FROM THE LENS OF HARRY BUCKLEY - Indian Army Veterans

FROM THE LENS OF HARRY BUCKLEY

December 2018 | Sammaan | 19

I n t h e y e a r 2 0 1 0 , t h e n

Commanding Officer of the

Victoria Cross Regiment Col MK

Keshwar wrote a letter to Maj

Harry Buckley who was the

Officer Commanding of the

glorious 21(VC) Field Company

as an invitation to unit raising

day, However, his Sister Janet

Bukley replied and also gifted a

album consisting of photos

clicked by Maj Harry Bukley

during his deployment in Ceylon,

Burma and India. Harry was born

in 1919 and did his education

from St Bees School in Cumbria

and studied Civil Engineering

from Hampton University.

Harry Buckley took over as

OC 21(VC) Field Company in

Dighi in the spring of 1946. Some

of his lens works is in the

following photographs:-

THE BUND OVER THE MULA, DIGHI EARLY PHOTO OF ROYAL BOMBAY SAPPERS & MINERS MESS KIRKEE

102 ENGR REGT

PARADE AT BOMBAY SAPPER PARADE GROUND WITH WAR MEMORIAL IN BACKGROUND

PT BEING ORGANISED IN TB DIGHI (NOW TB 2)

GHAZNI DAY SPORTS, KIRKEE THE BABOOS RACE BRIG THURBURN LEADS COLOMBO MILITARY MARCH PAST

THE PATHAN CONTINGENT THE MARATHAS FOLLOWED BY THE SIKHS

During his tenure in Ceylon with the coy he narrated his story through his lens.



TRUCK IN THE FOREGROUNDTHE TOWN HALL COLOMBO

VIEW OF THE RIVER JUMA (YAMUNA)FROM THE TAJ

THE LIONS FEET AT SIGIRLYA

BIBLE BOOK NEAR ARANAYAKAMOSQUE PICTURE TAKEN FROM ONE OF THE TAJ MAHAL MINARS

Mesmerizing and Beautiful Taj Mahal prepared for protection during WW-II.

THE PEARL TEMPLE IN DELHI FORTOLD DELHI

Streets of Delhi.

NEW DELHIKING GEORGE V STATUE NEW DELHI

LOOKING MORE CHEERFULSHANGARA SINGH AND SADHU SINGH WORK WONDERS

In his album Harry Bukley captured the true always smiling, bright and happy Bombay Sapper in

his buddy L/Nk Shangara Singh.


THE JUNGLE FOX -SUBEDAR MAJOR HONORARY CAPTAIN SUNDAR SINGH, ASHOKA CHAKRA

LT GEN GHANSHYAM SINGH KATOCH (RETD)


I first met Havildar Sundar Singh, Ashoka

Chakra, in 1962 at Dagshai in the Shimla hills of

Himachal Pradesh, where the 4 JAK RIF was

stationed. The unit was getting ready to go for a UN

tenure to Congo. He was in ‘Charlie’ company

whose Company Commander was my father Major

(later Lt Col) Rajindra Singh Katoch. I was all of six

years old and was extremely impressed by the stories

of Havildar Sundar Singh’s bravery that my father

used to narrate to me. The five feet six inches Sundar

Singh, had been christened the Jungle Fox (taking

the cue from Rommel who was known as the Desert

Fox), because of his astonishing ability to melt into

the jungle and successfully stalk a variety of game

birds. It was an ability he had acquired from the

veterans of the Burma campaign of 4 JAK RIF, who

had perfected the art through the experience of

stalking Japanese soldiers in a deadly game in the

tropical jungles of Burma. That was where 4 JAK

RIF had earned accolades as well as five Military

Crosses and numerous other decorations.

Sundar Singh would take my father’s 12 bore

shotgun and cartridges and melt into the jungles

around Dagshai. After a few hours, he would always

emerge with one or more pheasants or black

partridges. Whenever he came back we would watch

awe struck as he sat down to have a cup of tea and we

children would pester him to tell us what he had done

at Hussainiwala and stare wide eyed at his shrapnel

scarred arm. Sundar Singh would very briefly tell us

what happened. In the narration, he always played

down his part. It was only later when I grew up that I

was able to learn more about him and his saga.

Acting L/NK (later Subedar Major Honorary

Captain) Sundar Singh belonged to Naushera in

Jammu and Kashmir. In March 1956 the battalion

was deployed at the Hussainiwala headworks on the

Indo-Pakistan border. From here, the water of the

Sutlej river is channelled into the Dipalpur canal

that goes to Pakistan, and also a canal that irrigates

Indian territory. As per the Radcliffe Commission

(the Indus waters treaty had not been signed at that

time, it was signed in 1960) India was responsible

for maintaining the embankments. The floods that

year had damaged the embankments and when these

were being repaired by the Indians. The Pakistanis

objected and attacked the bundh called “the Bela”

which was occupied by our troops to protect the

Engineers repairing the damaged embankment. On

the night of 18-19 March 1956, 4 JAK RIF was

tasked to evict the Pakistani troops from the end of

the right guide bundh, where a light machine gun

(LMG) was dominating the complete area, including

the left guide bundh across the river. This prevented

the ferrying of reinforcements across the river as

well as evacuation of casualties. The attack to

dislodge the Pakistanis was also held up by this

LMG. Volunteers were sought to silence this LMG

and the name of L/Nk Sundar Singh, a diminutive

soldier from “C’ Company who had proved his

mettle in the 1947 operations and was known for his

bravery and courage, was suggested. Sundar Singh

was that time in the central bundh area. When he

came to know of this requirement he immediately

volunteered to destroy the machine gun nest and

clear the way for the attack on the embankment.

Sundar Singh did not let down his superiors and

comrades. In an astounding feat of individual

stalking, he crawled about 150 yards carrying six

grenades, through a bullet swept area under

Pakistani observation up to the “Bela”. He was not

only able to silence the gun by killing all the crew

with the hand grenades but was also able to pull the

Bren LMG out of its nest, and carry it back to his

position, along with two magazine boxes containing

fourteen Bren-gun magazines. This enabled the

battalion to launch the attack successfully. L/Nk

Sunder Singh sustained shrapnel injuries to his arm,

despite which he had carried out his task. Not only

this, he went back later and brought back the bodies

of all the three Pakistani soldiers he had killed. For

this act of bravery L/Nk Sunder Singh was awarded

the Ashoka Chakra Class I, (presently called the

Ashoka Chakra, since Class II & III are now known

as the Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra).

Following the outbreak of the 1962 war, 4 JAK

RIF’s move to Congo was cancelled and the unit

moved to Hashimara in West Bengal, on the Bhutan

border. The unit was tasked to counter any attempt

by the Chinese to cut the Siliguri corridor through

Bhutan. The unit carried out extensive combing

operations in the thick jungles on the border with

Bhutan. My father recounts that while moving

through the dark jungles with very poor maps,

Havildar Sundar Singh with supreme confidence

and a mystical ability would lead the ‘Charlie”

company to its objective. Even when everyone

thought that they were lost, Sundar Singh would

retain the confidence to navigate the Company out of

the dark, leech infested jungles where no sunlight

could penetrate through the thick trees and

secondary growth. He was always optimistic and

said:” Ho jayega sahib !!”

As Sundar Singh —only the fourth Ashoka

Chakra of India — rose in rank, and long after he

retired, he participated in every Republic Day march

past by the winners of India’s highest gallantry

awards. It was a rare parade that he missed.

However, three days before 26 January 2017 this

brave soldier, who was ever humble, passed away, at

his native village of Chowki, Tehsil Nowshera at the

age of 90 years. People of that area resented the fact

that there were no army or police personnel present

to give a last Guard of Honour to a hero of the

country. But I am certain that this brave soldier from

his place in the heavens, would have dismissed the

indignation. Humble and shy, he never felt that what

he had done was extraordinary because in his

lifetime he had seen many brave men in his battalion

and in the army. “I just followed in their footsteps” is

what he quietly used to say.

We may not acknowledge it, but I am certain that

he motivated many brave soldiers of our army and

especially from J&K state. Capt. Bana Singh, PVC

was seven years old when Sundar Singh won the

Ashoka Chakra but I am sure he must have been

motivated by Capt Sundar Singh who came from a

place, a scant three hours drive, from his home in RS

Pura - as many others have been motivated by Bana

Singh. The tradition set by Sundar Singh will live on.


