Four legged force

Oneupmanship is something we have all encountered but have you ever heard of camelmanship? If you haven’t, then you can be forgiven for a shortfall in knowledge. Afterall, it is not everyday that one encounters camels vying with each other to excel in doing stunts or shaking a leg to the beat of the drums.

In fact India is probably the only country in the world where its Border Security Force (BSF) not only does the job of protecting our frontiers but also trains camels to be part of a full-fledged band. The force is the single biggest employer of camels in the country with a flock of 1,100.

The animal has been part of the border force for ages with its ability to walk on sand and stay without water for days. But it was only in 1986 that K.S. Rathore, a horse rider of repute who took over as BSF’s inspector general of police in Jodhpur, floated the idea of a camel band. While training the animals to march to the tune of the band, the trainers realised the potential of making them dance too. 

Since then, the camel band has been amongst the most entertaining of shows in the state, the dance of the heavily-ornamented and bridled camels being the highlight.Of the 1,100 animals that the border force possesses, about 60 are Jaisalmeri and Bikaneri fine breed, considered capable of training others in patrolling and other ceremonial activities like racing and stunts. Of these 60, two are chosen to undergo a year-long training in dance and a third one is trained as a stand-by.

Camels have played an important part in India’s defence history. In 1971 war, there were 100 casualties amongst them. “Until then, the army had its own ones too but thereafter, the task was shifted to BSF,” says Kamal Singh Rathore, deputy commandant, Jodhpur, who looks after the training of the animals.

The training of camels, males only, starts at the age of five and the animals retire at 12 though their lifespan is about 25-30 years. With poor memory and a herd mentality, they are trained in batches of six along with a few trained ones since novices tend to copy the activities of their trained counterparts.

After a week of schooling, a saddle is harnessed on their back and weight training is initiated gradually. A rider gets to sit on his animal only after one month and a ceremonial camel is ready within a few months’ time.Racing and dancing camels are a big hit during the state’s many cultural festivals. With demand for trainers now coming from as far as Scotland and Oman, the animal is set to conquer more than the desert.

Source : India Today

 

Do we still have white men in our setup?

What is it today's reader finds so repugnant about Kipling's poem? If you were a citizen of a colonized territory (Pun intended), how would you respond to Kipling?

Take up the White Man's burden
--Send forth the best ye breed--
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness,
On fluttered folk and wild--
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half-devil and half-child.

Take up the White Man's burden--
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times made plain
To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.
Take up the White Man's burden
--The savage wars of peace--

Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch sloth and heathen
FollyBring all your hopes to nought.
Take up the White Man's burden--
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper--
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go mark them with your living,
And mark them with your dead.
Take up the White Man's burden--
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard--
The cry of hosts ye humour(Ah, slowly!) toward the light:--
"Why brought he us from bondage,
Our loved Egyptian night?"
Take up the White Man's burden--
Ye dare not stoop to less--
Nor call too loud on Freedom
To cloke your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your gods and you.
Take up the White Man's burden--
Have done with childish days--
The lightly proferred laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years
Cold, edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!

The British Empire was the foremost global power in the European Age of Discovery.It was the most extensive empire in world history and held sway over about a quarter of the world’s population.Colonial policy was based on the belief or conviction that white people were superior to all other races. The white man’s duty was therefore to civilise and christianize the “dark places” of the world and if necessary with the use of violence.

Do we still have white men in our setup?

Pay scale: India forced to look within

Manan Kumar

First Published : 09 Mar 2009 04:32:00 AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Relenting over the past neglect which cost a bloody mutiny, the Bangladesh Government on Friday increased border area allowance for Bangladesh Rifles personnel by 100 percent from 260 taka to 500 taka per month, besides enhancing their ration allowance at Army levels to 100 percent instead of earlier 60 percent. 

The change was effected against the backdrop of discontent that was simmering even after the bloody mutiny was quashed by the Army, the sources said. The change in the fortunes of BDR is being seen as a ray of hope among the paramilitary forces at home who till now were fighting a losing battle to get allowances at par with the Indian Army. 

Sources said that a wary BSF has already sought hard area allowance from the Centre after the BDR mutiny as general discontent of disparity was clearly visible among the ranks. Ready to consider the border force’s demand, the Centre, however, got into some technical wrangles. Sources said that the review committee constituted under an Additional Secretary (Finance) to look into paramilitary forces grievances sought area coordinates from the BSF and other forces for giving hard duty allowance. 

However, seeing developments in the neighbourhood, the committee has now more or less agreed to BSF’s suggestion to give hard area allowance at least in areas falling between zero line at the border to the battalion headquarters. Pegged at 10 to 15 percent of the basic pay, the hardship would likely be given to all ranks up to Commandant. It is expected to make a difference of Rs 600 to Rs 3,000 in the monthly pay package of paramilitary personnel deployed on border duties.

The development has brightened the hope to get special paramilitary allowance among the paramilitary forces which currently is being vetted by the review committee .

 Source : ExpressBuzz.com

To Sir With Love

Having spent the most of my conscious part of life “Sir”ing various people, starting from my school days and then during my professional life, I am forced to take a serious dekko at this word. 

Webster’s dictionary says: Noun

1. Term of address for a man.

2. (British) a title used before the name of knight or baronet.

