Wednesday, June 24, 2009

CNS FAREWELL DINNER 06 Jul Varuna 2000 hrs

Dear Members,

As we are all aware, Admiral Sureesh Mehta will lay down the office of the Chief of the Naval Staff on 31 Aug 2009 upon his retirement from Service. Admiral has done much for Veterans community, particularly on the pension issue. Admiral and Mrs Mehta have very kindly consented to the request of the NFDC to spend a evening with its members. Accordingly, NFDC will host a Dinner to bid farewell to Admiral and Mrs Mehta on Monday, 06 Jul 2009 at the Naval Officers Mess Varuna at 2000 hrs. We request all NFDC members and their spouses to please join in for Dinner in maximun strength and be present by 2000 hrs.Senior serving officers are also being invited.


As usual, Drinks and special Dinner will be catered from outside and will beat a subsidised rate of Rs 400/- per couple and Rs 250/- for single

For the convenience of our members, we have arranged two Naval Buses to convey the members to and fro from Noida and Gurgaon as follows :

(a) Bus will depart from Noida MI Room (Sector 25) at 1900 hrs
(b) Bus will depart from Jal Vayu Towers (Sector 56) Main Gate Gurgaon 1900 hrs
(c) Bus will return to Noida and Gurgaon on completion of Dinner.

Kindly confirm your attendence for the Dinner by E Mail or on Tel 9811078735 or 9818389252, latest by 02 Jul 2009, for us to enable make arrangements.



Secretary
Navy Foundation Delhi Charter

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Brief for NFDC on One Rank One Pension

06 Jul 2009

Dear Members,


There are good reasons to believe and it is understood that the Finance Minister will announce OROP for the Veteran's besides the payment of 6PC arrears in his budget speech in the Parliament later today. Lets hope for the best.. Kindly lend the Finance Minister your ears.


Warm regards

Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (Retd)
President , NFDC

************************************************
Dear Members,
1. We have kept you briefed on the progress with our quest for OROP and in our last communication informed you of the inclusion of our demand in the President address to the Parliament.

2. After some discussion, all the major organisations fighting for OROP mutually decided to pool their resources and forward a single consolidated paper for consideration by the Cabinet Secretary Committee. This was co-ordinated by the IESL and we agreed to be one of the members and RAdm Sushil Ramsay was nominated as our representative on this committee. One of the other major issues was to safeguard the rights of the PBOR, who must come first, before us, as per our ethos and this was always kept in mind.

3. The committee received and looked into a large number of proposals that had been received by various orgs. RAdm Ramsay generally co-ordinated the examination of the proposal and has in fact in due course prepared the paper, presented the same before the entire committee and the Presidents of the participating Organisations. There were generous contributions by MajGen Radhakrsinan and some others. The final Presentation was very well attended and more importantly generated very constructive and meaningful discussions. All constructive and rational suggestions were thereafter incorporated in the final proposal.

4. The three Tables agreed to, are quite explicit to indicate the basis for formulation of our projections which were finalised with a view to arrive at a consensus. In addition we have included request for resolution of another anomaly for the pre 01 Jan 2006 Pensioners relating to Disability Pension/War Injury Pension/Special Family Pension/Liberalised Family Pension/Dependent Pension(Special), etc, which have emerged out of recent GOI notifications of 04 and 05 May 2006.
5. At the conclusion of the deliberations it was agreed to forward the attached proposal to the GOI for consideration. It may be added that the service headquarters were also requested and have forwarded a proposal. We feel that our proposal is somewhat better than the one forwarded by them and we all owe thanks to RAdm S Ramsay for the tremendous amount of effort put in and a job well done.

6. I , may conclude by saying that it is a very difficult task to synthesise and harmonise the views and aspirations of a large number of the Veterans of various vintages, issues and differently impacted by various Pay Commissions. We have arrived at an agreed consensus and that should be accepted as the most viable solution. Am sure, there will be some who will take issue but it is a corporate decision and is best left at that. We have, as a major milestone, managed consensus amongst all the major stakeholders and that's good too.

