Cry My Beloved Country

INDIAN SOCIETY IN PERIL AND PAIN

It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in which we find the Indian Society, today. The people who comprise our society are virtually sitting on the brink of a disaster that can consume all of us, irrespective of caste, colour, religion, gender, class, rural, urban, literate, illiterate, rich, poor divide et al. The one reason which comes out clearly and emphatically for this state of things is the absence of a National Character and a very poor presence of individual character in its people. The 66 years of Independence from the yoke of British Rule, has pushed us into a situation that stares the country and its people with gloom and despair, should unusual circumstances and happenings not prevent this catastrophe from seizing the masses and metaphorically breaking their back. Of the tangible and intangible possessions which fulfil a person, character is the ‘Jewel on the Crown’ and takes the pride of place in the human personality. India’s democracy, which came to its people rather too soon, without going through the grind and cycle of anarchy, dictatorship and oligarchy, which thrust political equality without the requisite social and economic equality on its people; is the major reason for this reality. Our political class and its mediocre leadership did not make things better by exploiting illiteracy, poverty, religion, social deprivation of its backward classes, caste and an indifferent middle class; to take the people further and further away from their inherent nature that is steeped in principles and values. With the people who care about governance not participating in the process of its formation and those who do not care, alone participating in the process of government formation, meant mediocrity nay worse, in the quality of our elected representatives. Historically, the middle class which determines the values and thinking of any society, failed India by remaining exclusive and thus completely alienating the rural masses which comprise more than 60% of its population. Only when the middle class is willing to empathise with and share the travails and torments of the villagers, in an inclusive manner, thus begetting their trust and faith, will it enlarge its identity and social space. While ‘Nirbhaya’ shook the social conscience of Delhi and the metropolises, with human waves coming out on the roads and streets in a show of solidarity with and in protest against the heinous act of some barbaric men and government apathy in the matter of providing protection to its women, the many indignities, molestations, abuses and rapes which continue to happen in the villages, hamlets, settlements and townships do not create a similar reaction or response. This is the fault line, which keeps the masses away from the genuine social causes and issues, which the burgeoning middle class takes upon itself, but yet is unable to create the ripples in the hinterland and the interiors where the majority of India lives. It is a case of them versus us and a turf war is created where none exists, actually. People posture against people because of this indifference to what happens in the villages; the urban middle class cocooned in their comfort zones, while the rural people suffer. And it is this gap, which the political parties and the politicians fill with their craft and manipulations, entirely to their advantage while assuaging the problem, temporarily or not at all, but giving the requisite sound bites and making tall and unfulfilled promises. This is the space in which the political leaders, bureaucrats, village /tehsil / taluka / block administrative set up and the government agencies that are meant to deliver and provide for the masses are hand in glove, incompetent or else just not interested in resolving the problem. Governance fails and the people are marginalised. Religion, caste, sub caste, language, culture and emotions are used as best these can in an expedient manner to divide people and opinion, which is to the detriment of the community and the problem festers and becomes chronic.

Good governance today, is a dream, only because those who vote to select their representatives both in the Lok and the Vidhan Sabha, are swayed by considerations, which have little to do with calibre, competence and sense of righteousness in their candidates. But, instead, largely by a myopic and prejudiced outlook of all that, which they should not be giving any weightage to, in exercising their franchise. We are getting the type of political leaders and the government, which we deserve. There was a time, in this very same country when men and women of character were its representatives in the government and rectitude, probity, morality, ethics were traits which were evident in their person, both in private and public life. This period was unfortunately short lived.

The people, who should have understood and exercised their suffrage to select candidates of substance, were either arm twisted by the power of muscle or else cajoled by the lure of promises and money, among other considerations as already mentioned earlier. Corporate funding of the political parties, presence of unaccounted for money in the market, the earlier practice of licence permit raj in business and now the authority to grant these licenses being with the government, presence of mafia in most fields of commercial activities in which demand and supply create shortages or are essential to human life, corruption in government spending in which 85% of the money gets siphoned off through implementation leakages etc are many of the evils that we live with and suffer. While the poor and the under privileged, who are uncertain of their next morsel, are easy prey to being inveigled by sops given at the time of elections; it is the middle class and those waiting on the sidelines to join it, who are deeply entrenched in the giving and receiving of graft, which has definitively assailed their character and made it pliable on matters of principles, values and righteous living.

