As 2,000 veterans around the country turned in their medals on Tuesday to protest what they believe is a dilution of the One Rank One Pension scheme they have long been demanding, differences of opinion have emerged among ex-servicemen about the appropriateness of the gesture.
“A medal is bestowed upon us by the nation for our duty and service and returning it is not the best way to protest,” said Group Captain SS Phatak who heads the pension division at the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement. “Giving it [medals] back is a disservice to nation. I stand by the demand for OROP but we have to stop this agitation and engage like gentlemen. I personally don’t stand in support with the campaign of returning medals.”
Some other veterans who spoke to Scroll also echoed his sentiments.
“There are two sub groups of associations which don’t agree on many issues including the medal-returning protest,” one ex-serviceman said. “We are seeing many people show up and voicing their concerns loudly but the other camp claims that they want the limelight.”
OROP implies paying a uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. At present, pensioners who retired before 2006 draw a lower pension than their counterparts and juniors who retired later.
In June, veterans' organisations stepped up their agitation to demand OROP, which they say was among the Bharatiya Janata Party's key campaign promises. On Saturday evening, the government that OROP would be put in place very soon and announced a few details of the plan. The scheme would benefit 24 lakh ex-servicemen and over six lah war widows. However, the announcement seems to have further angered some protesting retirees, who claim that the government has effectively “killed” OROP and is now “misleading the nation”.
These protesters claim that the government has only complied with only two out of their seven demands – and that too partially.
“This is not OROP,” Wing Commander (retd) C K Sharma, treasurer of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, told The Sunday Express. "At best, it is a one-time increment. We totally and outrightly reject it. It reflects a lack of maturity on the part of the political leadership of the government."
As a result, on Tuesday, veterans gathered in several places around the country to turn in their medals, which will now be returned to the government as a mark of protest. More than 1,000 medals are expected to be returned in the next couple of days.
Medals were being collected at the domestic airport terminal in New Delhi, at several places in Sikkim and in a community park in Gurdaspur. Similar drives are scheduled to take place in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, where the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement is coordinating efforts.
The veterans had already announced that they woulld observe a Black Diwali this year as a mark of protest, even as they demanded that the government redraft the OROP guidelines. While the ex-servicemen demanded a pension review at least once every two years, the government has said that it will do so once in five years. It added that going forward, OROP will not be extended to those seeking premature retirement, though it will apply retrospectively to all existing pensioners.
“The government should not add clauses one after the other,” said a retired Group Captain from the ex-servicemen movement, which has over 21,000 members. “We are protesting because we want equal treatment. Everyone above 15 years of service should get their pensions, irrespective of it being voluntary or involuntary. It’s plain and simple but we are being taken for a ride.”
Defence Minister's claims
Reacting to the protests, defence minister Manohar Parrikar has said that he has already delivered what was expected of him.
“It’s their democratic right [to protest], but I think they are misguided,” said Parrikar at the commissioning ceremony of a Coast Guard ship, adding that the grievances should be forwarded to the judicial commission that the government has promised to set up to look into the “anomalies” in OROP. “My major job was to get the OROP notification issued, which I have done," said Parrikar. "They must approach the Commission to discuss further problems.”
Meanwhile, Group Capt VK Gandhi who is leading the protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, has claimed that the government's tweaks to the scheme OROP have further confused matters.
“We have one and only demand and that is OROP," he told PTI. "It was the government who inserted provisions that has made the issue complicated. We want OROP as per the definition. No junior should get more pension than his senior. In protest against the government notification, we will start returning our medals from tomorrow.”
Some people on social media reacted strongly to their decision.
Some veterans agreed with them. “People are fasting in the heat and protesting, shouting for their rights but we should at least wait till we know what OROP government is proposing," one ex-serviceman told Scroll. "It’s still their word against ours. Until there’s a formal letter out, I don’t think it’s wise to protest against it just because we have different demands. We should engage, not disrupt.”
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“A medal is bestowed upon us by the nation for our duty and service and returning it is not the best way to protest,” said Group Captain SS Phatak who heads the pension division at the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement. “Giving it [medals] back is a disservice to nation. I stand by the demand for OROP but we have to stop this agitation and engage like gentlemen. I personally don’t stand in support with the campaign of returning medals.”