Recommended Pension Tables

Regards
Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (Retd)
President NFDC

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

PB4 Payments

Dear Members
GOI has issued necessary orders to Banks for making payments to those covered in PB4.
If the concerned banks have not received the orders, pl find them attached herewith.
Regards
Cdr SS Ahuja (Retd)
Web Master NFDC
*************************************************
http://pcdapension.nic.in/comm/qs.htm
Qualifying Service for Pension
The minimum period of qualifying service (without Weightage) for earning retiring pension shall be 20 years (15 years in the case of late entrants).
Actual qualifying service rendered by the officer plus a weightage (in years) appropriate to the last rank held as indicated below subject to total qualifying service including weightage not exceeding 33 Years.
A fraction of a year equal to 3 months and above but less than 6 months shall be treated as a completed ½ year. Similarly, nine months or more but less than one year shall be treated as a competed one year and reckoned as qualifying service.
This shall, however, not be applicable for completing minimum qualifying service for pensionary award.
Periods of Service Qualifying Service for Pension
Service as a permanent regular Commissioned Officer
Service rendered before attaining the age of 17 years.
Embodied or called out service as an officer of TA or Auxiliary Air Force subject to refund of gratuity, if any.
Service in the rank if followed by permanent regular Commissioned service without a break subject to refund of gratuity, if any.
All leave including study leave with pay.
Period of suspension from duty when the officer is not brought on trial or court martial with result favour-able to the officer.
Service under an Office /Department/Ministry of the Central or State Government.
Any period of Civil service under Central or State Government. if followed by military service subject to refund of gratuity, if any.
Service rendered in the autonomous bodies
The period of ante-date of commission and the period of Secondment subject to the following maxima:-
Ante-date of commission –18 months
Secondment -12 months
when both ante- date and Secondment granted – 24 months
Service rendered in aid of civil administration.
Weightage Admissible: Service Officers (Other than MNS)
Rank
Weightage in Years
Lieutenant 9 years
Captain 9 Years
Major 8 Years
Lt. Col. (TS) 5 Years
Lt. Col. (S) 7 years
Colonel(TS) 7 years
Colonel 7 Years
Brigadier 5 Years
Major General 3 Years
Lt. General 3 Years
Chief of the Army Staff 3 Years
Weightage Admissible : MNS officers
Rank Weightage in Years
Captain 7 Years
Major 6Years
Lt. Colonel 5 Years
Colonel 5 Years
Brigadier 3 Years
Major General 3 Years
Weightage Admissible : ECOs/SSCO
Rank Weightage in Years
12 years and more but less than 20 years 5 Years
20 years and above Rank wise weightage as given for Service Officers (Other than MNS)
Weightage Not Admissible
Weightage is not admissible in following cases:-
officers who retire pre-maturely for permanent absorption in public sector under takings and autonomous bodies.
officers of the Territorial Army.
for determining the minimum qualifying service for retiring pension.
************************************************************
REGISTEREDMOST IMPORTANT CIRCULAROFFICE OF THE PCDA (PENSIONS), DRAUPADI GHAT ALLAHABADCircular No.412.Dated: 26.05.2009.To,01.The Chief Accountant, RBI, Deptt. of Govt. Bank Account CentralOffice,C-7 IInd Floor Bandre Kurla Complex, P.B. No.8143BandreEast, Mumbai-400051.02.All CMDs of Public Sector Banks03.CMD of ICICI Bank04.CMD of IDBI Bank05.CMD of Axis Bank06.CMD of HDFC Bank07.Military and Air Attache, Indian Embassy Kathmandu Nepal.08.The Defence Pension Disbursing Officers.09.The Treasury officers.10.The Pay and Accounts Office.11.Pay and Accounts Office, Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai.12.The Post Master Kathua (J & K), Camp Bell Bay (Andaman & Nicobar)Subject:- (i)Implementation of Government’s decision on therecommendations of the Sixth Central Pay CommissionRevision of Pension of Pre 2006 Military Nursing Service(MNS) Officers retiree pensioners / Family Pensioners(ii)Implementation of Government’s decision on therecommendations of the Sixth Central PayCommission – Revision of Pension of Pre 2006Armed Forces Pensioners / Family Pensioners.Reference:-GOI, MOD letter No. No. 17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Policy) dated 11.11.2008and this Office Circulars No. 397 dated 18.11.2008, 398 dated18.11.2008 No. 401 dated 18.12.2008 and No.403 dated 02.02.2009.-----*-----*-----(Available on the Website of this office www. pcdapension. nic.in)MOD letter No. 17(4)/2008(1)/D (Pen/Policy) dated 20.05.2009 on the abovesubject at serial No. (i) which is self explanatory is forwarded herewith for furthernecessary action at your end. The table showing rates of minimum guaranteedpension and ordinary family pension for Pre 01.01.2006, MNS retiree Officersenclosed with the MOD letter dated 20.05.2009 may be treated as Annexure –II A to
MOD letter dated 11.11.2008 circulated vide this office circular No. 397 dated18.11.2008.2.Annexure – II of the Ministry of Defence letter No. 17(4)/2008(1)/D(Pen/Policy) dated 11.11.2008 which was modified/substituted vide Ministry ofDefence letter No. 17(4)/2008(1)/D (Pen/Policy) dated 11.12.2008and No.17(4)/2008(1)/D (Pen/Policy) dated 20.01.2009 is further modified in respect ofLieutenant Colonel (Substantive) / Lieutenant Colonel (Time Scale) andequivalent ranks in Navy and Air Force only by enclosed Annexure II vide MODletter No. 17(4)/2008(1)/D (Pen/Policy) dated 21.05.2009(copy enclosed), which isself explanatory.3.All other subsidiary payment instructions will be the same as alreadycirculated vide this officecirculars quoted under reference.4.ThiscircularhasbeenuploadedonPCDA(P)websitehttp://www.pcdapension.nic.in/ for disseminated across the defence pensioners andPDAs.No. Grants/Tech/0165-XII(R K SAROJ)Dated:26.05.2009Dy. C.D.A. (P)