This failing of our middle class is very palpably evident in its attempt to evade income tax, avoid sales tax, pay facilitation fee for getting legitimate work done, bribe to get illegitimate work done, avoid punishment for willing transgressions by using money as a force multiplier, offset failings and lack of merit by paying money to overcome the reality etc and has instilled in these people a life without the virtue of character. This is a huge human tragedy for a country, which calls itself as the largest democracy in the world. It is the aggregate of the individual character which throws up a National Character and we are exceedingly challenged in this. Life without character is second nature to us, quite at variance with our innate Conscience, which is our moral and ethical compass. An Indian today is not willing to stand up against all that is wrong, unlawful, illegal, morally reprehensible and ethically deplorable, but instead is secure in the thought and feeling of being secure on the basis of money alone and not on the strength of character, which should be its never exhausting source of dignity, respect, security and power. One really wonders, in these days of the political parties preparing themselves for the General Elections 2014, will it really matter who forms the government in the Centre, because things are unlikely to change at the fundamental level at which we operate and live. The change if it does happen will probably be a short lived chimera, before we yet again get sucked into the quagmire, we have so assiduously prepared for ourselves in the country called INDIA.   

Brig S D Dangwal

9410900051

Save Uttarakhand From the Builder Lobby

A People’s Friendly Media – To Straighten The Real Estate Mess in Uttarakhand

It is most unfortunate that, Dehra Dun which was once a haven for school children, retired and peace loving people had to yield to the demands and pressures of the times we live in, ever since Uttarakhand was carved out from Uttar Pradesh, in 1999 – 2000. That, Dehra Dun, owing to its available infrastructure, proximity to New Delhi and existing communication centres, was designated as its interim capital; became the final nail in the coffin of its peace, tranquillity, small town culture, a rather laid back life style and bungalows with lichi and mango trees growing in the compound. The visionless government of the newly created state, crowded the limited infrastructure and roads of the city by establishing and locating its working and residential trappings within the municipal limits, thereby burdening the capacity of all civic amenities to the distress of its growing population. Even if Dehra Dun was all that the government of the time was able to look at for its state capital then and being cash strapped in the initial years of its formation; the political consideration to identify Gairsain as its permanent capital was a subterfuge that has pushed the city beyond the threshold of a virtual implosion. Instead of creating a new satellite city in the surrounding vicinity of Dehra Dun to develop and accommodate the requirements of a state capital, the existing city got stuffed with more and more of everything, under the pretext of it being only a temporary arrangement and therefore not prudent to overtly spend unnecessarily on, as it was only temporary.

The city was soon seized by the huge opportunity to cater to the demands of the youth, Nandan Nilekani’s demographic dividend, and exponentially developed on its existing secondary school academic ground swell and potential, in the pattern of Pune and Bangalore, with lush swathes of orchards and agricultural land getting appropriated for more residential schools, deemed universities, colleges and institutes of learning and technical skills. This necessitated extensive construction activity, which put more and more concrete and iron on ground, with buildings going both horizontal and vertical. The presence of these institutions of learning mostly built and run by those who are far removed from education and have very little understanding of anything which is mentally empowering, lured a large migrant population of students from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, in addition to what is already there. More hotels, dwelling units in multi storied buildings, shopping malls, cinema halls, restaurants, service sector establishments and ancillary facilities followed, thus putting a huge strain on the congested spaces, roads and civil amenities. River beds have been reclaimed and unauthorised permanent / temporary constructions, which house the poor who have come from far and near in search of making a living and finding work in the unorganized sector is a reality, which is both sad and resentful. Garbage and polybags spilling out from the dumping bins installed in the city, is not only a great health hazard with its stench and germs breeding on a 24 x 7 mode, but also a disgusting sight to behold. The daily traffic chaos, which continues to prevail at the crossings in commercial and residential areas alike, is most stressful and a cause of immense environmental pollution and energy wastage. Road rage and intolerance among the youth is growing and the elderly are under a constant threat of being abused, disrespected and hurt by the burgeoning fleet of vehicles moving on the narrow city roads.

Housing, the need for which is always there and the demand becoming more than what is available, has become a gold mine of sorts for all those who deal and prosper from it; by putting up structural monstrosities, which are approved and fall extremely short of the desired specifications, of both design and material. There is an unholy collusion between the authorities and the builders, which is strengthened by bribes given and received, without any sense of mortification or else compunction. While one can understand the greed for money in those who live and breathe by its motivation in business; it saddens both the heart and mind when those who must abide more by the dictates of their conscience and check corruption, with the might of their institutional authority and power vested in their office, instead stoop reprehensibly, to line their pockets with ill gotten wealth. Other than the country’s natural resources, which is being looted and plundered for profit, real estate too has become the second largest wealth generator for those who do deal in it and those who can illegally profit from it, by using the state machinery. We yet again come to the “C” word, which has pervaded the government and private sectors equally and become a ubiquitous phenomenon in all walks of life and living in India  and Uttarakhand.     