CONTRIBUTION OF VETERANS TO STRATEGIC STUDIES THINK TANKS

BRIG GURMEET KANWAL (RETD)

December 2018 | Sammaan |25

Think tanks undertake evidence-based research

that is rooted in sound methodology with a view to

influencing policy and presenting solutions for the

challenges confronting their stakeholders. Armed

forces veterans have been providing high quality

leadership in strategic studies think tanks in India.

However, these think tanks are still few in number

and are mainly located at New Delhi. Till recently,

very few efforts were being made to educate Indian

civilian and armed forces officers in strategic studies

and international affairs. The proposed National

Defence University (NDU) is still in a nascent state.

Only a handful of universities have defence studies

departments and even these find it extremely

difficult to attract students. ‘Generalist’ bureaucrats

without any expertise in national security issues,

provide inputs for defence policy decisions to the

political leadership. In the words of H. M Patel,

India's first defence secretary, "the ignorance of

civilian officials in defence matters is so complete as

to be a self-evident and incontrovertible fact."

Despite being numbered among the five largest

armed forces in the world, strategic studies and

international affairs think tanks in India are few in

number.

While it is true that institutions like the National

Defence College (NDC) and to a limited extent, the

three war colleges (the Army War College, Mhow;

the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai; and the

College of Air Warfare, Secunderabad), educate

officers in strategic studies, these are not think tanks

that debate the pros and cons of alternative policy

options. The Army Training Command(ARTRAC)

could loosely be deemed the official think tank of

the Indian Army; however, its role is mainly limited

to supervising training in the army’s training

institutions and conducting formation-level

(division and corps) war games based on

intelligence inputs. For example, the HQ ARTRAC

kept track of the Chinese plans to divert river waters,

but it was a CLAWS seminar that sensitised the

bureaucracy and the nation to the serious

implications of the proposed Chinese projects.

The First Think Tank

Since the May 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests,

when India declared itself a nuclear-armed state,

India's strategic culture is becoming gradually more

resurgent and vigorous and India has, at long last,

embarked on a quest for strategic autonomy. New

think tanks are springing up and new journals are

In the words of H. M Patel,

India's rst defence secretary,

"the ignorance of civilian

ofcials in defence matters

is so complete as to be a

self-evident and

incontrovertible fact.

hitting the stands. Newspapers, including the

business dailies, now carry national security and

defence related news items and opinion pieces fairly

regularly. Even the dotcoms have joined the

bandwagon – the web pages of regular newspapers,

as well as pure web-based news magazines are

increasingly carrying strategic and defence-related

news content. Television news channels now just

cannot seem to air enough of defence-related

reportage and panel discussions, even though some

of these are fairly sensational in content.

For many decades the Institute for Defence

Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, founded

in 1965, was India’s only strategic studies think tank.

K Subrahmanyam, IDSA’s founding director,

straddled the strategic studies scenario like a

colossus for over 30 years. The Indian media lacked

journalists who specialised in national security. The

few articles that appeared on national security were

written mainly by retired generals, admirals, air

marshals and a few former foreign secretaries.

Honourable exceptions included General J. N.

Chowdhary's regular columns in The Statesman

while he was still in service. There were few defence

and security related journals and these were mainly

the professional journals of the various training

establishments and regiments or wings of the armed

forces.

The IDSA is the leading strategic studies think

tank in South Asia. It has excellent infrastructure for

research. Its Asian Security seminar, held in the

January of each year, is a landmark event in Asia’s

security calendar. After K Subrahmanyam, Air

Commodore Jasjit Singh carried forward the

research at IDSA for almost two decades. Since then,

other veterans have been instrumental in directing

and conducting research at IDSA. In a mutually

beneficial arrangement, the armed forces have now

started sending three to four research fellows every

year to IDSA and the civil services are gradually

following suit. The Indian Foreign Service and the

Border Security Force have sent a few research

fellows. Dennis Kux, the well-known author of

Estranged Democracies, was IDSA’s first

international fellow who came on a Ful bright

fellowship. Strategic Analysis, the premier quarterly

journal of IDSA, is well known and is often cited by

renowned international scholars, though it still has

some way to go before it measures up fully to famous

international journals.

Despite the gross indifference of India's national

security establishment in the past, IDSA directors,

notably K. Subrahmanyam and Jasjit Singh,

continued to plough a lonely furrow and were

instrumental in shaping key defence policy issues.

For example, the concept of "minimum credible

deterrence" as a viable nuclear policy option for

India was advocated extensively by IDSA. IDSA

alumni are serving on the editorial staff of leading

national newspapers and as professors in the

international studies departments of universities like

Jawaharlal Nehru University. In the future, IDSA is

likely to be called upon to provide consultancy to

government depar tments and be a l lot ted

autonomous projects, much like the RAND and

other reputable international think tanks. However,

while the IDSA has established itself as the premier

strategic studies think tank in South Asia and held

many well received international seminars, it has yet

to produce a single book of seminal significance. It

has concentrated mainly on foreign policy and area

studies and has not done enough to promote hard

core defence studies.

Other major think tanks include the Centre for

Policy Research, a multi-disciplinary think tank

promoted by the government of India in 1973. The

Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) was

founded in 1996 by P R Chari, a former IAS officer

and Maj Gen Dipankar Banerjee, a former deputy

director of IDSA. It has several research

programmes and a very active website. K Shankar

Bajpai, a former Indian ambassador, was for long


chair of the Delhi Policy Group, founded by a

business house with Lt Gen Vijay Raghavan heading

the security studies programme; and Dr Radha

Kumar heading the peace and conflict programme.

The Observer Research Foundation, founded by the

late R K Mishra is being supported by the Reliance

Group. The Institute of Chinese Studies is supported

by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies

(CSDS), New Delhi. All of these think tanks have

together contributed to a serious discussion on major

national security issues and have brought out some

good publications - and armed forces veterans have

served in all of them.

Armed Forces Think Tanks: Good Beginning

For many decades, the National Defence College

(NDC), New Delhi, remained the only formal think

tank run by the armed forces. However, successive

commandants at the NDC did not pay much

attention to the think tank function of the NDC’s

charter and continued to focus primarily on its

training role. The research undertaken by the

officers undergoing training at NDC was not

published or widely circulated. In October 2001, Air

Cmde Jasjit Singh, former Director, IDSA, founded

the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) and the

Centre for Strategic and International Studies

(CSIS). While the CSIS remained somewhat low

key in its activities, CAPS began to flourish with

support from the Indian Air Force. Soon, the Indian

Army sponsored the Centre for Land Warfare

Studies (CLAWS) in January 2004 with Lt Gen

Vijay Oberoi as its first Director. The Indian Navy

raised the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) in

February 2005, with Rear Admiral R B Vohra as its

first Director. In due course, Lt Gen H S Lidder,

CISC, HQ Integrated Defence Staff, set up a tri-

service think tank to undertake research into joint

operations and India’s immediate neighbourhood

and the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies

(CENJOWS) came up.

A few armed forces and civilian officers got

together and established the Forum for Strategic

Initiatives (FSI) and the South Asia Institute for

Strategic Affairs (SAISA) with their own funds.

Most strategic studies think tanks are located at New

Delhi and are staffed by both armed forces and

veterans and young civilian scholars.

The establishment of think tanks by the three

services HQ and HQ IDS was a very pragmatic step

as there had been a long felt need to encourage armed

forces officers to graduate to strategic thinking and

broaden their horizons by undertaking research

activities. These think tanks have conducted many

seminars on contemporary issues as well on the

various facets of warfare at the strategic level. The

emphasis has always been on learning lessons from

the past, to prepare for the future. Seminars have

been conducted at Delhi and jointly with the various

Command HQ. In keeping with the dictum of

‘publish or perish’, all of these think tanks have a

slew of good quality publications. All of them have

flagship journals, issue briefs and occasional papers

and commissioned books and monographs. They

also undertake research projects on behalf of

Services HQ, Command HQ and other institutions.