Some other veterans who spoke to Scroll also echoed his sentiments.
“There are two sub groups of associations which don’t agree on many issues including the medal-returning protest,” one ex-serviceman said. “We are seeing many people show up and voicing their concerns loudly but the other camp claims that they want the limelight.”
OROP implies paying a uniform pension to personnel retiring in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. At present, pensioners who retired before 2006 draw a lower pension than their counterparts and juniors who retired later.
In June, veterans' organisations stepped up their agitation to demand OROP, which they say was among the Bharatiya Janata Party's key campaign promises. On Saturday evening, the government that OROP would be put in place very soon and announced a few details of the plan. The scheme would benefit 24 lakh ex-servicemen and over six lah war widows. However, the announcement seems to have further angered some protesting retirees, who claim that the government has effectively “killed” OROP and is now “misleading the nation”.
These protesters claim that the government has only complied with only two out of their seven demands – and that too partially.
“This is not OROP,” Wing Commander (retd) C K Sharma, treasurer of Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement, told The Sunday Express. "At best, it is a one-time increment. We totally and outrightly reject it. It reflects a lack of maturity on the part of the political leadership of the government."
As a result, on Tuesday, veterans gathered in several places around the country to turn in their medals, which will now be returned to the government as a mark of protest. More than 1,000 medals are expected to be returned in the next couple of days.
Defence veterans are returning their medals to protest against govt's notification on implementation of #OROP . pic.twitter.com/6MwpSqSrSJ
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) November 10, 2015Medals were being collected at the domestic airport terminal in New Delhi, at several places in Sikkim and in a community park in Gurdaspur. Similar drives are scheduled to take place in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, where the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement is coordinating efforts.
The veterans had already announced that they woulld observe a Black Diwali this year as a mark of protest, even as they demanded that the government redraft the OROP guidelines. While the ex-servicemen demanded a pension review at least once every two years, the government has said that it will do so once in five years. It added that going forward, OROP will not be extended to those seeking premature retirement, though it will apply retrospectively to all existing pensioners.
“The government should not add clauses one after the other,” said a retired Group Captain from the ex-servicemen movement, which has over 21,000 members. “We are protesting because we want equal treatment. Everyone above 15 years of service should get their pensions, irrespective of it being voluntary or involuntary. It’s plain and simple but we are being taken for a ride.”
Defence Minister's claims
Reacting to the protests, defence minister Manohar Parrikar has said that he has already delivered what was expected of him.
Returning medals for something which has financial implications, that does not fit into Army's ethos and discipline: Manohar Parrikar #OROP
— India TV (@indiatvnews) November 10, 2015“It’s their democratic right [to protest], but I think they are misguided,” said Parrikar at the commissioning ceremony of a Coast Guard ship, adding that the grievances should be forwarded to the judicial commission that the government has promised to set up to look into the “anomalies” in OROP. “My major job was to get the OROP notification issued, which I have done," said Parrikar. "They must approach the Commission to discuss further problems.”
Meanwhile, Group Capt VK Gandhi who is leading the protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, has claimed that the government's tweaks to the scheme OROP have further confused matters.
“We have one and only demand and that is OROP," he told PTI. "It was the government who inserted provisions that has made the issue complicated. We want OROP as per the definition. No junior should get more pension than his senior. In protest against the government notification, we will start returning our medals from tomorrow.”
Some people on social media reacted strongly to their decision.
Medals in the services are given for valor and gallantry service, returning it to a govt to press for a demand is reducing its value. #OROP
— Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) November 10, 2015
Medals are not merely badges, they carry their selfless service to this nation. Don't play with their patriotism. #OROP
— Force Awakens (@narain) November 10, 2015Some veterans agreed with them. “People are fasting in the heat and protesting, shouting for their rights but we should at least wait till we know what OROP government is proposing," one ex-serviceman told Scroll. "It’s still their word against ours. Until there’s a formal letter out, I don’t think it’s wise to protest against it just because we have different demands. We should engage, not disrupt.”