It is common knowledge that, huge sums of money change hands for according approvals and completion certificates, between the regulating authority and the builders. How do we put a stop to this, is the big question? To expect something to happen from within the administrative system is asking for the impossible and therefore putting to use the tools of RTI and the Consumer Commission / Forums is probably the answer, which can partially mitigate the sufferings of the people and the citizens. To add to this and leverage the advantage in favour of the people who continue to be cheated by the builders / developers, who work in a silent conspiracy of sorts with the authorities, for handsome considerations; the print media is a potent and effective medium, which should be prodigiously approached and used by all in a spirit of overt solidarity and community living. The print media must claim this responsibility and indulge those who knock on its doors, to open these and bring in the sunshine to cleanse the grime of corruption in real estate. It is then and only then that the huge potential of the media can be exploited to the hilt, to make the sector more transparent and accountable.

Brigadier S D Dangwal

The Ex Servicemen League of Uttarakhand is Angry

A GOON GIVES BODY TO HIS THREAT, AGAINST BRIGADIER DANGWAL

Arborea Luxury Homes, a housing complex on the Mussoorie – Shastradhara by pass road has turned into a den, in which the loutish writ of a goon, Rajesh Negi runs. Ever since this complex was commenced by a Gurgaon based company, Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and subsequently possession of apartments taken by the owners, Negi has been behaving like a yobbo who has been vandalising people with a no holds barred attitude. It is rather strange that, Conscient which makes big claims about its quality of construction and ethical business practices, has failed to rein in a person who moves in and out of Arborea in his 7 series BMW sedan and is a self appointed ‘bouncer’, who rather settle contentious matters between the owners and the company by threats, abuse and boorish conduct than acceptance and a mechanism to redress the outstanding issues.

 There have been a number of instances in Arborea, wherein the owners and residents have been left absolutely frustrated and disgusted for having made a choice to buy an apartment / live, in this housing complex. They rue that day, when they were inveigled and trapped into signing on the dotted line and make their first advance payment to Conscient, only because they believed what was published in the company’s brochure, shown in the sample apartment and parroted by its marketing executive. Nothing of this could be further from the truth and today the owners feel cheated by an out of Uttarakhand Company that is investing and building some more commercial infrastructure projects in Dehra Dun. One wonders why? A Company that has shown its dark side, in the first of its residential project which it launched in the city, Arborea Luxury Homes should be allowed to further cheat and short-change unsuspecting buyers. It was as a consequence of this poor business attitude shown by the Company, that the RWS and individual apartment owners have filed a petition with the Consumer Commission, Dehra Dun. The case is in hearing and the verdict is awaited.

 While all this is happening, Negi like a loose cannon ball has gone ballistic by giving a threat to Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal, who is the co owner of apartment E – 102.  The brigadier has filed an FIR dated 14 Oct 2013, against the goon with the SSP, Dehra Dun and SO, Rajpur police station. The matter is under investigation with the police. It seems that, with a view to make the threat operative, Negi used a stratagem to confront and provoke the officer through a proxy of his, another Negi, who is his stooge and the gym keeper in Arborea. It was on 17 th Oct 2013 that, when the keeper misbehaved with and used impertinent language for her husband, Mrs Dangwal, 57 yrs of age and a grandmother to a 9 yrs old boy, called him an idiot and slapped him. At which, he hit her back and got into a scuffle with Brig Dangwal, who intervened to protect his wife from any further assault. This matter too was reported to the SSP and the SO, in an FIR on the same day and is also under investigation.

It is extremely unfortunate that, an incident of such a nature has happened, in which a defence services officer and a veteran has been threatened, his wife assaulted and their dignity assailed by a petty goon and a coward who dare raise his hand on a lady, old enough to be his mother. Where are we going as a society and what have we come to? it is time that the veteran community of Dehra Dun and the media condemn this shameful and reprehensible action and exhort the Chief Minister to ensure that, strict and exemplary action is taken against the culprits, who prosper because of political patronage. Otherwise, this could snowball into a huge movement which could shake the government of Uttarakhand.