All of these think tanks have

together contributed to a

serious discussion on major

national security issues and

have brought out some good

publications - and armed

forces veterans have served

in all of them.

These think tanks have conducted many seminars

jointly with defence journals and the chambers of

commerce so as to bring together overseas and

Indian defence industry representatives along with

serving officers of the armed forces to showcase

future weapons technology. However, the four think

tanks CLAWS, CAPS, NMF and CENJOWS soon

fell short of funds and were eventually bailed out by

the ministry of defence (MoD) by being given a

corpus amount of Rs 10 crore each, in two tranches

for day-to-day expenditure, besides providingthem

with limited infrastructure support by way of

housing them in defence buildings. A few years

down the line inflation and falling interest rates took

their toll and the corpus amount was no longer

sufficient to for their ongoing activities and further

expansion. Though some additional funds were

allotted by the MoD, all of these think tanks need

another infusion of funds if they are to continue to

grow and be at par with international institutions.

Veterans have brought a healthy mix of rich

experience anddiligence to each of these think tanks.

Without the active involvement of armed forces

veterans, the research conducted by these think

tanks would have been too theoretical to provide

plausible policy options to the decision makers.


FINANCIAL WELL-BEING AFTER RETIREMENT

COL RAJ RAKESH (RETD)


Keep the ‘in’ of financial in-dependence and do

not let it ‘out’ to become financially dependent on

your children during your golden sunset years

Year after year about 60,000 soldiers retire at

between the ages of 37 to 54 depending on their rank

and service. This is too soon for anybody to retire

because the person has neither fulfilled his family

obligations nor accumulated enough wealth to

ensure his financial well-being for the balance of his

life. Therefore, the veterans do not retire but

necessarily re-attire to meet their family obligations.

Unfortunately, when a soldier retires, his exposure to

money matters is very limited or negligible since the

organisation barely encourages it during his career

for obvious reasons. Most often, he retires with only

his provident fund or postal life insurance as savings,

oblivious of the other financial available. Thus,

when he steps outside the protected service

environment his relatives or village kin try to lure

him into their business or property ventures. If he

manages to stay away from them, then some shrewd

money shark or tout befriends him and lures him into

areckless, commission driven investment or Ponzi

scheme promising unrealistic returns. He loses his

hard-earned money and is left high and dry at the

beginning of his second innings.

A veteran has many long decades before him to

work and meet his financial goals. If he starts on the

wrong foot financially, then his remaining years and

depleting income will be ill suited for wealth

creation and for meeting his financial goals. These

days, based on his rank and qualifying service, an

officer retires with a tax-free corpus of 80 to 90 lakh;

a JCO retires with 27 to 31 lakh; and a jawan retires

with 18 to 24 lakh. This includes only the gratuity,

commuted pension, AGIF and not his leave

encashment and provident fund. Besides, they will

get their monthly pension, which is 50 percent of

their last pay drawn but is taxable for personnel

retiring without disability. This is a reasonable

amount and if invested judiciously it can give

handsome returns. However, he must understand

that the government gives this as the last lump sum

payment for his services rendered. Therefore, he

must consider this as a family asset that can see him

through difficult times in future. During service, one

came across numerous cases where rip-off financial

advisors or relatives swindled the veterans into

financially imprudent investments that ruined their

families’ lives and their children’s future. Most of

our soldiers have a rural background where they

consider land purchase as the best form of

Therefore, the veterans do not

retire but necessarily re-attire

to meet their family obligations.

Unfortunately, when a soldier

retires, his exposure to money

matters is very limited or

negligible since the organisation

barely encourages it during

his career for obvious reasons.

investment. However, they must understand that this will take away bulk of their corpus for a highly illiquid

asset that is giving poor returns post demonetisation, besides precluding their diversification options.

The next aspect he must consider is the investment horizon available to him, which is a function of the

longevity of his life based on his economic well-being and better medical facilities. Given this life

expectancy, he must take into account the number of years he will live after his retirement. A jawan retires

between 37 to 42 years of age, a JCO between 46to 52 years and an officer between 54 to 60 years. He still has

30 to 50 years to live after his retirement. Hence, his retired life is probably more than his working life.

This makes it imperative for him to work (job or entrepreneurship) and generate additional income for as

long as possible. It ensures that he can meet his household expenses from his pension and the income from

work after retirement without depleting his retirement corpus. In addition, he can start investing through

monthly systematic investment plans (SIP) to meet his unfulfilled domestic and family liabilities.

Before he invests his retirement corpus, he must understand the risk-return aspect of various asset classes

and the implication of taxation on their returns to derive full benefit. Summarised and tabulated below is a

comparison for better comprehension.

Asset

DetailsEquity Debt Fixed Gold Property

Returns

Tax

Liquidity

Investment

Risk

Regulations

TimeHorizon

12 to 15%

Only on capitalgains in FY

Only on capitalgains in FY with

indexationbenefit on long-

term gains

On total interestearned in FY

8 to 10% 6.5 to 8.5% 5 to 7% 3 to 5%

Only on capitalgains in FY

Only on capitalgains in FY with

indexationbenefit on long-

term gains

Good exceptELSS and ULIP

Good Very Good Fair Poor

Small amountsin SIP and lump

sum

Small amountsin SIP and lump

sum

Lump sum in allexcept RD and

PPF

Lump sum forphysical; Smallamount in SIP

for ETF

Lump sum

High Medium Low Low High

SEBI regulated SEBI regulated RBI regulated

Only ETF isSEBI regulated;physical has no

regulation

Regulated byrecently

introducedRERA, which is

still evolving

7 to 10 years3 Months to 7

yearsOvernight to 10

YearsDepends on

investorDepends on

investor



Financial Wisdom

• Invest Before You Spend – A very common mistake that people make is that they try to invest their

savings. This means that they first spend their monthly income for meeting their needs and wants and then

invest the surplus in their hands. Cash is a liquid asset and like any liquid, it has the propensity to slip out of

your hands. Therefore, financial wisdom lies in working out your monthly expenses into two categories:

obligatory expenses required to meet your essential, must-do domestic obligations; and indulgence expenses

that include entertainment and vacations. After this, invest at the beginning of the month through an SIP and

spend the balance in your hand.

• Diversify to Beat Market Volatility and Hedge the Risk – The commonly used adage to‘not put all your

eggs in one basket’ is equally applicable to investments. Simply put, this implies that one should not risk

everything in one endeavour or invest everything in one asset. Our soldiers retire early and the classic

philosophy for investing after retirement at 60 years, is not relevant for them. Given below is an option for

investing their cash assets ( Rs30 lakh) in various financial instruments as per their age profile. These

guidelines may vary as per an individual’s risk appetite and liabilities.

• Risk and Returns are Directly Proportional – This is an important point to understand. A higher risk

financial instrument will generate higher returns and a lower risk financial instrument generates lower

returns. A sovereign guarantee bond gives a 7 percent return; a corporate bond gives 9 to 10 percent return;

and equity generates 12 to 15 percent returns. See the chart below to understand this better for various asset

classes.

Age GroupEquity Debt Fixed Gold TOTAL

PROPORTION IN VARIOUS ASSETS

ASSET WISE DISTRIBUTION RUPEES 30 LAKH

ASSET WISE VALUE OF ABOVE DISTRIBUTION AFTER 10 YEARS

30 to 40

41 to 45

46 to 50

51 to 55

56 to 60

60%

55%

50%

40%

30%

25%

20%

20%

20%

20%

10%

20%

25%

35%

45%

5%

5%

5%

5%

5%

30 to 40

41 to 45

46 to 50

51 to 55

56 to 60

18,00,000

16,50,000

15,00,000

12,00,000

9,00,000

7,50,000

6,00,000

6,00,000

6,00,000

6,00,000

3,00,000

6,00,000

7,50,000

10,50,000

13,50,000

1,50,000

1,50,000

1,50,000

1,50,000

1,50,000

30,00,000

30,00,000

30,00,000

30,00,000

30,00,000

Age Group

%ReturnsAgeGroup

30 to 40

41 to 45

46 to 50

51 to 55

56 to 60

55,90,527

51,24,650

46,58,772

37,27,018

27,95,263

17,75,523

14,20,418

14,20,418

14,20,418

14,20,418

5,90,145

11,80,291

14,75,364

20,65,509

26,55,654

2,44,334

2,44,334

2,44,334

2,44,334

2,44,334

82,00,529

79,69,693

77,98,888

74,57,279

71,15,670

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

12% 9% 7% 5%Total Value

After 10 Years

• Power of Compounding – Einstein called it the eighth wonder of the world. The key is the snowball effect

when your earnings generate even more earnings. If you invest Rs one lakh, they will grow to Rs 9.64 lakh

within 20 years at a 12 percent rate of return. This indicates a growth 103 percent and the table and chart below

depict it graphically.