Copy to:1.The Dy. Secretary, Govt. of India, Ministry of PPG & P (Deptt. of P & PW),Lok Nayak Bhawan, New Delhi.2.Director (Pensions), Govt. of India, Ministry of Defence D(Pen/Sers), SenaBhawan, Wing ‘A’ New Delhi.3.Army HQrs AG’s Branch, PS-4(b) DHQ, PO New Delhi – 110011.4.AHQ GS Branch, TA Directorate, DHQ PO New Delhi – 110011.5.Naval HQrs, PP & A, DHQ PO New Delhi.6.DPA, Vayu Bhawan, New Delhi – 11.7.Air HQrs Ad PP & P – 3, West Block-VI, R. K. Puram, New Delhi –110066.8.Shri A. K. JENA, IDAS, Sr. Dy. CGDA(AT-II), O/O the CGDA, West Block-V, R. K. Puram, New Delhi – 110066.9.PCDA (Navy) No.-1, Cooperage Road, Mumbai – 400039.10.CDA (AF), West Block-V, R. K. Puram, New Delhi – 110066.11.JCDA (AF) Subroto Park, New Delhi – 110010.12.Director of Audit, Defence Service, New Delhi13.All Record Offices/Regiment. Corp.14.Bureau of Sailors, Cheetah Camp, Mumbai.15.Air Force Record, Dhaula Kunwa, Delhi Cantt.16.All Addl CsDA/Jt. CsDA in Main Office.17.All GOs in Main Office.18.The OI/C, G-1(M), AT(ORs)-Tech. & G-1/Civil (Tech.)19.All SAOs/AOs/AAOs/SOs(A) in Gts/Ors Complex.20.The OI/C, EDP Manual.21.The OI/C, EDP Centre.22.Defence Pension Liaison Cell.23.All Sections in Main Office.24.Spare copies in file No. Gts/Tech/0148, 148, 0162 & 015825.OIC,G -2 Section26.OI/C, G - 3 Section.27.OI/C, G - 4 Section.28.OI/C O & M Cell29.OI/C Complaint Cell30.The OI/C, Reception Centre31.The OI/C, EDP Centre (Website) For putting this on the Website.32.The OI/C, DPTI Cell33.Spare(R. K. SAROJ)Dy. C.D.A. (P)3