Brig S D Dangwal

Clean Up The Real Estate Business In Uttarakhand

WHEN THE FENCE EATS THE LAWN - THEN WHO WILL PROTECT IT FROM DESTRUCTION

(REIN IN THE BUILDER MAFIA)

It was recently that, the Garhwal Post had done a story on the Litany of Complaints which the owners of Arborea Luxury Homes have against the builder, Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon. In exercise of their individual rights, some owners as also the Resident Welfare Society of Arborea have approached the Consumer Commission of Dehra Dun to redress their long outstanding grievances related with construction, structural, maintenance, financial and related issues on which the builder has not delivered, short changed the unsuspecting buyer and continues to prevaricate. This has become the practice with most builders in Dehra Dun who are coming up with concrete monstrosities on every swathe of empty space, which has become available either through land use change, outright purchase of residential land or else demolition of existing property to make land available for residential complexes. To make matters more difficult for the people, adversely impact the living environment and create a situation, which will in the future surely spell disaster for those who exercise their choice to live in these multi storied residential complexes; the Mussoorie Dehra Dun Development Authority (MDDA) has approved the construction of six floor level condominiums. This in a seismic zone which is prone to earthquakes caused by a shift in the tectonic plates in the sub Himalayan regions. It seems the government of Uttarakhand has not got wise from the recent disaster that visited the hills in June this year and from which, life and living in the upper reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon regions is slowly limping back to normalcy, at a great cost to the life of people and animals who live here. It is most unfortunate that we live in a State which refuses to learn from its past follies and continues to err to the extent of being perceived as downright stupid and ‘dense as a post’. Then, when natural phenomenon, which bring destruction to life and property occur, the government hides behind the hopeless alibi of attributing the human catastrophe to the forces of nature and the wrath of the Gods.  There could not be a more fatuous explanation that can be given for the incompetency, intransigence to learn from the past and complete lack of accountability of the State government. It is the cliched neta – babu – mafia nexus, which continues to pull wool over the eyes of the Chief Minister and his minions, who are blinded by the lure of accumulating lucre for their political survival and by extension the power which flows from it. Uttarakhand will pay a very heavy price now and in the future for the avarice, which its politicians are consumed with and continue to profit from, without a worry for those who have put them to govern.

It is a thought which has been engaging my mind for quite some time and is that, those who live in residential housing complexes must educate themselves about their rights, individually as well as collectively. The RTI is a very potent instrument for eliciting all such information, which can uncover the manipulations that exist between the builders and the approving authorities and therefore must be used generously. While, it is a given that big sums of money are paid for approving unauthorized constructions within a residential complex, overlook blatant violations or else non implementation of the MDDA regulations, not adhere to the requirement of obtaining valid No Objection Certificates from several departments and organizations and completely disregard the mandatory need of a Completion Certificate to be given to the builder only after he has fully met his obligations with regard to the satisfactory completion of the entire project, which is to the satisfaction of the owners of apartments and their RWA / RWS. The compendium of the MDDA regulations is a well conceived document which has been thoughtfully compiled, but it is the violation of these very regulations and its non implementation, with the tacit approval of the same authority that must ensure its implementation. Is this not the story in our country on almost all matters, where the government and its many appendages function by becoming the hedge which instead of protecting the garden eats into it?

It is for the explicit information of all those who intend to buy apartments in the many housing complexes which are emerging in the city at an amazing speed, to ensure that they do not get entrapped by the tall and pompous claims of the marketing executives and the half truths as mentioned in the publicity brochures churned out by these builders. The reality which emerges later and once the payment for the piece of property has been made, changes the equation, making it completely lop sided, hugely imbalanced and in favour of the builder. It is then that the buyer feels duped and cheated and start his travail of running from pillar to post to get his grievances redressed. He knocks on the doors of the MDDA, Consumer Commission, Civil Courts and the management of the company, which sold him/her the apartment, and expects relief from here; which he may or may not get.

The Consumer Commission and the Consumer Forum are the two authorities, which ultimately instil hope in the hearts and minds of most people who petition these. The builders use a ploy to take Interest Free Maintenance Charges, calculated on square feet basis on the covered / super area, from buyers initially and subsequently wash their hands off to create a corpus from this big sum of money, by wrongly and falsely accounting for it and showing it as having been spent on exigencies beyond the control of the builder. This is one of the things, which Conscient Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon has done and the owners of property in Arborea Luxury Homes, Tarla Nagal, Shastradhara – Mussoorie Bye Pass road along with their RWA have petitioned the Consumer Commission, Dehra Dun to get their money back and into the corpus of the Society. Two more important issues which must be examined and looked into by the respective RWAs, must be the No Objection Certificate (NOC) obtained from the Central Ground Water Board for the use of ground water in the absence of municipal water supply and the commitment of the builder for construction of 15% dwelling units of the total number of apartments in the housing complex, for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) as stipulated in the regulations of the MDDA.