• Equity Investment is a Function of Time – When you invest in equity then remember to ‘invest and

forget’. This is because any investment in equity is subject to market risks and the market cycle volatility. As

time goes by, the investment returns from equity start performing better than the benchmark indices since

volatility decreases and so does the probability of loss, which is only 3.7 percent after 10 years and becomes

zero after 15 years. Moreover, the power of compounding kicks in after about 5 to 7 years and the corpus

grows exponentially.

RISK RETURN TRADE-OFF

RETURNS%

FD Debt Equity Real Estate Direct Stocks

RISK%

FIVE YEARLY EARNING OF INITIAL INVESTMENT OF RUPEES ONE LAKH

* Notice how the earnings are increasing every 5 years due to compounding

Years5101520

Value1,76,2343,10,5855,47,3579,64,629

Growth18.88%33.28%58.65%103.35%

Earning*76,2341,34,3512,36,7724,17,273

120%

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

GR

OW

TH

POWER OF COMPOUNDING

103%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

YEARS



• Real rate of Return – Financial texts define this as the annual percentage return realised on an investment,

which caters for changes in prices due to inflation or other external effects like taxation. Therefore, if a

financial instrument gives an 8 percent annual return and the prevalent rate of inflation is 6 percent, then the

real rate of return is 1.89 percent. Furthermore, the real rate of return comes down when you calculate it with

your applicable tax bracket. This is a very important aspect because when you invest, you must understand the

adverse effect of taxation and inflation on your annual income and the rate of return generated by the financial

instrument. Invariably, overcautious retirees tend to invest heavily in fixed deposits whose real rate of return

is almost zero for a higher tax bracket. The tables below explain this double whammy of taxation and inflation

on annual income and investments.

• Cut your Coat According to Your Cloth – This is the most important tenet of finance. Somebody who

cannot live within his means will invariably come to financial grief. The veteran must carefully work out his

gross monthly income from all sources, viz. pension, interest income, rental income, agriculture income or

entrepreneurial income and then budget to work out his monthly expenses, tax obligations and annual

premiums.

• Maintaining Cash Flow – After working out your income and expenses, the next important step is to

regulate the cash flow. A pension is never sufficient to meet the inflationary pressures on monthly expenses,

rising cost of children’s higher education and old age hospitalisation / medical bills. Therefore, the pensioner

relies on additional income from his post retirement work or investments to meet the shortfall. A basic

yardstick is that one must never withdraw more than 4 to 5 percent from the invested corpus annually. The

logic for arriving at this figure is, that the real rate of return of equity investment at 12 percent return is 5.66

percent. Therefore, if you withdraw more than 5 percent, then the corpus will deplete faster than the returns

generated and your investments will not keep pace with the inflation. If you withdraw from fixed income

instruments, then your withdrawals should not exceed 2 to 3 percent since their real rate of return is even

lower.

ANNUAL INCOME EROSION DUE TO TAXATION AND INFLATION

Tax Rate including

4% Cess

Annual Taxable

IncomeTax Post Tax Value

Post inflation

@6%

5.20%

20.80%

31.20%

5,00,000

5,00,000

5,00,000

26,000

1,04,000

1,56,000

4,74,000

3,96,000

3,44,000

4,47,170

3,73,585

3,24,528

IMPLICATIONS OF TAXATION AND INFLATION ON RATE OF RETURN OF INVESTMENT

FD Return Without

TaxDetails FD Returns after Taxation

1,00,000

8%

8,000

1,08,000

8.00%

1.89%

1,00,000

5%

7,600

1,07,600

1,00,000

20%

6,480

1,06,480

1,00,000

30%

6,056

1,06,056

7.60% 6.48% 6.06%

1.51% 0.45% 0.05%

<<Initial Investment>>

<<Rate of Return - Tax Rate>>

<<Interest Earned>>

<<Value after one year>>

Real rate of Return afterTaxation>>

Real rate of Return after Taxationand Inflation of 6%>>

VETERANS NEED TO BE RESPONSIBLE

MAJ GEN HARSHA KAKAR (RETD)

Across social media, veterans are with a

vengeance, blaming the senior hierarchy for all the

ills facing the armed forces. A new subject is raised

almost every day and the blaming of the hierarchy

commences. In recent times it has been the OROP,

the non-grant of NFU, the degradation of status,

restructuring and the withdrawal of entitled rations.

The perception being projected is that the hierarchy

enjoys all benefits while the rank and file are

denied.

During the height of the OROP agitation, there

were calls on the service chiefs to tender their

resignations. The impression being conveyed was

that by submitting their resignations, the service

chiefs could apply the requisite pressure on the

government. The fact that such an action would

have implied mutiny and was unbecoming of the

Indian armed forces was ignored. Most were

unaware that the chiefs were quietly operating in

the background, seeking to convince the

government to act. It was stated by many veterans,

that by not visiting the agitation site, the service

chiefs were giving the government the confidence

to back-track on granting complete OROP.

The moving of the court by the father of Major

Aditya in his personal capacity, as also filing of a

writ petition by over 700 officers and men, against

the court order in the Manipur “so-called”

encounter killing case is being projected on social

media as a case of the army ignoring its own. Most

critics never ventured to evaluate the reasons

behind the same, nor did they contact the father of

Major Aditya to know the true reason. The

cancellation of entitled rations has also been

blamed on service chiefs. In short, the senior

hierarchy is being blamed for everything.

The present restructuring and reconsideration of

officer ranks being undertaken by the army HQ is

also facing flak. Whether it is to project their own

anger at their hard-earnedretirement ranks being

made redundant or their unwillingness to accept

changes to the existing structure is debateable.

Issues under consideration or discussion even at

service HQs are being blown out of proportion as

being detrimental to the system. Veterans are

unwilling to accept that those who are in charge

have a better understanding of ground realities and

the future of warfare, and hence are better suited to

The common Indian,

now active on social media

begins to lose faith in the

military and starts to believe

that the military hierarchy

is only self-serving. Even

modernisation and

restructuring, which in any

case is the decision of those

at the top is being questioned.


take decisions.

A recent comment doing the rounds on social

media is that senior officers only have negative

powers over their juniors. They can impose

restrictions, award punishment, curtail rights and

privileges. They are incapable of doing anything

positive like bettering their pay, perks and status.

Such inputs negatively impact the reputation of the

forces and the bonhomie within the system.

There are also adverse statements on social

media that those who have risen in the military

hierarchy are undeserving of their ranks and have

only got them because they were supported by

known superiors, who hence are being blamed for

ignoring the rank and file. Thus, in summary, the

message being circulated is that all senior officers

are least concerned about their juniors, ignore their

well- being and are self- serving. Such internal

criticism does not exist in any other central

organisation, whether it be the CAPFs or other

central services.

These negative comments on social media are

also being extracted and misused by inimical

powers. Fake handles from across the border

targeting the Indian rank and file are known to

exploit comments made by a section of veterans. It

is one of the most important forms of information

warfare, which is not being taken into account, by

those commenting against the system.

But nothing could be further from the truth. The

present hierarchy has risen through the same

system, undergone the same tribulations, though

not by airing these on social media. Hence,

previously actions taken at the apex level would not

have been easily visible, nor publicly criticised.

There is no doubt that those at the helm are

concerned about the well-being of the serving

personnel and are providing them with the best

which can be given in the current circumstances.

Raising these issues on social media neither helps

the system nor is it the answer.

Post the advent of social media, most veterans,

who were otherwise leading quiet retired lives have

suddenly become experts, and have begun targeting

the service for even imagined ills. The common

Indian, now active on social media begins to lose

faith in the military and starts to believe that the

military hierarchy is only self-serving. Even

modernisation and restructuring, which in any case

is the decision of those at the top is being

questioned. Every decision is being linked to

political favours, being sought or taken.

