A raw deal for men in uniform

Praveen Swami

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The Sixth Central Pay Commission recommendations devalue the security forces. Some of them, the personnel claim, are outright insulting.

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Back in October 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid out perhaps the most lucid exposition, ever made by a politician, of the importance of internal security. “Our economic programmes and development,” he explained, “are wholly contingent upon upholding the rule of law in the country. The police thus have a very vital role to play in the development of the nation.”

But less than three years on, all three organisations responsible for security —the police, paramilitary forces and the military — are seething. The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Sixth Central Pay Commission report has infuriated women and men in uniform.

One part of the problem is a new grade-pay system, which in effect increases the disparities between the Indian Administrative Service and a security-focussed cadre like the Indian Police Service. While stating that it wished to retain the edge the IAS has by tradition enjoyed — some two years over the IPS, for example — the CPC has ended up significantly enhancing it.