It has come to the comfort of owners of apartments through a Supreme Court judgement and verdict that, builders cannot charge apartment owners for stilt parking and the common spaces that exist in the housing complex are to be transferred to the RWA/RWS. Once the RWA/RWS is formed and the owners have taken possession of their apartments, the builder ceases to have any right over the common spaces. This was published in the Times of India New Delhi / Gurgaon edition, dated 11 Sept 2013. It is rather strange that despite a very unequivocal and precise verdict on a similar case, which was taken up with the Consumer Commission, Mumbai and complete relief given to the petitioner, the builders in Dehra Dun and Uttarakhand continue to do the contrary. The Sales Deeds made and registered with the sub registrar’s office continue to be imbalanced and loaded in favour of the builder/ developer and charges are recovered for stilt parking from owners of apartments.

There continue to be a number of related issues on which the apartment owners feel aggrieved with the builder/developer and fight a long drawn battle in the commissions, courts and quasi government bodies, that draws upon their time, money and energy to little and partial avail. Therefore, it is in the larger and purposeful interest of the people of Dehra Dun and Uttarakhand to come together in a forum which represents the RWAs/RWSs in the city and join hands to break the nexus which exists between the law makers, implementer and breakers, who roam free and with impunity, owing to the power and position they wield in the complex matrix of greed and corruption that prospers in Uttarakhand.

Brigadier S D Dangwal

9410900051

    

Choice Between The Devil And The Deep Sea

Being away in Minneapolis, ever since 10 Jun 2013 on a holiday with our son and nephews, who live here; kept us away from the Indian news channels which keep people abreast with the latest happenings in the country. We missed out real time on the spate of Breaking News, Talk Shows, Debates and News Hour programmes, but did get to watch these online in YouTube or videos. Even by a very economical estimate of the story that were put in the public domain by the premium English news channels, much has happened and is happening in the firmament of Indian society and politics. With the parliament being in its monsoon session and the business of the Houses focussing on the passage and approval of the Food Security and Land Acquisition Bills, the demand of the Opposition from the Prime Minister to make a statement on the floor of the House, in the more than 200 missing files from the Coal Ministry, which are critical to the CBI investigation of the coal scam, the rape of a woman journalist in Mumbai, the charge of rape against Aasaram Bapu and his arrest by the police; are some of these which occupied the electronic space and time of most channels. As if this was not enough to engage the attention and concern of people, the Syria chemical weapons story, its International political ramifications and the American response to the situation, urging the American President to build up a consensus within the Congress and Internationally, to deal with the crisis by a military intervention to degrade the capability and capacity of Bashar Al Assad to use such weapons of mass destruction ever afterwards, is more than what can occupy one’s mind which craves for information about current National and Global happenings . Be that as it may, the one thing which comes forth from the above is the difficult times in which we live and our children are exposed to, when in the formative years of their growth and development. Governance in India has been hijacked by political expediency, wherein public morality has been shown the door to make space for venality and hypocrisy, which mocks and insults the people’s intellect. Political Parties, across the board have cocked a snook at the citizens of the country, by reducing vital matters of National concern into rhetorical slugfests that do not inspire any hope in the people of the country, who continue to remain marginalised on fundamental issues of individual security and human dignity, which must essentially undergird the Government’s commitment to them. While, it can be argued that the right of a political party in a democracy is to reach out to its political constituency with such social welfare schemes as are populous and sustained by the provisions of the Indian Constitution; it can be nobody’s case that this is done when the country is coursing through an economic crisis which negates such an initiative. The fiscal costs of this Bill becoming an Act under the Law, will impose a huge burden on the budget and will create an additional deficit which will require exceptional balancing skills to provide for it, without impinging on other budgeted Heads. It is for this reason that, the President of the Congress Party and the Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), is considered a shrewd political mind who has wisely imbibed the skills of the trade from her mother in law, the late Mrs Indira Gandhi.  There could not have been a better game changer for the Congress, when the country is going into its General Elections in 2014. The Congress will hugely build its election strategy on the largesse of the Food Security Act and Modi bashing, to deflect the country’s attention from the series of scams that have dotted the tenure of UPA II and could puncture a huge hole in its prospects of returning back to political power in 2014. The other major political party, which has the potential to challenge the Congress in the Centre and form a government with its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is not doing itself any good by polarising society with its doggedness to go into the General Elections with a Prime Ministerial candidate who is perceived as being communal. Therefore, while there exists a wonderful opportunity for the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) to go to the people with the promise of a clean and corruption free government, should the NDA be elected to power, it is losing out on this leverage on account of its recalcitrance to be flexible in its choice of their leader in the parliament. However, what has emerged from the sounds of the kettle drums, which are beating on the electronic media, in the verbosity of the spokespersons of most political parties who have their eye on their share of the pie of political power, is a game of one upmanship, blame game and passing the buck. This is not going to serve the genuine interests of the Nation and its people in equal measure, because each of these parties is driven more by a desire for power than a sense of service and are in the ultimate analysis, the same with differently worded manifestos which do not get operational and are an exercise in political subterfuge.The fault in the prevailing circumstances lies more with our System, which does not have an escape valve to break out from the pincer grip of the most evolved form of government – A Democratic Republic.  In our case, unfortunately, this is not working and would require a complete overhaul, surgery and transplant through the instruments and stages of chaos, oligarchy and dictatorship, before finally evolving back into democracy. We as a country need to travel through this journey, before we can finally settle with a System, that best suits our reality, culture, temperament and attitude. It is indeed a very maverick and outrageous line to take, when mulling about the choices that the country has in the given deplorable circumstances of political debaseness and want of an alternate that, makes it a Hobson’s choice.  The burgeoning middle class, which was helped by the growth ushered in by the liberalisation of the Indian economy, must make it their mission to effectively participate in not only a public referendum on the subject of driving the wheels of change, that is inclusive of the class divide that Indian society is riddled with;  but also be the drivers who give leadership to this movement.  In the aftermath of the emergency, a political movement to bring in a change in the government at the Centre was spearheaded by Jayprakash Narayan, but even after 36 years of that happening nothing has changed. And it is my firm belief that, no matter what? Nothing will change either now or else in the future. So, irrespective of all discourses and platitudes which belabour the virtues of democracy elsewhere in the world, we as a country are doomed should we not make a conscious choice to throw in our hat with the devil, than the deep sea. The devil of chaos, oligarchy and dictatorship than the deep sea of democracy. Because, with the devil while we may have a chance to close the circle with meaningful democracy, but without the ability to swim in the absence of the life jacket of economic and social equality, which afflicts Indian society, we are destined to drown and perish. Make your choice now and help build the critical mass, which is similarly inspired to bring about the change we wish to see.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