In the present day there are no restrictions on the

serving being on social media, except that they are

not permitted to provide details of their military

service. Hence, the serving from all ranks have a

presence on every social media site and group. In

many cases, the serving and veterans are members

of common groups, mainly on WhatsApp and

Facebook.

Thus, as they follow the discussions and

comments being projected by the veterans, their

young minds are also influenced. The trust and faith

in the system, which was the hallmark of the armed

forces over decades has now begun to erode,

basically because many are projecting the various

perceived ills on open forums.

The veterans and the serving in the Indian armed

forces also share a strong bond. In many units, the

veterans are the guiding light sand also serve as role

models for the serving. Those who have served

together share warm memories and experiences.

Thus, their words of criticism and blame for the

current hierarchy conveys a wrong impression and

weakens the fibre on which this great institution has

been based. It impresses on young minds that the


present hierarchy is neither with them nor willing to

support their decisions.

The serving of today are the veterans of

tomorrow. Thus, what they perceive on social

media today, is the direction they would take

tomorrow. If the veteran community is only seeking

to criticise the existing system, then the future of

the service may not be too bright.

Therefore, the veterans need to realise that

unless they adopt the right approach, they may

harm a bonded service for eternity. Veterans have

the time and hence should seek to understand the

circumstances under which the service HQs and the

top hierarchy function, instead of just forwarding

derogatory messages or commenting without

verifying. They, by virtue of their experience and

age, should be able to comprehend that those at the

apex are seeking the best for the service, rather than

being self-serving.

There is no denying the fact that there are

shortfalls within the system. A lot remains to be

done, whether it be giving the armed forces their

due, making up the deficiencies, catering for the

welfare of the soldier and ensuring his protection

from the courts. However, many have failed to

realise that actions are being taken to overcome

these shortfalls. India as a democracy can never

provide answers and results overnight.

This does not imply that the right of the veterans

to criticise the system, as it exists presently. What is

being questioned is the method they have adopted.

What is being questioned is that the hierarchy is

being blamed for everything, without making any

effort to understand the how and why.

The strong internal fibre of the armed forces of

the present has been derived from the actions and

sacrifices of its predecessors. The same would be

the case tomorrow. Those who head the

organisation also have the responsibilities and

limitations. They may have power within, but they

exercise limited influence outside. They have

responsibilities downwards but limited influence

towards the top. They are never, nor would ever be,

all-powerful in the Indian democratic system.

It is for the veterans to reconsider their approach

to social media and seek to project a correct picture

of the system, rather than only finding faults. They

should realise that their comments impact young

impressionable minds and could break the trust

which has been a part of the service over the past

seven decades. Social media as a tool can either be

exploited to enhance morale or be used for breaking

the bonds that have always existed in the system. It

is for the veterans to individually decide whether

they wish to enhance the internal fibre and bonding

of the service or work towards its downfall.

The strong internal bre of

the armed forces of the present

has been derived from the

actions and sacrices of its

predecessors. The same would

be the case tomorrow. Those who

head the organisation also have

the responsibilities and limitations.

They may have power within,

but they exercise limited

inuence outside.


A‘PRINCE AMONGST SOLDIERS’

COL RC PATIAL (RETD)


Brig. Sukhjit Singh, MVC, the erstwhile

Maharaja of Kapurthala war hero of the 1971 Indo-

Pak war. He was awarded the MVC while

commanding Scinde Horse.

It was a great honour for me to be invited by Brig

Sukhjit Singh, MVC for lunch at his Villa (erstwhile

Shikaar Ghar) in 2017. Earlier in the morning, I had

visited Jagjeet Palace which now houses the Sainik

School. I met the Principal and went around the

palace which also has a museum (in what was the

dining hall) which displays the artifacts owned by

the Kapurthala family. It was an education to visit

the palace.

Over drinks prior to lunch, we had a long

discussion on relating to the issues ailing Punjab

such as: education, agriculture, politics in general

and the military’s ethical leadership in a very

informal manner. Brigadier Sukhjit Singh, put me

totally at ease with his simplicity and humility and

made me feel as though I had known him for years. I

had wanted to meet Brig Sukhjit Singh, MVC for

years as my father had served under him and had

always talked very highly of him. Had it not for his

magnanimity, I would have been forced to leave my

school – the PPS, Nabha, because of Punjabi Suba

issues as my scholarship had been stopped. I will

always remain grateful to him for shaping my life

and credit him for making me what I am today. Of

course, my late father was always grateful for his

timely assistance. I wish I had met this great ‘soldier

prince’ earlier in my life, I would have been better

educated.

A very brief write up of the erstwhile Kapurthala

state picked up from the net along is as follows:

Kapurthala was founded in the 11th century

during the time of Mahmood Gaznvi. The town was

established by Rana Kapoor who was a Rajput from

Jaisalmer, and is named after him. The story of

Kapurthala is inextricably inter-woven with the life

and struggles of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia

(1718-1783) who ousted Ibrahim Khan, who had

usurped Kapurthala, after the death of the Mughal

governor Adina Beg. Jassa Singh made Kapurthala

his capital. On March 11, 1783 the Sikhs attacked the

Red Fort in Delhi. According to historical accounts

an insider informed the Sikhs of a weak spot in the

wall of the fort, where the soldiers made a hole by

ramming it with wooden logs; the place is still

known as Mori Gate (ISBT).

The Sikhs entered the Red Fort, hoisted the Kesri

According to historical

accounts an insider informed

the Sikhs of a weak spot in

the wall of the fort, where

the soldiers made a hole

by ramming it with wooden

logs; the place is still known as

Mori Gate (ISBT).

Nishan Sahib, and occupied the Diwan-e-aam. In a

symbolic gesture, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was made

to sit on the throne, which made him the Emperor.

When some other chiefs, opposed this Jassa Singh

Ahluwalia gracefully vacated the throne and thus,

avoided a division in the ranks of the chiefs at a

critical moment.

Mahara ja Jagat j i t S ingh, a pass ionate

Francophile and lover of art and architecture,

contributed immensely to the rich architectural

heritage of the city, which is known as the -'Paris of

Punjab'.

Jagatjit Palace (Elysee Palace) now houses the

Sainik School Kapurthala. The magnificent palace

of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh is indeed one of the best

and most impressive palaces in Punjab. The splendid

structure inspired by the palaces of Versailles and

Fontainebleau was built in 1906. Because of the

exorbitant cost of the building, which was to be built

with red sandstone, had to be given pink plaster

covering. The cost was around Rs. 3,00,000 at that

time. It was built in the Renaissance style and had a

sunken park in the front and bore many similarities

to that of Palace of Versailles. The construction of

Palace took roughly eight years (1900-1908). The

roof of the palace is made in the 'beaux-art' style of

the 19th century and its grand interiors are noted for

exquisitely painted ceilings, lapis lazuli pillars and

Italian marble fireplaces. It was furnished with

luxurious furniture from France and various

invaluable artefacts collected from different parts of

Europe. The palace is surrounded by lush green

lawns decorated with beautiful sculptures and

fountains.

Random memories of some officers and those

who have known Brig Sukhjit Singh, MVC over the

years:

My father had often told me about the Brigadier’s

unmatched honesty and integrity. As an instructor in

Ahmednagar he moved around on a bicycle like

other officers. A majority of the men were not even

aware that he was a Maharaja. He resigned as a

Brigadier (approved for Maj Gen) because he

refused to follow unlawful orders of the defence

minister, Bansi Lal. He took just a token amount as

salary.

Generous Hospitality: One of my friends who

retired as a Maj Gen, often speaks about the

Brigadier’s extra ordinary social sensitivity,

superlative courtesy and simply incredible

hospitality. Incidentally, he usually serves his guests

himself! And, being a connoisseur par excellence he

always serves nothing but the best to his guests.

Those of us who know him well, will not find it hard

to believe this.