Post Retirement commercial employment by Defence Service Officers

Dear Members,
GOI letter on seeking commercial employement is placed below.
Regards
Cdr SS Ahuja (Retd)
Web Master NFDC

*******************************************************************************
Sir,
1. Copy of Government of India, Ministry of Defence Office Memorandum no. 1(1)/2008/D(Coord) dated 04 May 09 is reproduced below:-
“ Time period requiring Govt sanction for seeking commercial employment after retirement by officers of the rank of Capt and above stands reduced from two years to one year vide MoD OM No. 1(1)/2008/D(Coord) dated 04 May 09.”
2. It is requested that contents of the letter be disseminated to all concerned.
Kind regards,

Cdr Pradeep Mishra
Jt Secy (NF

Thursday, June 4, 2009

OROP - Some Progress and Hopeful Signs

Dear Members,
An extract form the Presidents Address to the Parliament today is given below.
2. Our armed forces are the nation’s pride, a symbol of our values of sacrifice, valour and the spirit of national integration. India’s defence forces stand committed to the task of defending the territorial integrity of the country. They will be fully enabled with modern technology to repel any threat from land, sea or air. To enhance combat efficiency as also to address the requirements of modern day warfare, a number of steps are under way. The welfare of ex-servicemen will continue to be accorded high priority. The Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary, to look into the issue of One Rank One Pension has already commenced its work and expects to complete it by the end of June 2009. -- The full copy of the address can be seen at
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200906041440.htm

RegardsWhen everything comes your way you're in the wrong lane.Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (retd)
President NFDCC 26, Sector 23, Noida 201301Tel 0120-2412412, 9811668776

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

THROUGH THICK AND THIN- The government must revive the morale of the armed forces

