that they cannot do without such officers since they have become indispensable
to the system. Strikingly, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare
(DoPPW) on the civil side works in a completely positive framework by
inculcating positivity and an all-inclusive approach. DoPPW decisions are taken
by consensus by involving stakeholders and by holding regular meetings between
the ‘official side’ and the ‘staff side’, something unheard of in
the Defence Ministry in general or the DESW in particular.
Repeated pointing out of such
issues by serving personnel, Services Headquarters, veterans, veterans’
associations, MPs and Ministers to the set-up has not moved them into action
and hence a political tinge was not entirely unexpected. Irrespective of
political parties, naturally the military community would be looking at entities
who promise to positively resolve their long pending demands.
While glamorous issues such as
One-Rank One Pension (OROP) have hogged the limelight, it is insidious issues
which have escaped notice and resolution. Today, jawans start retiring at the
age of 34 onwards without any assurance of employment thereafter. The
Government with much fanfare announces re-employment opportunities which are in
fact not commensurate to the ranks held by such soldiers. For example, the
Railways went about town advertising vacancies for ex-servicemen but what was
not highlighted was the fact that they were offering Group-D (Formerly known as
Class-IV) level employment on posts such
as water carriers and Multi Task Workers to ex-servicemen holding Group-C
(Class-III) and Group-B (Class-II) Gazetted appointments from the ranks of
Sepoy to Subedar. Thousands of appeals in the Supreme Court are proposed to be
filed by the Defence Ministry against benefits granted to disabled soldiers by
Courts and Tribunals, egged on by recommendations of lower level bureaucracy and
blindly approved by top brass. This may bring about handsome payments to Government
lawyers in the Supreme Court but would only bring miseries to the old, infirm
and disabled. Disabled soldiers with non-service related disabilities with less
than 10 years of service are not entitled to any pension but the employment of
civil employees is fully protected enabling them to earn full pay and allowances during their service
and then full pension on retirement. Why would a person want to join as a jawan
of the forces and not as a civilian employee enjoying stability and a settled
life probably even in his/her own hometown, employment-protection, retirement
at 60, staying with family, working for fixed hours, holidays, weekends?. Women
officers are being discriminated since ego-based actions become impediments in
harmonizing policies and identifying the middle path. The sheen of the military
rank has been on the decline, there is no role for military in the Rules of
Business or in the decision making process and policies concerning them are
forcibly imposed, unlike say, in the Railways which has a Railway Board looking
after them. The Armed Forces Tribunal has been placed under the Ministry of
Defence reflecting a complete conflict of interest and lack of independence and
without any powers of civil contempt and whose decisions are simply ignored and
not followed by the Ministry. The list is never-ending and moving towards
infinity by the day.
What the above signifies is that though there is nothing wrong
in being a part of the political process, the fact that this participation has
come out so sharply in the recent past is because of the slackness in
addressing long pending issues by successive governments.
Rather than debating whether this political awakening of the
military community is desirable or not, efforts on the contrary should be made
to ensure that they are retained as an integral process of the political system
of our nation. Veterans, just like other citizens, are entitled to be a part
and parcel of our rich electoral arrangement, de hors the perceived pitfalls. Special efforts should be made to
inform them about the modalities of the electoral process, since they, having
served away from the real world for
most of their military careers, are at a loss in understanding the same, and of
course, gullible too at times. Serving personnel and local military commanders
should also be properly educated about the process and the various forms of
voting including postal ballot. For those posted (and not merely temporarily
deployed) in locations other than inaccessible field areas, the easiest and the
most effective way is to get themselves registered as ordinary electors at
their places of posting. This can be done during house-to-house enumeration conducted
by election staff or by filling up and submitting Form-6 which appended with Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The
most epigrammatic way to the aim of clearing doubts in this regard is a simple
visit to the local electoral office at the place of posting. Of course, the interpretation
of the Election Commission of India in this regard also remains a point of
litigation now pending before the Supreme Court.
Besides educating the military community about the minutiae
of the electoral process and welcoming them with open arms in light of the new
found political awareness, all political parties should take a cue and devote
time and energy in understanding what has gone wrong and how it should be
addressed, rather than centering on whether political awareness of the military
community is virtuous or not- It is, and they will. The law allows them to vote,
irrespective of amusing ideas that some seem to have to the contrary, which
thankfully do not find basis in the Constitution of India.
Political parties, please brace up and lend a hand.
