Ever since report of the 6th Pay Commission was presented to government which in turn showed its inclination to implement it early, there are several instances of discontentment expressed by various sections of the employees. One common complaint so far came out was about the huge increase in the pay of the IAS, the premier category that the complainants complained of running away with the cream, like the infamous epical castigation of devas about the assuras running away with the nectar after the great churning of the seas. Yes, every Pay Commission was a kind of churning and up till the 5th Pay Commission, the beneficiaries were the upper echelons. They have their own reasons to stand the gain given the way they are selected after going through a grueling selection process right from preliminary to the mains to the interview and then the crucial training and then the testing waters at the grassroot from Dy Collector upwards to the Cabinet Secretary the highest civilian post in India.

Every time, after announcement of the pay commission, such complaints about gross discrimination comes, but rarely the IAS lobby comes out in defence of their case, as they know ultimately they will win the war in any case. So, this time round, a celebrated former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subrahmaniam came in defence of the elite services, whenever discussions on this score occurred in electronic media. A channel weekly programme candidly discussed the issue and it was a treat to watch representatives of every section of the employees defending their point and finally a Major General of the Army, summing up his point, sarcastically mentioned that they have no problem if the government may offer moon to the IAS but the armed forces demand for a separate pay commission to maintain status quo is valid and they hope the government would look into it seriously. It is reported the government has already formed a committee to look into it and they will report to government early on this score.

But the point to look at is that while one may agree to the demands of the forces for more pay up to the level of other allied services, a fact that cannot be over-looked is the facilities these armed forces personnel enjoy while in service, both in peace as well as in disturbed areas. It is a point that is known to all that the men in the army and other para-military organizations are provided with free ration in peace areas and special food and allowances at the high altitude areas like Siachen glaciers. This writer too has some on the spot experience of closely knowing various facilities enjoyed by the men in uniform. For example, the canteen facility to Defence personnel is a case in point. All daily use items are supplied through CSD canteens to the forces, the prices of which are damn cheap when compared with the prices in the open market. Many civilians attached with the armed forces too enjoy such facility. In the field areas, they are provided with cigarettes, laundry items, Inland forms to write letters now-a-days it is a rarity- thanks to the mobile boom and STD booths in Army camps. Then, they get liquor (free), hair-cut (free), uniform and washer-men to clean and press it. Every year free warrants to visit home-town, family accommodation at peace stations and the list goes on endlessly. When the cumulative value of these extra facilities/privileges provided to them are computed, one can find that they are not at loss in any way. That is the reason, the IAS lobby, being the prime movers of every policy at the governmental level, are keeping mum, irrespective of the harsh criticism against them in the media. When they finally come out with facts and figures in defence of their case, their critics would run for cover. But, in a way, they are happy, as they are already under scanner, being the second in line in corrupt, after their political masters.

However, the complaints of the IPS lobby for pay parity with the elite services is something to be looked into, given the kind of internal security situation and threat perceptions they encounter on a day-to-day basis. State police personnel too, in no way, are inferior despite the fact they are provided with weapons that are treated obsolescence in the Army. Whereas, they have to take on such anti-national forces like the Maoists, hard-core terrorists and Naxals, who are armed to the teeth, with most modern weapons. Therefore, it would be better, if the government, instead of trying to bring in parity in pay, provide the State police personnel with all the facilities the army personnel are provided with in various localities. That would level the present disparity amongst men in uniform. Hope the committee appointed by the government would look into it holistically, so as to arrest the trend of army officers putting in their papers for retirement vis-a-vis the IAS/IPS officers seeking VRS etc in search of greener pastures.

In no way the ongoing discussions in the media should give an impression that the Indian Armed forces or the State police forces are a disenchanted or distressed lot and that the internal as well as the external security of the nation would be jeopardized by that. The cry for -we want more- is good but the interest of the nation should be uppermost than one's own self interest.