AFVOA Newletters of Year 2011

Page 39 of 44 Platinum Grant – On completing 75 years- Army Officers. A gentleman-officer’s seventy-fifth by Lieut-Gen Baljit Singh (retd) I had no clue about the Platinum Grant nor indeed the courage to enquire, because this walrus-moustachioed KCIO (King’s Commissioned Indian Officer) had an acerbic tongue. Recently, when I too received the bank demand draft for Rs 50,000, I wondered about the Good Samaritan who had conceived this joyous scheme to endow each gentleman- officer with a gift on his 75th birthday! And as I flaunted the bank instrument, I realised how envious the officers of the Air Force and theNavy felt of this exclusive Indian Army grant. STATIONEDat a small-town cantonment, onemorning I was informed that a retired Army Commander had been admitted to our hospital. So I made a courtesy visit to the ailing General but found him in good humour. With a twinkle in his eyes he said: “To tell you the truth Old Boy, I had received the PlatinumGrant and in celebration, downed a bottle of champagne and lots of rich food!” Lately, the managers of the fund have added to the grant an attractively packaged set of two CDs: “Military Bands, Martial Tunes.” The container is a laminated, cardboard folder having six coloured An apology is a good way to have the last word. photographs of Army bandsmen in resplendent ceremonial attire. Tucked in between, is a booklet explaining the origins of martial music. The first CD has 25 excerpted tunes from the ensemble of British martial music. Almost all tunes successfully create the auditory ambience of the battlefield; the awesome clatter of the hooves of galloping horses, clashing of swords and the crescendo of the thunder and volley of shell-burst. It was on this occasion that I learnt that this initiative was launched way back in 1951, by deducting a mere Rs 2 from the month’s salary of every serving Army officer. This contribution was steadily enhanced but ultimately capped at Rs 60 per month. Once the accruals had taken the fund to a comfortable level, the first lot of bank demand drafts (Rs 20,000 to start with), were sent to the octogenarian officers in Dec 1981. The second CD has 29 ethnic martial tunes composed by the post-1947 Indian Army. It opens with that most inspiring military- tune, “ Kadamkadambadhayechal…….” which would fire even the gout afflicted to leap out of the bed and start marching. As the finale, the last martial tune givesmeaning to the collective sacrifices of the Indian soldiery, over the last 200 years, through the dignified and soul-arousing “Sarejehan se achcha, Hidustaanhamara, hum bulbulenhaiiski yehgulistanhamara ” Is theRamlilaMaidan generation listening?One of these tunes surprisedmewith its title, PUNJAUB! Surely, it must have been inspired by the epic battles of Mudki and Chillianwalla (1845-9) where the Sikh soldiers, in the words of the British commanders, were found plucky as lions, fought like devils,...fierce and valiant even in their dying struggle Retired Defence Personnel will now get pension statements by E- mail/SMS Kusum Arora/TNS Jalandhar, August 26 Retired defence personnel will now get their monthly pension statements through SMS and E-mail. The Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) has launched the facility, which would benefit a large number of retired defence personnel and war widows. To make this project a success, letters are being dispatched to the pensioners to register their mobile numbers and E- mails with the Defence Accounts Department. Sources at the Ministry of Defence said the pensioners would be required to provide their E-mail accounts and mobile numbers on a prescribed format, which is available with all the 61 Defence Pension Disbursement Offices across the country. Earlier, the retired defence personnel had to personally visit the nearest DPDOs for pension. The new initiativewill ensure quick update of pension status, The CGDA has also developed and started two special softwares ‘Suvigya’ and ‘Aashraya.’ While ‘Suvigya’ is a pension enquiry system through which the pensioners would be able to know their entitlement by providing minimum basic information about themselves, ‘Aashraya’ is a web-enabled pension disbursement system developed to ensure right disbursement. It will also help in speedy redress of pensioners’ woes If it works, it may be useful. …. Editor The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention. ANTI TERROR SQUAD- (ATS) Helpline Number for all – NO 1090 In case you come across any suspicious activity, any suspicious movement or have any information to tell to the Anti-