The obsessive use of this word in the uniformed services is unparalleled. It makes me wonder whether it is an Obsessive compulsive disorder (a very fashionable disorder to have). A subaltern conversing with his senior on telephone would sound something like this, Good morning Sir, Sir, Sir sir, sir sir sir, sir, Regards sir. The no of times this word is used is directly proportional to the rank of the person on the other side (or the weight of the rank badges on his shoulders). A single sir connotes affirmation whereas a quick succession of sirs (ie sir sir sir sir preferably uttered in 0.5 secs) adds an element of seriousness to the affirmation. And anyway most of us seriously believe that there is no harm in siring a few more times than what actually is required. A recent study conducted by scientists at MIT has concluded that if we manage to utter the word “OM” even half the number of times we “sir” then attaining “moksha” is a real possibility. 

Seniors nine out of ten times are mentioned as XYZ sir, even if he is not in the listening distance. Sharma sir is a more accepted way of addressing compared to Mr Sharma, although Mr even remotely does not qualify for an invective. The usage is so prevalent that I have seen mobiles having names listed with a suffix sir. 

A variant of Sir is Sirji. Do not confuse the added ji with adding more respect to the already revered sir; it is in fact a very popular way of addressing the seniors who have missed the bus. Then there is “Siiiiiiiir” which is a sine-qua-non (for youngsters wishing to climb the corporate oops combat ladder), especially when the revered sir is regaling the younger lot about his exploits (in the good old days) after downing a few stiff ones in the mess (It is best said during the pauses in the narration). “Right sir” accompanied with a stiff hand shake is the expected way to say “bye “or “Good Bye” when you leave the esteemed company of your senior. 

Those who have had a stint in the UN would vouch for the fact that getting the “sir” out your system and getting used to addressing others by their first name is a huge cultural shock for most of us. Sir is also not a preferred way of addressing in the corporate world as the emphasis there is on building team and not hierarchy. So “to sir or not to sir” is really a million dollar question. 

Bangla aftershocks: BDR revolt rattles BSF brass

Pragya Paramita

Kolkata: The last week’s mutiny by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) jawans has forced the senior officers of its Indian counterpart, the Border Security Force (BSF), to sit up and take note of the problems its jawans face in the line of duty.Though officers said there was nothing to fear, they pointed out the disparity in pay and working conditions between the Army and the BSF, which forms the country’s first line of defence.

“We have a very strong system and while one can never say with certainty that something similar will never happen here, we have faith in our jawans as they share a healthy relationship with the officers,” said a senior BSF officer who did not wish to be named.He said besides holding games like football and volleyball between the jawans and officers to build a sense of camaraderie between them, there is also a practice of “vertical interaction”, where everyone, from the IG down the line, including the group-D staff, sit down to discuss problems. “Everyone participates in this to discuss the problems they are facing in their work,” he said.

Moreover, the BSF also holds Sainik Sammelans during which senior officers visit the far-flung outposts to have interaction with the jawans. There are also nodal officers at various levels to hear out the grievances of the jawans and address them or to pass them on to higher level.However, the officer said there are some rumblings within the BSF jawans after the removal of the posts of lance naik and naik by the Fifth Pay Commission.

“Earlier, a jawan was gradually promoted to lance naik and naik before finally becoming a head constable in nearly 20 years. Now, they can directly be promoted to head constable but only after 20 years of duty. Moreover, there is a sharp discrepancy between the pay scales for the BSF and the Army. Even the perks they receive are far less than what the Army men get,” the source said, adding the BSF jawans do not get “peace postings” the jawans in the Army get for three years after a two-year stint at the border. Ramajkrishnan, a former BSF IG (South Bengal Frontier), said, “There is absolutely no family life for the BSF jawans, while the families of the army men get accommodation.There are not enough schools take care of the educational needs of the children of the jawans.While an Army battalion has four companies, the BSF one has seven.There is no proper accommodation for the extra company.” he said

Signal for Delhi in Dhaka Rebellion

Source : OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph kolkata edition

This morning’s rebellion by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) has swivelled the spotlight on pay and other job disparities Indian paramilitary forces claim they face compared with their counterparts who have similar duties in the army.
“Our government should read the message. Such a large body of armed people shouldn’t feel neglected,” former BSF chief A.K. Mitra, who retired last year, said today, hours after the rebellion over pay bias against the BDR spilled on to the streets of the Bangladesh capital.

Another officer with a paramilitary force said the Sixth Pay Commission hadn’t addressed the problem in its proposals. He said Delhi should read the “signals from the developments in Dhaka”.Giving examples, paramilitary force officials say a BSF constable gets at least Rs 2,000 less than an army jawan, who also enjoys a hardship allowance when posted in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast and other sensitive areas alongside men from the paramilitary forces. 

Stagnation is another problem. Unlike Bangladesh, where army officers lead the BDR, Indian paramilitary forces like the BSF, the CRPF and the ITBP have civilian IPS officers at the helm. But discontent is high against IPS officers, who have been accused of not taking up the cause of the paramilitary forces when they were pressing for higher pay scales with the pay commission.

After the posts of lance naik and naik were scrapped, a paramilitary constable can spend up to 20 years without a promotion. “After that, we are so frustrated, retirement is the only option,” said a CRPF constable.
Another bone of contention is the military service pay, a special allowance paid across the ranks and which the paramilitary forces have now sought from the government. But the home ministry is yet to take a decision.
Paramilitary force officials also argue that while a BSF commandant commands 1,170 men, an army colonel has only 867 personnel.