5339, W 64 Street, Edina, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

 

The Golden Hen

A REVOLUTION IS A CHOICE

 

It was during the release of my Book “Passion for Courage – A Winner’s Creed”, that Lt Gen H B Kala, PVSM, SC, AVSM author of a seminal work on leadership in the army, had ascribed its contents to be cynical. The Book is a compilation of my writings during service and states matters as they were/are, without either air brushing and doing a snow job on the perceptions or else tweaking the facts to give these a subjective interpretation. Neither is the writing judgmental. It simply and forthrightly puts across events and happenings as these occurred in my service career in various ranks and the transgressions, attributed to those who draw authority from the organization, even when the same is not ennobled by principles and military values. When the hedge starts feeding on the lawn, the algorithm perpetuates destruction and results in a veritable disaster, which impinges upon the rights, duties, privileges and interests of all concerned. None comes out better from such happenings and the organizational structure takes an avoidable beating, which insidiously assails its beliefs and culture. That, there were a trail of incidents which involved senior rank officers of the Army and the Armed Forces in venality and financial impropriety and covertly continue to do so, is a testimony to the fact that this is more a matter of an opportunity, when the possibilities of being caught , discovered and punished are remote. Character does not assert its force and influence to prohibit one from acting in an unrighteous manner. This is the reality which obtains in our National scenario, with miniscule exceptions. While this was/is said of the Forces, where the situation is comparatively far better than what exists in the civil environment; and its many functional departments is woeful and pathetic, to say the least. Thus, the palpable contempt for the acceptable standards of morality that, occupy space in our professional, personal and social dealings. Pessimism is a natural consequence of such feelings and cynicism does eke out an existence for itself.

It is in keeping with the same assumption regarding the surmise and events, which continue to delineate, define and shape the course that the country is taking, which are extremely  appalling and disconcerting. Governance, what to talk of it being good? Has become a big liability for those who are in power at the helm, whether in the States or else the Center. Today, Democracy has become our Constitutional fault line, which is working towards the detriment of sustaining India as a Nation State. Political equality, in the absence of social and economic equality has become our albatross, which is slowly but surely taking the country towards a vortex of doom and disaster. The system of government, which we have adopted and lived through with 65 years of our young democracy, is much too evolved and several notches higher than what we are deserving of.  India as a democratic republic is not delivering and working in the manner it ought to. When children die by falling into open boreholes, get poisoned by taking food prepared in schools under government schemes, are malnourished, people die because of potholes on roads, get electrocuted owing to poor construction and drainage on city roads, human life is lost owing to wanton plunder of natural resources that predisposes a catastrophe, sub standard infrastructure causes loss of property and life and a long list of  an apathetic attitude towards the people’s needs and rights; then accountability rests with the government and non other. This and worse has been the state of affairs, which has engulfed the country, ever since corruption got institutionalized and politics criminalized.

