Introduction to Retired soldiers

This is a true story, adapted from Colonel Rajan~s public lament,
a tale typical of every officer and jawan. S.S. Rajan, the son of
an army officer, joined the army with an engineering degree
and was commissioned in the corps of engineers in June 1963,
with his pay at Rs 460 per month. He served in NEFA and later
fought in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. In that war, his vehicle
was blown up, maiming and killing his comrades, but he
was lucky to escape with major injuries. He was recommended
for the Vishisht Sewa Medal on four occasions.
 
After over 19 years of service, he was promoted to the rank
of lieutenant colonel, whereas IAS and IPS officers
automatically become joint secretaries and equivalent on
completion of 18 years of service or less. Rajan was promoted
to colonel in August 1985 and retired after over 33 years of
meritorious service, when he had a daughter aged 15 and a
son aged 8 to take care of. He received a pension of Rs 9125
per month and got a lump sum of about Rs 10 lakh for
commutation of pension, gratuity, provident fund, army
group insurance and leave encashment — not enough to
buy even a small two-bedroom flat in Bangalore. To add
insult to injury, his pay was fixed at the ~starting pay~ for a
colonel plus one increment, whereas it should have been fixed
at the maximum pay eligible for a colonel.
 
Rajan~s contemporary, one Mr. R. Swaminathan, joined the Armed Forces
Head Quarters (AFHQ) Cadre as a lower division clerk. Being
in the AFHQ Cadre, he was posted in Delhi throughout his
career. He worked hard and steadily rose up the ladder, with
promotions at regular intervals and finally retired as
Deputy DG (Personnel) in June 2003. His children studied in
one school throughout. Before his retirement, his son graduated
as an engineer from IIT, Delhi and his daughter graduated as
a doctor from AIIMS, Delhi. Not being subjected to transfers he
could afford to save more.
 
On retirement, Swaminathan was granted pension on par with
a senior deputy secretary (IAS) and got Rs 45 lakh in cash, by
way of gratuity, provident fund, leave encashment and
commutation. This is not an isolated instance. It happens to
all military personnel. The telling effect of this true story
on the morale of soldiers and their children is obvious.
Rumblings have increased and should be heard by
the discerning, before a catastrophe occurs.
 
The writer is a retired lieutenant general
Moral of the Story ....BE A CLERK ...WHY SHOW PATRIOTISM and screw ur life !!!!!!!!! ...will fetch u nothing !!!!! ....