Army unattractive for Youth
That is the headline in today’s Times of India. Guess what? How do you get today’s youth interested in the Army? Is it because of patriotism towards one’s motherland? How patriotic are our politicians? Would love to see even one of them join the army. But I am digressing. The whole point of this post is to highlight the fact that the Armed Forces in India just do not et paid well as compared to the civil services. You know why – the bureaucrats in cahoots with the politicians are the guys who decide the paycheck for the armed forces. You have the 6th Pay Commission handing out hefty increments to all the civil services – you have the Maharashtra State Government (which by the way is perpetually broke) giving its bureaucrats a hefty pay hike (don’t know where the money will come from – more taxes maybe). In contrast you have the faujis returning their medals of honor to the President in protest against the step motherly treatment given by the 6th Pay Commission. Is that not a sorry sigh...