My friend recounts a small incident when he went

to call on the Brigadier and was invited for lunch. It

was a very select gathering on a bright and pleasant

afternoon. The fare for the lunch consisted of a

spread of exquisite and rare, never tasted before

dishes. Brig Sukhjit Singh in his usual hospitable

style picked up a piece of finely barbequed mutton

and served it to my friend. When he learnt that my

friend was a vegetarian, he apologised so profusely

that it almost became embarrassing for my friend. In

fact, it had a profound effect on my friend. He later

confided that had he known that it would cause so

much regret, he would have either eaten the mutton,

or quietly left it in the plate untouched but definitely

would not have mentioned that he was a vegetarian!

It did not end here - the Brigadier followed it up with

a letter of sincere apology for having not known

enough about the eating habits of his guest and

having wrongly served him non-veg food. Only a

rare person can be so socially correct. I would make

this incident a benchmark for measuring anyone’s

hospitality quotient and social sensitivity.

Maj RS Bedi (raised NTRO and retired as its

chairman) has said: “Sukhi, as he is fondly known,



was a ‘Prince and a Soldier’. My first acquaintance

with him was in July 1963. I was reporting to the

Regt and he was the Adjt. Meeting him for the first

time, I was immediately in awe of him and remained

in awe ever since. His simplicity, modesty and

humility in spite of having a royal heritage was

simply unparalleled”.

By the time I returned from YO's, he had taken

over C Sqn. I was one of his Tp Ldrs. Could one have

wished for a better start to one's career? To our

misfortune, he was not there to lead the Sqn in the

1965 war having taken over as BM 1 Armd Bde.

I next served with him when the Regt was

deployed for the 1971 ops. He was commanding the

Regiment. He was an inspirational leader, whose

officers and men were all proud to serve under him.

He was the most upright man with the courage of his

convictions, and - sometimes perhaps to a fault - a

very strong sense of right and wrong.

My personal relations with him were very warm.

In 1973, I applied to be deputed to the cabinet

secretariat. He did not support that line of thought

and while giving me a brilliant report, categorically

wrote that I should not be allowed to leave the Regt

at that juncture.

Memories of Brig Yudhvir Singh Kanwar-

another Scinde Horse veteran

We are well conversant with all that goes into

making Brig Sukhjit Singh (Sukhie) a gentleman of

nobility, grace and dignity, but the aspect of his being

a strict disciplinarian may not be much known.

It was at a regimental PT parade in Babina in 1968,

when Sukhie, the officiating commandant, was on

parade. Sukhie was briskly going around and

reviewing the performance of the squad leaders

(Duffadars and Subalterns).Following in tandem

were the adjutant and the Risaldar Major. He

suddenly stopped, as he noticed a Sikh soldier about

a 100 yards away. He was in uniform but wearing

slippers without headwear

and belt, slouching down

the road holding a tea kettle

in one hand and chapattis

rolled in a packet in the

other. The errant soldier, as

we learnt later, belonged to

a postal unit and was

carrying breakfast for his

warrant officer.

The adjutant was

ordered to fetch the errant

soldier, which he did at a

gallop. Sukhie was upset,

and he gave the brat an

instant ‘grilling’, followed by 10 minutes on-the-

spot punishment (crawling combined with front

rolls and back rolls). The Risaldar Major was then

instructed to conduct the miscreant to the quarter

guard and await further instructions. Sukhie later

drove to the Brigade HQ and lodged a written report,

detailing the event and specifying the summary

punishment rendered. The Brigade Commander

endorsed Sukhie’s action and admired him for the

salutary, on-the-spot punishment; the offender

deserved the harsh disciplining he received.

NABHA SPARSHAM DEEPTAM

GP CAPT SAMIDH MUKHARJEE (RETD)

This is the story, not of a veteran, but a veteran's

son - a ‘military brat’. As per accepted definition a

‘military brat’ is a colloquial term used with extreme

fondness for the child of a person in the military.

Like many things military, the word ‘brat’ is

sometimes an acronym for ‘born, raised and

trained’, since they have been raised in a military

environment for years, usually in our case, from

birth. I am proud of being a ‘military brat’ and I am

sure all your children are too, as we brats know that

our upbringing and culture set us apart, and place us,

I can say with pride, a notch above the rest.

For the past 13 years I have been visiting the US on

business or pleasure trips, and during every visit I

have thought of visiting the Tucson Pima Air &

Space Museum and the Davis - Monthan Air Force

Base Boneyard. The Pima Air Museum is one of the

biggest private air museums in the world. However,

it was only this year in May that I finally got the

opportunity to visit the museum. I was simply awed

and exhilarated by the number and variety of old

aircraft on display. Probably all the aircraft that the

Indian Air Force has ever had could be seen here.

These included the: Vampire, Canberra, Gnat,

Hunter, Dakota, all the MiGs (including MiG 29),

and all the helicopters including Mi-25.

My father, Wg Cdr KC Mukherjee joined the

British Army in 1944 in the ranks during the Second

World War and took part in the Burma Operation

when Burma was occupied by Japan. In April 1945,

the British Army routed the Japanese and after that

my father was commissioned in the Royal Indian Air

Force as a fighter pilot. He took part in the Kashmir

operation in 1948, flying Tempests and Spitfires. He

also took part (flying a Spitfire XIX) in the 105-

aircraft fly-past formation on 26 January 1951 - our

first Republic Day celebrations.

At the Pima Museum my mission was to seek out,

touch and caress the aircraft my father had flown -

and I found lots and lots of them. These included: the

Cornell on which my father was trained to fly;

Harvards; Spitfires (including the famous clipped

wing Spit-XIV which was the fastest of the lot);

Tempests; Vampires; the MD Ouragan 450 (that in

the IAF was known as the Toofani); and Dakotas. A

special mention must be made of one particular

bomber aircraft, the Liberator B-24. In 1956, my

father was posted to 2 Wg, AF (Air Force Station,

Pune) where there were no fighter squadrons at that


I read his Logbook and

discovered that my

father had own this

very aircraft, the

B-24 Liberator No HE 877

at 6 Sqn, AF on

30 January 1956.

time. In those days, pilots had to fly a minimum of

six hours or so a month, in order to claim their

“Flying Bounty”. Hence fighter pilots like my father

flew transport or bomber aircraft (often as co-pilots).

So, it was in Pune in 1956,that my father flew several

sorties in the B-24 Liberator Bomber of 6 Sqn, AF.

On display at the Museum was a B-24 Liberator

in pristine condition. I went close to it and was

shocked to read the plaque that this particular

Liberator was presented to the Museum by the

government of India. I kept reading the details and

got goosebumps when I read that it belonged to the 6

Sqn, of the IAF. For the next half hour I just kept

touching the aircraft, reliving the memories of my

dear father, and wondering whether he had actually

flown this particular aircraft. The IAF number of the

aircraft was HE 877. I started counting the days

when I would return to India and open my father’s

logbooks to check. I am 68 years old but am not

ashamed to say that I wept inconsolably when I read

his Logbook and discovered that my father had flow

this very aircraft, the B-24 Liberator No HE 877 at 6

Sqn, AF on 30 January 1956.

I wish I had visited this Museum two years ago, as

my father in December 2016 aged 96+ had departed

to eternally fly his Spitfires and Toofanis.

My next tirthyatra will be to the RAF Museum in

London where – as I have learned- there is a

Liberator No. HE 807,presented by the government

of India, which my father had also flown.

A bird flew across the globe. The world is a

small place indeed.


VETERANS, THE STANDARD-BEARERS OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

LT GEN BHOPINDER SINGH (RETD)


In 1947, the proverbial star arose in the wounded

sub-continent to ‘stand forth again after long

slumber and struggle — awake, vital, free and

independent.’ It embarked on fulfilling its rightful

‘tryst with destiny’, but knew almost immediately,

that the journey would be bloody, perilous and often,

painful. The sudden vivisection of the land imposed

a fault line on us that has not healed till date, and as

early as a few months into the independence – the

Indian ‘Soldier’ stood steadfast, resolute and

undaunted to protect the honour, dignity and the

promise of India. The architects of our freedom had

deliberately made the lofty choice of celebrating our

inherent plurality, individuality and secularity

unlike the other options taken by the neighbouring

lands – India adopted the path of ‘inclusivity’ and

swore to ‘never allow that torch of freedom to be

blown out, however high the wind or stormy the

tempest.’ Soon the Bharatiya Samvidhana or the

Constitution of India was formally ratified and it

irreversibly burnished our civilizational truth of a

multi-religious and multi-cultural instinct and

preference.