The country has slowly but surely become bereft of character, wherein venality is all pervasive and it is more a matter of an exception than a rule, to find righteousness in any walk of public life. The political class and the bureaucracy have prospered in a quagmire of amorality and its nexus with the corporate community has siphoned public money and resources to its exclusive benefit and advantage. Today, we stand divided by religion, caste and class, which has been manipulated in a diabolical game of vote bank politics. The presumption, which many have about India succumbing to a multi faceted implosion that is embedded in its Democratic Republic Government, has a very sanguine possibility to be proved correct. Ours could very well be the case of the “Golden Hen, Which Laid the Golden Egg”. We will destroy the concept of India by subscribing to the nobility of democracy. While other Nations are moving from authoritarianism towards democracy, we have so misused and abused our democracy through our elected representatives that, the converse may well be the preferred choice for India. No more should the people of India tolerate the insensitivity and complete absence of empathy in its elected representatives and the cringing bureaucracy, which provides the edifice to the government. The people must weigh the option of collapsing under the burden of democracy or else nurturing a hope of living in a country , which gives it good governance, even if it is outside the framework of the hallowed panacea of democracy.  

The time has come for the country and its people to come together and rise against the reprehensible ploy of those who are in political power. A revolution could well be the choice that must get exercised, for INDIA to survive.

Brigadier  (retd) S D Dangwal

5339 W 64^th Street

Edina, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439

Those NDA Days

THE BRILLIANCE OF SMS AND GD

To start off with, we had with us Surendra Mohan Singh Rathore of Sainik School Kunjpura, Karnal in India Squadron. The innate sense of humour, its timing, sense of rhyme and poetry and a vast collection of comic incidents involving his teachers, which he brought with him from school had in it the makings of an accomplished stand up comedian; much before the hackneyed artists in the dime a dozen shows, which one gets to see on the sponsored pay channels of Indian TV. At a time when we as first termers were finding our bearings and looking as lost as one can be, in the enormity of the NDA and its labyrinthine corridors; SMS, as he had been christened by us all, was busy studying the mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of seniors, appointments, instructors, teachers and officers in an effort to imbibe their gait, speech, accent, grammar, delivery, body language, expressions and humour in the officiousness of authority, as was wont to be their charge. When, the spirits were low and the body exhausted from physical extremes such as we had never experienced, and the strains of ‘IF’ were our sole hope of “even this shall pass”, SMS used to draw upon his huge talent and facility to make light of almost everything. The drudgery and pain of the moment used to be trashed in the humour produced by him. A hearty burst of laughter or else a quiet chortle on our lips when in the presence of officialdom, was an ideal rejuvenator which restored sanity in our beings amidst a barmy assortment of organizational hierarchy. Sandesh Kumar Prashar, an alumnus of St George’s College Mussoorie, whose father Lt Col Prithvi Chand, MVC is more popularly known in the annals of military history as the saviour of Ladhak, was our course senior. He had the unique ability to speak without opening his mouth and words slipped from between one side of his lips, in a mystery of human architecture and wonder of bio mechanics. Sandy is a dear friend and this is meant to be in the spirit of camaraderie, than fun at his cost. No hard feelings, brother. SMS was always rubbing Sandy on his uniqueness and caricaturing him in his actions and we all then being wet behind the ears, made the former an object of our devious entertainment.

The NDA was then a destination of posting for one of its most exciting and well remembered Deputy Commandant, Colonel Hari Kishan Kumar Shukla of the Kumaon Regiment. He along with his wife were the most visible faces to be seen snooping around Squadrons after lights out. For those cadets who had something going on for them in the privacy of their cabins with the venetian blinds pulled down and closed, the sudden appearance of HKK Shukla would jolt them out of their skins and jump into spontaneous attention. In a brief period of his having been around in the NDA, HKK had carved a reputation for himself as a Mr ‘X’. A movie character played with great élan by the doyen of Hindi cinema, Ashok Kumar Ganguly. One who could appear anytime in the most improbable of places to pounce upon those who transgressed rules. HKK and his wife were more of nocturnal people who roamed the avenues, boulevards and esplanades of NDA in the olive green coloured Chevrolet Staff Car, which was driven by an overtime paid civilian driver. Hailing from the ancient culture of Awadhi lifestyle, HKK and his wife were very fond of chewing on tobacco flavoured pan and betel nut, the juice from which often trickled down their chin whenever they attempted to speak. Quite reminiscent of the manner in which ‘Lucknavi Nawabs’ of yester years looked and spoke when watching nautch girls doing a seductive mujra. It was in those days of our stay here that another blessing visited India Squadron, in the person of Gagan Deep Bakshi,who was transferred from Charlie to India Squadron. GD as we all know him from those days is another talented and gifted person, who complemented SMS in their joint ability to mimic and caricature people.

