IESM: Aims, Appraisal, Advisory and Achievements

What may be an eye opener to you today was known to me and my friends about a year ago. We all knew that something out of the ordinary had to be done. These babus think they are too clever by half. They and the mostly illiterate and many criminal politicos know only the lingo of power. Hence the use of power of vote. All else was tried and did not work. This in no way means politicising the armed forces. Faujis are credulous but not idiots. They have been taken for a ride because of their good faith. Now, they are aware of what has been done to them and they want to correct the aberrations. Even the Army Chief has advised every one and their families to register as voters at their place of posting and exercise their vote. Voting at the place of posting is a recent facility in lieu of the much criticised and misused postal ballot.

Gen Kadyan and a few other office bearers of IESM were invited by Secy ESM Welfare Dept to come and have a chat. At the end of the meeting, the Secy told Kadyan that till then he was not clear about OROP but after meeting the group he was now quite clear and well informed on the subject. A couple of months later, he had a similar meeting with IESL people and the bloody joker told that delegation exactly the same thing as he told Kadyan earlier on. What manipulators and liars they are !! No wonder they manipulate politicians and the courts and the Chiefs. Hopefully, no longer. Now, there are many many officers and PBORs who are ever ready to get after them and expose their evil deeds and designs. This calls for special treatment and we have to give them a dose of their own medicine.

Many of us officers say that agitation is undignified. Do you think crawling is dignified? It is not, per se. However, both officers and men crawl as a tactical move when facing the hostile enemy. So, there are many tactics to win the battle. Power of gun, or press/TV, or agitation or even voting and supporting a particular party. Doing nothing to rectify the wrongs done and talking like Lord Haw Haw is just not on, it will not help !!
IESM leadership and the core group have worked relentlessly and made everyone aware of their plight and how to go about correcting the wrongs done to us. They have toured Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, HP, UP and Bangaluru etc to address ESM rallies and strengthen the movement. Hats off to their perseverance, stamina and focus. They have truly followed the first principle of war viz maintenance of aim. Some of our friends have said harsh, ungentlemanly and unbecoming things about them, questioning their wisdom and even motives and honesty. Such 'wise' people can only criticise from their armchairs, without contributing in cash or with ideas or devoting any time for the cause. They just love to flaunt their obnoxious 'wisdom' and that is that. They have dubbed Kadyan a self styled chairman. Actually, by now he is like a hero for all ESM. I keep talking to my friends at various places in India and get inputs from them.

Who says I cannot advise you whom to vote for. However, it is up to you to accept or reject my advice. It is a secret ballot and one can refuse to divulge whither one's vote went. However, things have come to such a pass that out of the ordinary actions are called for. Let me remind every one that these actions are much better than physically taking up arms for then the country goes to dogs.

My info says that in many army messes, toasts have already been raised wishing BJP/NDA a grand success. Whether we will succeed or not, only the time will tell. Let us not forget that when Gandhi started his salt march, it was disdainfully dismissed by many a Lord Haw Haw; they averred that an anna worth of salt could not achieve much. The rest is history.

Talking of Brig Harwant Singh who had announced his intention to stand as an independent candidate from Chandigarh, he has discussed the matter in light of the latest developments and decided not to go into the fray. He will now advise all ESM and their families and friends to vote BJP and other partner parties of NDA. This wave is catching on all over the country. That is what I hear from my friends. Let us see, my friend, you and I may soon be out of your 'catch 22 situation'.

I became active in this movement around mid 2008. In October I decided to contribute Rs 50,000/= to partly meet the costs involved. I did it entirely on my own and because I was fully convinced that our cause was just and that the methods we wanted to adopt for furthering it were absolutely correct. We will win and deliver; I have no doubt about it, never had any right from day one. I am also glad to report that Cdr Pran Parashar, our patriarch naviator, spends about an hour or two on a daily basis at Jantar Mantar venue. He has been an inspiration to many.

I have just checked on the websites of indiaveterans and militaryveterans. My first piece appeared in May 2008, to date I have made about 400 contributions to these two sites. My thrust has been mainly on the following lines:

Don't remain credulous, become street smart. You are facing very wily babus and politicos. They are totally selfish, manipulative and divisive. We have to beat them at their game.

Involve PBOR in our movement in a big way. They are the bulk of ESMs and they should be the backbone of this movement.

The destinies of those in active service and those who have retired are interlinked and intertwined. Let no show of dismay at the ESM 'taking to the streets' deter us. Let us not fall prey to this 'divide and rule' stategem.

We are 2 million ESMs. This vote bank figure could be over a crore if we count our families and friends. If all serving personnel and families register their votes at the place of their posting, another crore odd votes could be added after adding their friends also. We should support a party that supports our demands. We should also put up our ESM candidates from big cantonment towns. 'even if we return a dozen odd ESM MPs, we would have arrived'.

Our movement has come a long way and, contrary to what some say and desire, it will stay on. It will force the toady orgn IESL to join us. It will truly look after the genuine needs of veterans. As it is, many many are leaving IESL and joining IESM.

The sit- in dharna and relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar is being wound up for the time being. The core group will work from the IESM office in Gurgaon, re-assass the situation and concentrate on enlisting more members and generally spreading awareness. Further action will be taken after the election results are out.

Lastly, comments from you and others are most welcome. They can be helpful, they can be nasty, they all are welcome. This feed back will help IESM in its future endeavours.
Cdr K K Punchhi (Retd)