The moral burden inherent with the inclusion of

weighted words like Sovereign, Socialistic, Secular,

Democratic and Republic reflected the chosen

aspirations and expectations of the Constitutional

spirit of an ideal-India, and the proud Indians

therein. Often viewed as ahead-of-its-times, the

Indian Constitution wilfully incorporated the

framework of liberal democracy, political pluralism

and the spirit of societal ‘accommodation’ as a

necessity, much before the Western democracies

woke up to the urgencies of respecting diversities of

rel igion, language, caste and tr ibes. But

institutionalising these complex principles in the

land of latent fears, insecurities and a troubled-

history required a certain discipline, order and

commitment that were not forthcoming in the

disorder, chaos and vibrancy of the newly formed

India. However, there was one institution that was

baptised into its sovereign commitments and

responsibilities within days of independence, when

the Indian Armed Forces pulled out all stops to blunt

the enemy’s nefarious designs in the state of Jammu

& Kashmir, in 1947-48 itself.

The seeds of the Indian ‘Soldiers’ ethos were

ironically, sown by a soldier who was technically not

even a part of the Indian Army at the time. A valiant

officer of the Jammu & Kashmir State Forces,’

Brigadier Rajinder Singh Jamwal’s unparalleled

heroics led him to be posthumously awarded the first

Maha Vir Chakra in independent India. The ‘saviour

of Kashmir’ had fearlessly led his small band of

soldiers and laid down his own life in the finest

traditions of soldiering, in the line of duty,

commitment and the ‘word’ he had given to his land.

His citation read:

Brigadier Rajinder Singh and his band of soldiers

carried out the orders of the Maharaja to the letter

and spirit. Fighting bravely for every inch of land,


they delayed enemy advance by two crucial days

during which important decisions were taken. The

Indian Army joined the fight and the J&K State was

thus saved for India by Brigadier Rajinder Singh.

Perhaps unknown to most citizenry of our

country, the sacrifices of a Brigadier Rajinder Singh

Jamwal would have nurtured a certain pride,

patriotic zeal and tradition amongst the locals of the

region as the state of J&K has an embarrassment of

riches in terms of the sacrifices and gallantry awards

that reflects India’s religious-caste-linguistic

plurality. From the sheer daredevilry of Major Ajay

Singh Jasrotia in the Kargil war; Subedar Bana

Singh in the unforgiving battlefield of Siachen; to

Abdul Hamid Charain the Kashmir Valley. Since

independence, the bravery of our other warriors like

Brigadier Mohammad Usman and Havildar

Hangpan Dada from dust bowl districts like

Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Tirap in Arunachal

Pradesh, besides the countless others – have seeped

into the collective conscience of the nation’s

hinterland, by bestowing the gut-instinct of

patriotism that overcomes all societal barriers and

the willingness to pay the ultimate price to protect

India’s sovereignty, as enshrined in the Constitution.

The rigorous training, the age-old traditions and

work-conditions of the Indian Soldier have led to the

evolution of a set of principles and personal values

that the soldier exemplifies till the last day of life as a

Veteran, much after he or she have formally hung up

their uniform. The instinctive-insistence that a

soldier’s life belongs to the nation and that they must

live for causes beyond themselves, differentiates a

Veteran from others in the civilian mainstream.

There is a clear angle of morality that necessitates a

Veteran’s conduct which is to uphold and personify

the ethos, standards and expectations of the serving

soldiers. In essence, the Veteran is a seamless

extension of the ‘Uniformed’ serving-soldier, who

does not have the liberty or laxity to swerve from the

path of upholding the truth, irrespective of the price

to be paid for it. Thus, irrespective of the subsequent

professional journey as a corporate citizen,

businessman, sports person, politician or an

entrepreneur – the Veteran carries the immeasurable

dignity of his soldering past, as well as the

accompanying burden and privilege of living up to

the exacting standards. Herein, institutional values

like Secularism, Unity-in-Diversity, Nation-first,

Non-discrimination etc. mirror the Indian

constitutional mandate, in its entirety - in letter and

spirit. Thus, unknowingly the Veteran becomes the

standard-bearer of the Indian Constitution in the far

flung villages and forgotten districts of the country.

However, civil society is being increasingly

threatened by the societal morass that divides and

the decay that vitiates the environment and threatens

the onward-march towards the constitutional-idyll.

Beyond the top-down governance, administrative

institutions and the spate of information – the civil

unrest and tensions desperately need ambassadors of

the Indian constitutional spirit, who could become

the society-lodestars of civil discourse, service and

engagement. With approximately 2.5 million

Veterans in their midst and an additional 60,000

joining annually, the presence and conduct of

Veterans can willy-nilly provide the optics and

Veteran is a seamless

extension of the

‘Uniformed’ serving-soldier,

with no liberty or laxity

from upholding the truth,

irrespective of the

price to be paid for it.

reassurances of an alternative narrative in tense

districts like Gadchiroli (Maharashtra); Bastar

(Chhattisgarh); Thoubal (Manipur); Anantnag

(J&K) etc. Contrary to the lazy generalisation of the

civil-society with regard to people from these

regions, the performance of Indian soldiers from the

Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry, the Naga and

Mahar Regiments etc. are second to none that run

counter to the divisively-ignorant perceptions of the

mainstream, as exemplified by soldiers and Veterans

of these fine regiments. The inherent selflessness,

voluntary-sacrifices and unmistakable traits of

‘inclusivity’ in the Veteran psyche, can be an

invaluable balm to provide succour and hope, to

those in times of natural disasters or who, at the

insistence of vested interests or even out of their

own misguidedness, have collectively given up on

the Indian Dream.

In an emotional speech in honour of the ‘Veteran’

Senator, John McCain, the former US President

Barack Obama inimitably captured the Veteran’s

role when he said:

“John understood that our security and our

influence was won not just by our military might, not

just by our wealth, not just by our ability to bend

others to our will, but from our capacity to inspire

others with our adherence to a set of universal

values. Like rule of law and human rights and

insistence on the God-given dignity of every human

being.”

Coming from a rival-politician, such praise only

nailed the fact that for Veterans principles and values

transcend narrow politics, biases and divides.

Equally importantly, the tag of ‘Veterans’ also

reverse-loads the bearer with the irrefutable

responsibility of conducting their public lives with

uncompromising probity and bipartisanship. The

Veterans cannot rid themselves of the Chetwodian

spirit or acquire traits that reflect the bigotry and

pettiness of the civil society, that are a natural

anathema to the Indian Armed Forces. The

pressures, incentives and lures to misuse and invoke

the ‘uniform’ of the Veterans as a political prop

needs to be avoided – especially when retaining the

obvious elements of military or regimental

affiliations, accoutrements and memorabilia, as it

unintentionally puts a political taint, on a proudly

apolitical institution.

No other governmental or societal institution,

barring the Indian Armed Forces, can rightfully

claim to having upheld the constitutional rectitude,

sobriety and dignity. In an age where liberties of

language, expression and conduct are rife – the

Veterans stand out in the crowd as the ‘Voice’ of their

institution, and by that logical extension, the Indian

Constitution. Unlike the Veteran communities in

neighbouring countries, the Indian Soldiers and

Veterans have not usurped or appropriated national

privileges, roles and budgetary allocations. Such

steely-discipline and restraint have earned them the

respect and reverence of the citizenry, without fear

or lure. For serving soldiers who literally abide by

the principle of ‘unlimited liability’ towards the

nation, as set by the Veterans – this sacred resolve

comes is voluntary, without the formal signing of

any covenant at the time of joining service, which

does not spell out the agreement to lose life or limb

as being part of the job. It is unwritten, unsaid, and

remains largely unknown outside of the soldering

fraternity. In the life of a solider ‘Soldier’, either

serving, or a Veteran, that the Naam, Namak and

Nishan of his hallowed unit, regiment, service-arm

and ultimately, the country, remains undiminished

and unblemished. The opportunity to extend this

institutional fidelity, ethos and example onto the

larger canvas of civil society is a matter of singular

honour, privilege and above all, responsibility, for

the Veteran, as the unsaid guardians of the India’s

constitutional morality, conscience and supremacy.