SMS and GD had made it their one point agenda to lampoon HKK, whenever an opportunity to do so presented itself. The campfires and end of term socials were occasions when the two would combine their talents to have fun at the Deputy Commandant’s cost. It was no surprise that the audience would then be tickled and entertained as never before and the venue would often witness a roar of laughter coming from the cadets, officers and their wives. This phenomenon had become so commonplace that, the Academy authorities had to resort to passing a gag order on SMS and GD from any further Lampooning of HKK. But the two, incorrigible as they were then, continued to devise and manufacture opportunities to take on HKK and publicly snicker at him, under the subterfuge of entertainment. The famous parody of our times in the NDA, which Chortled HKK was written and sung by this duo and it ran thus – “Koi Bhi D Day Hota Nahin Hai Poora, Jab Tak Na Dekha Deputy Ka Chhera”.

It was during the time of Rear Admiral RK Batra as Commandant, that the NDA Day was to be celebrated among other things, with a fancy dress item presented by cadets in the main entrance to the revered SUDAN BLOCK. No one knew what was to happen at the fateful evening and fancy dress presentations were made in the alphabetical order of Squadrons. Mediocrity soon gave way to brilliance when it was the turn of India Squadron, to hold centre stage. Nothing happened for a while and the SCC and CSM anxiously looked around for the dramatis personae to arrive. But still there was no sign of anyone in the vicinity, till the lone yellow and black coloured taxi which used to be parked in the GOLE market was spotted approaching the venue from the NTT short cut road. It was driven by Pillai, its owner and making way for it to pull over at the steps of the SUDAN BLOCK was a smartly dressed GD in Walking Out, shouting aloud “Make Way”. None knew who was inside the car and what the matter was. Then the door was opened by GD and SMS emerged from it dressed in a white lungi, OG shirt with the badges of rank of a Colonel and full accoutrements including the Sam Browne belt of those days and a Peaked Cap with the distinctive red band around it. The feet were in slippers and a baton was tucked under his left armpit. Over his shoulders was slung an NDA issue satchel and a barber’s sling bag, with all its tools inside. The NDA satchel had a measuring tape and a pair of tailors scissors inside. SMS’ hair, as was visible under the Cap was suitably whitened to give him the resemblance of HKK and a trickle of pan juice adorned his mouth and chin. The Academy broke out into a roar of laughter and this became SMS’ cue to enact the character of HKK, complete with expletives, bullshit, gesticulations and finger pointing. At some he would dig into his bag to recover the barber’s scissors and chop a lock here and a curl there, while at others he would open his measuring tape to measure the bottom width of their mufti and walking out trousers. And doing so, he climbed up the stairs to confront HKK. The piece de resistance of this play acting was when SMS bent down to measure HKK’s trouser bottoms and said that since these were not regulation pattern 18” wide, these would have to be chopped off with the scissors that he was wielding. The Academy was bursting at its seams, the ladies were falling over each other in a hysteria of laughter and HKK though red faced with embarrassment was shaking hands with SMS for his brilliant lampoon act. Mrs Batra, the Commandant’s wife couldn’t help but hand over the best prize to SMS, who had become the bête noire of HKK.

SMS and GD continued to shock and lampoon seniors and officers even while they were in the IMA, Dehra Dun. GD, when he had just joined the IMA as a fresher in the third term, impersonated the Duty Officer and got the BCA of Charlie Battalion front rolling, in front of Imphal Company barracks. These two did what most cannot even dream of, but survived  owing to their daring and faith in their expertise, which defies odds even when these were loaded against them. This is what made them good and gifted officers who lived their careers with forthrightness and gumption. When the history of India Squadron is written, the names of SMS and GD will always have a place for themselves in its pages, adjacent to NJC Nair; another hero who immortalised the credo of the NDA ‘SERVICE BEFORE SELF’.

 Brigadier Sarvesh Dangwal

7554/ 39 / India Sqn