Page 14 - The Indian EYE 062422

OP-ED JUNE 24, 2022 | The Indian Eye 14

Army pension and future soldiers’

anxiety needs better responses

Views and opinions from the top commentators in Indian media

A
comparative study of defense
pensions by the Manohar Par-
rikar Institute of Defense Stud-
ies and Analysis is insightful. The
US in FY-2018 set aside 10% of the
defense department’s total expenses
towards pension. In the UK, the pen-
sion outgo in FY-2019 was 14% of
the total defense spending. Given the
lopsidedness in resource allocation in
the Indian military budget, something
had to give. Ideally, the approach
should have been to prune intake
and raise quality standards. However,
political considerations seem to have
played a role and a workaround was
conceived to meet multiple aims.
Having decided on Agnipath,
GoI should have anticipated the
anxiety and pre-empted it. Post-an-
nouncement assurances of job pref-
erences in paramilitary or police, or
bank loans for potential entrepre-
neurs are inadequate to assuage
youth who see the military as a career
that meets aspirations. In this context,
GoI needs to quickly design a more
effective package to help demobi-
lized Agniveers’ transition to civilian Congress leader Bhai Jagtap with party supporters stage a protest over Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s probe against party leader Rahul Gandhi
life. One reason why the US is able
to keep pension costs down is that it in connection with the National Herald case, outside Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai on Thursday. (ANI)
takes 20 years of service to be eligible
for a pension. It’s possible because The Muslim issue by India’s diplomatic missions that
America is more effective in employ- the AICC headquarters and ED of- it accords “the highest respect to all
fice. Most roads leading to the ED
ing former soldiers. That’s what young office were barricaded and prohibi- s protests turn violent in Mus- religions”.
men of the Hindi heartland want too. lim-centric neighborhoods Abu Dhabi and Tehran have
tory orders under CrPC Section 144
-- Editorial, The Times of India were imposed. The AICC office was Aacross India’s restive cities in thrown Delhi a lifeline. But as the
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, amid Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi
virtually under siege with police pro-
Police behavior hibiting even senior Congress leaders desperate attempts by the Bharatiya Adityanath, sends in the bulldozer
from accessing the compound. In Janata Party’s social media bots to wrecking crew after Friday’s protests,
he police atrocity unfolding in spite of all this, some of us did man- pass the buck by pointing fingers at it is the quiet fury sweeping across
the National Capital in con- ‘our neighbor’ for stoking the violence, the country among the world’s larg-
Tnection with the questioning age to enter the AICC premises. Delhi’s pushback against worldwide est Muslim minority — roughly 213
Several Congress women work-
of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement ers including me were dragged along Islamic censure must bring home to million Muslims who make up 15 per
Directorate is a blemish on our coun- the road by male police officers for the Narendra Modi government the cent of India’s population — that will
try’s democracy. On Monday morn- about 500 yards and beaten. We were perils of its doublespeak. be trickier to quell. Will Indians im-
ing, leaders of the Congress party, lifted and thrown into the police van The vilification of Muslims at mune to Modi’s thrall countenance
including MPs, wanted to peacefully as if we were garbage. We were lifted home under Narendra Modi may such an India?
assemble at 24, Akbar Road in soli- and thrown into the police van as if have been glossed over in Islamic -- Neena Gopal,
darity with Rahul Gandhi. But we we were garbage. I screamed that we capitals, seen as being driven by do- The Telegraph (India)
were shocked to see that the Nar- are women but the police did not pay mestic compulsions. But the crass
endra Modi government had trans- heed. We were taken to the Vasant invective by BJP spokespersons Every week, we look at what the top
formed Delhi to resemble a war zone. Kunj South police station and forced against Islam’s most revered figure, commentators in the Indian media are
Delhi Police, anti-riot force, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), that talking about and bring to you a slice
Rapid Action Force and the CRPF to stay there till 10:00 pm. has sparked Muslim outrage requires of their opinions and comments
were deployed in the area adjoining -- Jebi Mather, The Indian Express more than the trite line trotted out

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