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Indian military meets to plug frontline exodus
New Delhi (AFP) June 26, 2008 India's top military brass held a crisis meeting Thursday to jack up military wages and try and stem an exodus of soldiers to the country's flourishing private sector, officials said. The chiefs of the million-plus army, air force and navy held closed-door talks with Defence Minister A.K. Antony and other top officials on tackling the widening wage gap between civilians and men and women in uniform. "The proposals will now be forwarded to an empowered committee," a defence ministry official said after the meeting, adding the talks had focused on an upward revision of salaries of troops. More than 120 middle-rung officers have sought early retirement after the government's Pay Commission submitted its report on salary revisions in late March. Lower-ranked commanders are upset because they received a 15 percent pay rise in the 10-yearly salary revision for federal government workers, while civil servants were given hikes of more than 40 percent. The military pay rises fell way short of increasingly lavish private-sector salaries and benefits. The resignations, following on the heels of a wave of suicides by military personnel, came at a bad time for the army -- which is already facing a shortage of about 11,000 trained officers. The pinch is especially felt at India's heavily-militarised border with Pakistan in Kashmir, the subject of two of the three wars between the two nuclear-armed rivals since 1947. A government security committee is also set to convene this weekend and hammer out a promotions package for 4,000 army, navy and air force officers in a bid to open up bottlenecks, officials said. Military veterans spearheading demands for higher pay warned, however, that they would step up protests if New Delhi failed to increase salaries of soldiers by 62.5 percent and 56.5 percent for officers. "Our expectation from this meeting is zero as serving officers are not invited to it," said retired major general Satbir Singh, who is leading a spirited campaign for higher pay that has embarrassed the government. "If our demands are not met, then from July 6 we will kick off protest marches in each of India's 29 state capitals and in 300 districts on behalf of our comrades who are in service," the general warned. Enlisted soldiers in India, which has the world's fourth largest military, are prohibited from taking part in demonstrations. According to available military figures, nearly 2,420 defence personnel including 544 officers have died in clashes with Islamic militants in Kashmir or ethnic guerrillas in restive northeastern states in the past two decades. "Add to that some 5,000 personnel maimed for life," said former colonel Pratap Singh, another campaigner. "Has any commissioner or government secretary who draws twice the salary of their military equivalent laid down their life for the country?" Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Outside View: Russia's new arms -- Part 2
Moscow (UPI) Jun 26, 2008 While U.S. experts express concern over Russia's nuclear weapons modernization program, their Russian counterparts are voicing alarm that they believe they are falling dangerously behind in the 21st century strategic arms race. |
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