This blog is more than a month old. The idea which led to its inception was to create a forum to discuss various issues in a frank and forthright manner which otherwise is not possible in our organizations. There is no gag order on the netizens to express their views, right or wrong, good or bad. My expectations were misplaced it seems as I firmly believed that the anonymity one gets in this forum will spur more in our fraternity to come out and express their thoughts and feelings. One should see similar blogs like indianmimiltarybenefits.blogspot.com or bandofbrothers.blogspot.com and the contribution by the defence officers and their comments on various posts.
If we cannot express in anonymity then I have serious doubts whether if we will be able to express at all. Silence is golden but not always. Making a contribution to this blog or for that matter any blog is not going change our life, improve our career prospects, give a fat bank balance or for that matter impact anything meaningfully. It’s just a small start to free our thinking from the organizational blinkers and the conditioning.
I believe, we are right now experiencing what one calls the “mid life crisis”. More than 40 but where we are heading no one knows. The mission and vision statements are but a play in semantics. More like a ship without rudders lost in the middle of Pacific. We pledge our loyalty to a master who likes to use and throw us like Kleenex tissues. Surprisingly we are happy with the situation and have come to accept the glass ceiling for the sky.
Its reminds me of one interesting anecdote in the book “Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance “about a monkey which is caught in a South American trap (a hole is made in a coconut by the hunter and it is filled with rice, it is big enough for the monkey to put its hand in but once the monkey fills its hand with rice it cannot take it out). The monkey can see the hunter approaching it but it is not able to decide whether it values the rice more or its freedom. There is a conflict in values.
The frequent changes in our uniforms are a metaphor to our identity crisis and to the fact that we are yet to forge one. The leopard doesn’t change its spots and the tiger it’s stripes then why do we keep vacillating about out Khaki and Camo identities. “To be or not to be “will always be haunting us.
It sometimes gives me a feeling that we are all part of an Orwellian plot where the “Big Brother” is controlling not only the actions but the thoughts as well. But as long as we don’t pawn our souls there will be light at the end of the tunnel. There are a few who dare to take on this system head on, question things that we accept as standards. One has gone to the court which has at least made the powers that be sit and notice. Some have represented to the Chief about things we know are discriminatory. Pay commissions will come and go and we will be marginalized further. There will be a lot of hullabaloo after each which will die down eventually. We should treat the disease and not the symptom.
The media has lot of Ex-service men employees and retired officers in varying positions, so they will take a calculated and favourable stand. The services also has a strong PR and treat media personnel lavishly. They even run a capsule for media with well organised conducted visits. Most of the scams are covered up due to strong pressure by the serving and retired lobby.
ReplyDeleteThe retired lot is well organised with most of the senior retired personnel extended lavish service facilities. Most of the servicemen are released at an early age and as ex-servicemen they have a long productive life. This is the time they are a frustrated lot as they are destined by the rules to be chucked out early. They have the guts to take risk, as they have nothing to loose but have well-nit organisational support & backing.
Most of the political parties have ex-servicemen, specifically the rightwing parties whose ideologies are strong as the service personnel and they too have a Defence wing with ex-service men feeding the strategies to politicians. It is well organised and ambitious get good results like CM, MPs and MLAs. This give a presedence and hope to the serving lot too.
CPFs are not so organised like the defence forces. The CPFs are a fractured un-organised pliable lot with no worthwhile in-service leadership. We have too many entries and the quality is liquidated at every level to accomodate the lowest - we go to the least of all available. Result - generally we produce sub standard output, sufferers are the generally next generation-children - up bringing is un-organised, they are to undergo education in schools with substandard schoolmates in villages and remote towns with little facilities. This result in frustration as the status gained is nutralised - when we see children grow so un-organised or we suffer to get the children grooming organised.
We lack funds, status and will. Funds will provide infrastructure, status will bring up our immage and will to change and will to stand up as a unified force - nett gain will be a setup worth a FORCE. When we get this we may be equally at par to the defence forces in service and private life.
We have to come out of this quagmine- solution is that every one should think BIG and AHEAD with OPTIMISM and HOPE. DO GOOD. DONT SUCCUMB TO CUT-THROTISM AND PRESSURE.
If every one contribute we can make a CHANGE.