THROUGH THICK AND THIN- The government must revive the morale of the armed forces
BRIJESH D. JAYAL
Unsung lives
Through this column I would like to congratulate Manmohan Singh and his party for having provided this nation with what was most needed at this critical juncture — a stable government. While doing so I must confess that I am guilty of not being one of those who have made this possible. I chose not to exercise my franchise since the denial of the right to exercise the option of ‘none of the above’ is to my mind not being fair to the spirit of our democracy.
The subject of this article, however, is not electoral reform, but the one institution that has served the nation through thick and thin at the cost of tremendous human hardship and sacrifice — the armed forces of the republic of India. While the public still holds the armed forces in some esteem, the same cannot be said of those who govern the country. Had it been otherwise, there would not have been a progressive decline in the status of the armed forces in the national scheme of things. To quote the Kargil review committee report, “India is perhaps the only democracy where the armed forces headquarters are outside the apex governmental structure.” It would be fair to say that every government since Independence has contributed to the decline of the status of the armed forces and its veterans, either by design or by neglect.
But one needs to make an exception. There was one minister of state for defence under the Rajiv Gandhi government, whose understanding of matters military and the ethos of the armed forces was profound. He later chaired a committee on defence expenditure set up by the V.P. Singh government, and the task force on management of defence set up as a consequence of the Kargil review committee report. Both these exercises had the stamp of his understanding of the issues involved and their national implications. Had the recommendations of these committees been implemented in the spirit in which they were made, the need for this article may well not have arisen.
The nation today is faced with stark choices. The national security environment is the most demanding since Independence and deteriorating by the day. The spectrum of warfare now spans the nuclear at one end to urban and internal at the other. Decades of insurgency in the East and years of proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir are taking a heavy toll on a professional army. Incidents of fratricide and suicides are increasing alarmingly. Hostile interests are taking advantage by spreading disinformation about the armed forces — ‘psychological warfare’ in today’s parlance. We are losing dozens of lives on active duty even during peace. Our borders with both Pakistan and China are underprepared. Revolutions in military affairs demand much greater levels of technological and training skills than at present, but the pool of volunteers is fast shrinking. Yet opportunities in civil life are expanding with generous salaries and stable lives.
That over the years the status of the armed forces has progressively declined is no secret. What is less evident is that the morale of this fine institution is being sapped bit by bit. Because service ethos demands cheerful acceptance of orders, this decline has been taken as meek acceptance. As internal security challenges rise, the polity becomes more competitive, and for the 24-hour electronic media hungry for breaking news, there is a temptation to make a scapegoat of the military. It happened in Manipur some years ago, it occurs frequently in Jammu and Kashmir, and happened recently in Tamil Nadu where an army convoy was needlessly attacked. Successive service leaderships have failed to convince the government of the adverse implications of this state of affairs. The sixth pay commission has merely added another insult to the already wounded psyche of the armed forces.
For the first time in the nation’s history, veterans — from soldiers to three-star ranks — have been driven to express their anguish publicly by holding rallies across many cities, sitting in dharna at Jantar Mantar and, in a regrettable gesture, surrendering their prized medals to the supreme commander in their thousands. These unheard of incidents would have evoked instant response from the government in any democratic country. Our silence is both pregnant and deafening.