MILITARY VETERANS: INDIA’S UNDERUTILISED SOCIAL CAPITAL

SAGAT SHAUNIK


After toiling for 15 long years or more, an Indian

battle hardened trained soldier leaves his

unit/formation with a number of useful life-skills

and soft qualities under his belt. He is disciplined,

punctual and communicates effectively. Veteran

soldiers have seen it all, from the Thar Desert to

jungles, mountains, rivers and unfamiliar territory

where they operated in close-knit teams, hailing

from homes spread across the length and breadth of

India.

Most of this is well known, yet the soldier returns

to his home where he has few opportunities to keep

himself occupied. With the advent of technology and

an improved infrastructure, his pension is

automatically credited to his bank account and life is

very much routine. Except that, there is no PT parade

in the morning, no duty roster and no smell of cherry

blossom, brasso and the usual responsibilities.

I use the example of Subedar Gurung as a case in

point. The JCO sahib was recruited from Assam

around 1978 and saw his battalion, being

mechanised with BRDMs and participated in Op

Blue Star. Later he underwent conversion training

for BMP-1 and participated in a UN mission. He has

fond memories of his tenures in J&K, Punjab,

Rajasthan and other regions. While in service, he

used his free time to acquire new skills like playing

the guitar for his unit band and improved his English.

Between 2000-01, his unit received their first

computer and he wanted to learn more about it. In his

spare time, he sat with the head clerk and gained

familiarity with computers. He recalled typing a

letter on the regimental letterhead, a few days before

retirement and retains it as a souvenir at his home,

somewhere in the Northeast.

During an official visit to a civil society

organisation (CSO) based in the Northeast, I had an

interaction with the management, where I learnt that

the Subedar Sahib was a trainer with them. I walked

up to him and introduced myself. Promptly, he got

up from his chair with, “Jai Hind, apne fauji parivar

ke member se milkar bahut happy hua sahib”(Jai

Hind, I am delighted to meet a member of a Fauji

family). We conversed for over an hour during

which he told me that, post-retirement, he sought

resettlement training in New Delhi where he trained

as a security guard. He was placed with the CSO,

whose HQ was near his home.

Upon joining the new job, his manager noticed

how the community youth were very friendly and

respectful towards him. Soon, a large group of boys

were meeting him at the main gate and taking notes

in their school notebooks. This daily phenomenon

Subedar Gurung holding his medals with author Sagat Shaunik

intrigued the manager, who approached our Subedar

Sahib and asked him what was happening. The

Subedar replied that the youth wanted to improve

themselves by joining the army and that he was

training them for their English, GK and basic

Mathematics tests. The manager asked how a

security guard, could have the knowledge of such

subjects. To which he replied, “Chaubees saal se

Indian Army mein duty kiya, wahan sab fully trained

ho jate hein. In yuva kabhi future fully bright ho

jayega, service mein join in karke” (I served 24 years

in the Indian Army, where I was fully trained. I see a

bright future for these youths if they get recruited

into the service).

The manager immediately promoted him as a

skills-trainer within the organisation and was

astonished to find that the erstwhile security-guard

was computer literate. The organisation thereafter,

invested in his up-gradation training and today,

Subedar Gurung is a master trainer in the Northeast

and over 1500 students have benefited from his

English and computer classes. He continues to

motivate them towards a higher sense of integrity,

loyalty to the organisation and finding a sense of

purpose. These characteristics he claimed, were

acquired-in and are attributable to- his military

service.

There are many other ex-servicemen who are less

fortunate than Sub Gurung, as they remain an

unutilised talent pool of highly trained veterans. It is

a pity that they have to seek re-employment as

security guards, drivers and take similar odd jobs,

when their actual potential could be to boost national

integration by mobilising youth across the country,

towards a higher sense of purpose and for national

building.

On similar lines, during another visit to villages in

Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, I found veterans of

GRENADIERS, RAJPUT and RAJPUTANA

RIFLES; who were elected leaders of social groups

since the community admired them for their honesty,

ability to write and maintain accounts and for the

social-respect they earned due to military service.

While the nation is proud of the service and

sacrifice of our reemployed veterans in the Defence

Security Corps, it is time, our Armed Forces review

the way in which we resettle our veterans. The

organisation best knows the skills and competence

of each veteran and it can thus take suitable steps to

move beyond the regular re-employment avenues.

The josh with which our DSC defends our

establishments is an apt indicator of our veterans’

fitness, morale and preparedness, which can be

utilised both in the public and private sector, and

who can further invest in our veterans’ skills,

leadership and entrepreneurial abilities.

I look forward to the day when our veterans are

provided with opportunities to continue serving the

nation even after retirement. They can be teachers,

government officials, sports coaches, managers or

any other job role that is in sync with their skills. Let

us overcome the mind-set that soldiers, especially

NCOs, are employable only as security guards. India

has a large social capital of a disciplined and capable

workforce that is ready for its second innings. Let us

deploy them strategically. Jai Hind!

The josh with which our DSC defends our establishments is

a suitable indicator of veterans’ tness, morale and preparedness, which can be

well highlighted to both public and private sector, that can

further invest in our veterans’ skills, leadership and

entrepreneurial abilities.


AN EXPERIENCE OF CONFINEMENT OF AIR VETERANS IN BOX WAGON FOR 18 DAYS

SGT BASUDEV GUHA THAKURTA (RETD)


In 1945 when the Second World war was over, I

was based at No 1 Satellite Airfield Head Quarters,

Agartala, east of Brahmaputra . Our unit had been

disbanded , so all the existing inventory was to be

despatched to the various Air Force Stations as per

the category of equipment and stores. The mode of

despatch was via goods train with two escorts for

each consignment and the destinations were the Air

Force station Avadi, near Madras (now Chennai) and

the other was the Air Force Station Harbanspura,

near Lahore (now in Pakistan).

Four escorts were assigned for the consignment–

two British (BOR : British Other Ranks) and two

Indians (IOR). I was one of the Indian escorts. All of

us preferred to go to Lahore but it was decided by

the tossing of a coin by the Commanding Officer. As

luck would have the Indian escort won the toss and

we were detailed to go to Lahore.

All of us were provided with stenguns for self-

protection, enough food packets, ration money, large

stainless steels water pots, along with a: kettle; torch;

hurricane lamp; charpoy; first aid box and; other

essential items.

We were also carrying an important document

given to us by the British Commanding Officer

which was a mandatory advice for the railway

authorities to render prompt assistance on priority, as

and when, required. When all arrangements were in

place, our CO wished us a safe and happy journey.

Our departure station was Akhaura (now in

Bangladesh). Most of our Indian and British

colleagues came to station to bid goodbye to us. The

metre gauge box wagon in which the consignments

were loaded, had two doors that opened on either

side of the wagon. One door was locked from inside

and outside and the opposite door was kept open for

our requirements. We piled up our consignment in

the middle of our wagon, and on the other side we

placed our cots and personal luggage.

Next morning we reached a station - probably

Santahar –which had both broad gauge and metre

gauge facilities. We had to shift from the metre

gauge to the broad gauge line which was on the other

side of the platform. I met the station master and

showed him the Military Advice. I was in full

military uniform with the stengun hanging on my

shoulder. The response from the railway official was

prompt. A broad gauge wagon was to be placed

parallel to our metre gauge wagon for transferring

our consignment and personal belongings. The

railway staff ensured the smooth transfer of goods in

an efficient manner and we thanked the station

master for his cooperation.

There was large movement of military special

trains and thus the halts of our train were few. Our

wagon was at the rear of the train. We got very little

time to get off the train at stations for food and baths

except when the halt was longer. The wagon

assigned to us had no toilet, as a result we had to wait

for hours to relieve ourselves. The goods train had no

lights and no fans so we also had to withstand the

heat and mosquitoes. We were wondering what the

British escort would be going through on their way

to Madras Central Station. Our wagon was not put on

any direct train but trains that were moving to North

as a result had to take longer route. After few days of

travel we reached Mughal Sarai junction and

FROM THE LENS OF HARRY BUCKLEY - Indian Army Veterans

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