The nation needs to introspect. Why, for instance, are we the only democracy where civilian control of the armed forces has come to mean bureaucratic control? Why has there been a systematic and progressive decline in the standing of the armed forces over these last six decades? Why is it that the only living five-star rank-holder should feature in the warrant of precedence below the cabinet secretary? And why was it thought fit not to give a state funeral to a field marshal, who contributed to our 1971 war victory? One could go on; suffice it to say that slowly but surely we are robbing our armed forces of the oxygen of izzat and iqbal, shorn of which they will become mere mercenaries.
The nation under the leadership of Manmohan Singh needs to decide whether it needs professional and combat-worthy armed forces or is content with forces that will be runners-up. Military morale is a strange phenomenon. You can neither define it easily nor see it. While perceptive commanders can feel it in their bones, once it begins to evaporate, even the finest of them need godly qualities to revive it. Too much is at stake for it to be left to the very institutions that have brought us to this pass — and every arm of governance must accept the blame. The legislature for taking little interest in matters relating to the forces, unless there was some political mileage. The government for remaining a mute spectator and resisting bringing the military into the decision- and policymaking process. The bureaucracy for having converted the dictum of civilian control over the military to bureaucratic control. And finally, the armed forces leadership for sometimes failing to protect the ‘safety, honour and welfare of the men they command’ in the face of this onslaught.
The Mumbai attacks tell us how fragile the security environment is and the newer threats that are emerging. Pakistan has kept even the sharpest strategic minds guessing, but the prognosis is far from good. The West sees its war on terror as somewhat different from ours. A senior American navy commander’s recent revelation of Chinese maritime intentions in the Indian Ocean should cause us no surprise. The situations in Nepal and Sri Lanka are still evolving. In every area, without sounding pessimistic, we need to be prepared for far greater security challenges.
The nation can not afford to sit idle while our armed forces continue down a slippery slope. The time has come to opt for innovative solutions — something for which Singh is best known. Let the nation respond by setting up a ‘Blue Ribbon commission’ to look at all aspects of our armed forces. This would encompass every sphere, from the changing nature of warfare to what sort of armed forces are needed in the future, to inter-service working, to the way the forces are organized and integrated within the national decision-making process, to their place within the hierarchy and that of veterans in society, to the creating of a war memorial as well as other issues that contribute to making the armed forces of any nation a unique institution.
The ‘Blue Ribbon commission’ would include citizens known for their experience and non-partisan interests, and will give the beleaguered armed forces some level of comfort. Its recommendations must be debated in Parliament, which should then legislate on major issues determining the role and place of the armed forces in our country.
Legislative direction is the surest way to ensure that decisions that become law are implemented. Otherwise they are open to administrative sleight-of-hand. Even in the United States of America it was the Goldwater-Nichols Act that mandated the joint chiefs of staff institution, scrutinized professional military education and mandated strengthening of focus on joint matters.
It is possible that our precedent-driven administrative system will resist this as a Blue Ribbon commission approach is a departure from the norm. But Singh must have faced similar hurdles when he embarked on the bold economic reforms in 1991. The institution of the armed forces now looks up to him for similar salvation.
The author is a retired air marshal of the Indian Air Force

Sad Demise R Adm RV Singh

Dear Members,
Regret to inform about the sad demise of R Adm RV Singh today early morning at Escorts Hospital.
2. The funeral would be held today wednesday 03 Jun 2009 at 1600 hrs at Brar Square Crematorium Delhi Cantt.
Navy Foundation deeply mourns the passing away of one of our veterans.
Regards

Cdr SS Ahuja (Retd)
Web Master NFDC

Calculator for cdr's pension

Dear Members,
A calculator in XLS is attached above to help all the Retd Cdr's to calculate their new pension and the arrears after the promulgation of PB4 for the Retd Cdr's and equivalent.
Regards

Cdr SS Ahuja (Retd)
Web Master NFDC

Retd Commanders in PB4 GOI orders


Dear Members,
Pls find the much awaited GOI letter for the pension as per pay band 4 A for retd LtCols / Cdrs/Wg Cdrs ...attached is the pdf file above on the same.
Regards
Cdr SS Ahuja (Retd)
Web Master NFDC

http://www.irfc-nausena.nic.in/irfc/desa/pension_LTCDR.pdf

Royal Indian Navy veteran dead..Commander Brian Goord, DSC, Royal Indian Navy

Dear Members,
Regret to inform the demise of Commander Brian Goord, DSC, Royal Indian Navy on 08 May 2009 at Christchurch , New Zealand.
Regards
Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (retd)
President , NFDC

*****************************************************************************
Royal Indian Navy veteran dead
Anthony Brian Goord’s unusual seagoing career started with his education at the Nautical College, Pangbourne. He then served in the New Zealand Shipping Company until 1934 when he decided to join the Royal Naval Reserve and while training at Dartmouth Naval College he was recruited into the Royal Indian Navy (RIN). At the outbreak of the Second World War the RIN owned only eight minor warships, some of 1919 vintage, and depended for officers on the Royal Navy. (The first Indian to be commissioned was an engineer sub-lieutenant in 1930.) By the end of the war it had risen to 117 combat vessels and 30,000 men. Much of Goord’s work involved managing and training this huge expansion, finding it necessary to pass the lower and then the higher-standard Urdu language exams in 1936 and 1941.
His first seagoing appointment in September 1935 was to the sloop Hindustan, at that time the RIN’s best ship, as gunnery and navigating officer. In 1938 he returned home to undergo specialist courses in navigation and anti-submarine warfare, returning to India in October 1939. He thus became the RIN’s staff anti-submarine officer and commanded the anti-submarine school.
During this period he invented the Goord Goldfish, a device that, adapting diving gear and towed behind a motor-boat, issued a stream of bubbles that returned a credible submarine-like echo for training Asdic (underwater detection) operators in ships. A grateful Admiralty rewarded him with a princely cheque for £20, a sum also granted by the Government of India.
Thereafter he held headquarters posts and commanded coastal forces bases until appointment in May 1944 as captain of the 1,700-ton sloop Godavari when the ship arrived from Thorneycrofts in the UK. On August 12, 1944, Goord was on anti-submarine patrol near the Seychelles as part of Eastern Fleet Force 66 with the escort carrier Shah when Godavari, with RN frigates Findhorn and Parret, sank submarine U198, Godavari’s Asdic performance being particularly praised. Goord was awarded the DSC.
At naval headquarters from February 1945 to the end of the war with Japan, Goord was appointed as Assistant Chief of staff (operations and intelligence) to the Flag Officer RIN, Rear Admiral John Godfrey whose many near-intractable preoccupations at that time included the Indianisation of the navy with the need to blood officers of the right quality. Goord was selected as the naval member of Commander-in-Chief General Sir Claude Auchinleck’s armed forces reorganising committee chaired by Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Wilcox and based at Dehra Dun.
In February 1946, while Goord was in Delhi, elements of the RIN at Bombay, fuelled by “quit India” activists, slow demobilisation and complaints about food, pay and leave, made a mutiny that lasted three days and caused widespread civic unrest. It was suppressed at the cost of the death of one officer and nine ratings. Goord was sent to INS Valsura, the torpedo school at Jamnagar in Gujarat, to preside over a local board of inquiry. Much of the cause was attributed to poor long-term policy decisions concerning officer recruitment and training.
In October 1947 after continuing as staff officer plans and naval member of the reconstitution committee at naval headquarters, he was compulsorily retired on the transfer of power to India and the division of the navy between India and Pakistan.
With his wife, Freda, and their son, Goord moved to Kenya and developed a farm from virgin bush. He was elected to the Nakuru Country Council and was a founding member of the multiracial New Kenya Party, which in 1959 was arguing for a fair distribution of land for all. He participated in the 1960 Lancaster House conference in the lead-up to Kenyan independence. In 1964 his farm was compulsorily purchased for African resettlement. The family moved to the Algarve and built properties. Freda died in 1974; Goord remarried but separated in 1984.
The next 20 years were spent cruising the Mediterranean in his yacht Novanda. He finally moved to New Zealand to join his son who farms near Christchurch.Commander Brian Goord, DSC, Royal Indian Navy staff and commanding officer and farmer, was born on May 18, 1911. He died on May 8, 2009, aged 97--

Sad Demise of Cdr SS Malhi Sea King Pilot

Dear Members,
Regret to inform about the demise of Cdr Shamsher Singh Mallhi (Shera) who passed away on 18th May '09 at Panchkhula, Chandigarh.
He had been battling Cancer for about 18 months. A prayer meeting was organized at the Gurudwara at Sector 7, Panchkhula.
Mrs Mallhi (Babli) his wife can be contacted on Tel Nos. 9878446898 & 9872557500.

Navy Foundation Delhi Charter mourns the untimely passing away of our Veteran and prays for peace to his soul.

Regards

Cdr SS Ahuja (Retd)
Web Master NFDC

Article by Gen VP Malik

Dear Members,
A very thoughtful article by Gen VP Malik is reproduced below. It also comes at a very opportune moment when the political party that was supported by IESM comes a serious cropper at the hustings. Only time will tell what is in store on the OROP front even as the MOD was at the point of conceding at least modified parity whilst the extended polls were in progress.

Regards

Vice Admiral Harinder Singh (Retd)
President , NFDCC 26, Sector 23, Noida 201301Tel 0120-2412412, 9811668776
The Indian EXPRESSe edition – May 15, 2009.
http://epaper.indianexpress.com/IE/IEH/2009/05/15/INDEX.SHTML
Force dividerBy Gen VP Malik, Former COAS
It’s hard for a frustrated and aggrieved military to remain apolitical The ‘advisory’to vote for a particular political party by a large ex-servicemen organisation during elections reflects a lack of confidence of the uniformed fraternity with the ruling alliance, and is easily exploited.
TWO recent events, the ham T handed sacking of the Army Chief General Rookmangud Katawal in Nepal, and an ‘advisory’ to all ex-servicemen (ESM) by the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) to vote for a particular political party/alliance in India, merit attention due to the sensitivity of the civil military relations in a democratic society.
The adverse political consequences of the Nepalese event are many: a setback to the national peace process and political instability, a constitutional divide over the authority of the president and prime minister, and Nepal’s foreign relations with India and China. No less important are its military consequences, which are a lack of trust and confidence between the civilian government and the military, and a divide within the military hierarchy.
Both these will have an impact on the command and control, discipline, morale and combat proficiency of the Nepal Army. Also, there is an erosion of the historic military-to-military cooperation between Nepal and India where traditionally, the army chiefs have enjoyed the honorary status of a chief in each other’s country.
The hot-headed civil and military approach to the absorption of Maoist military cadres was avoidable.
I wish they had studied a similar military transformation following the first post-apartheid national elections and the adoption of a new constitution in South Africa. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) replaced the earlier South African Defence Force (SADF) to include personnel and equipment from the former defence and homelands forces, as well as personnel from the former guerrilla forces of the political parties such as the African National Congress’s Umkhontowe Sizwe, the Pan Africanist Congress’ APLA and the Self-Protection Units of the Inkatha Freedom Party. This process started in 1994 was completed in 2004 with the integrated personnel having been incorporated into a slightly modified structure.
Today, the SANDF is an effective force in South Africa, also making a substantial contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations in Congo, Burundi and Sudan.
The ‘advisory’ and active lobbying to vote for a particular political party/alliance by a large ESM organisation during elections in India is not as serious as the Nepalese event, but is still unprecedented. It is not that men and women in the armed forces, and after retirement, do not vote, or that ESM do not join politics. But such an ‘advisory’ reflects a collective unhappiness and lack of confidence of the uniformed fraternity with the ruling alliance and is easily exploited. Considering that the ESM retain an umbilical connection with serving soldiers and maintain traditional camaraderie and kinship so essential in the profession of arms, many people would consider it as a step towards politicisation of the armed forces.
The IESM took this step primarily on account of the 6th Central Pay Commission (6CPC) Report and its ham-handed, disdainful processing by the government in which representatives of the uniformed fraternity were deliberately kept out. The government delayed resolving serious concerns of the armed forces personnel and pensioners on the disparities, anomalies, and demand for one rank one pension. Little attention was paid to the advice of the service chiefs, several former chiefs, and to the ethos and functioning of the armed forces. Meanwhile, an impression got built that the ruling political leadership is going along with the bureaucracy and has little or no interest in the emoluments and hierarchal status of the armed forces in the government and society.
This felt injustice led to the birth of the IESM, which organised rallies, fast unto death agitations, and surrender of war and gallantry medals to the president to draw public and political attention.
The discontent and street protests by the armed forces veterans has exposed fissures in the civil military relationship and thus led to the political manipulation of the latter.
The belated efforts to resolve the aforesaid issues have only confirmed the perception that the government acts under political pressure; being disciplined and apolitical counts little when political supremacy over the armed forces degenerates into civil servants’ supremacy.
This brings me to the core issue of the civil-military relations.
Civil-military relations form an essential component of a nation’s security system. The Indian armed forces inherited a legacy of maintaining an apolitical stance and have steadfastly preserved it through the years. With their oath to the Constitution, they have stuck to the concept of loyalty to the constitution ally elected government, not to any particular political party or alliance. The credit goes not only to the military and its traditions, but also to the political leadership, our egalitarian society and other well-established democratic institutions.
In India, there is little awareness about the armed forces: their systems, procedures, traditions and the issues and concerns that affect their functioning. During a war, the armed forces are glorified, greatly respected, even treated with awe But after the war, they feel forgot ten and neglected by the political class and society. Since the ruling elite in the country consisting o politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists have stopped sending their kith and kin to the armed forces, the distance between the civil society including the aforementioned three categories and the armed forces has increased progressively.
Morris Janowitz, in his book The Professional Soldier: A Soldier and Political Portrait, has emphasised that ‘civilian leadership includes not only the political direction of the military but the prevention of the growth of frustration in the profession, of felt injustice, and inflexibility under the weight of its responsibilities.’ If we wish to maintain good civil military relations to optimise national security, our political leaders must realise this important responsibility and ensure that (a) there is no feeling of frustration or injustice in the military profession and (b) that the armed forces are not politicised.
------------THE END