Saving Navy
from rough seas
By Pritam
Bhullar
"THE Indian Ocean is the key to the
seven seas; whoever controls it dominates Asia and, in
the 21st century, the worlds destiny will be
decided on its waters", said the famous naval
strategist Alfred Mahan. To exercise any control over the
Indian Ocean, it is imperative to retain a firm naval
presence in the region and for this, we need an effective
carrier arm.
Now think of the crucial
role played by INS Vikrant in the 1971 war. In which, it
pounded the installations in erstwhile East Pakistan and
blocked the adversial coast-line single-handed in the Bay
of Bengal to prevent the enemy from escaping by sea.
Of our two aircraft
carriers Vikrant and Viraat the former was
decommissioned in January 1997 and the latter is being
refurbished. This will leave the Navy without any carrier
for about two years. A situation that cannot be accepted,
especially when the Pakistans French-built Agosta
90-B submarines begin prowling the sea-lanes of the
Indian Ocean and peninsular waters of the subcontinent.
Despite the alarming
situation that the Navy has been landed into, we have
been dragging our feet to fill the perilous carrier void
in our Navy. The government at the Centre should go full
steam ahead with the construction of an aircraft carrier
at the Cochin shipyard as top priority.
Besides, it is time New
Delhi acquired the Russian carrier "Gorshkov"
on which it has been tarrying for nearly a decade now.
Though the ship will cost about $ 2 billion after it is
fitted with the aircraft, the Navy seems to have no other
option but to acquire it.
Little-known
facilities
At times ex-servicemen
coming to the Command Hospital Chandimandir from far off
cannot be seen by the specialists concerned and admitted
to the hospital the same day. To help them, a guest-house
has been started in the hospital. Here they can stay up
to two days free of cost.
Another facility
extended to the outstation patients is a bus that runs
for them from the Command Hospital to the railway
station. Not only that, they are also provided with a
packed meal for their journey. This is to obviate any
chances of the patients being duped by the undesirable
elements. Several cases of duping of militarymen,
including officers by administering drugs have already
been reported.
On the death of an
ex-serviceman or his dependant in hospital, a funeral van
is provided to take the dead body to the cremation
ground. The funeral van facility is also available for
the ex-servicemen and their families, residing in
Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, who die at their
homes. For this, a request has to be made to the Command
Hospital or the Station Headquarters Chandimandir. This
service is free of cost and charges for the van are paid
out of welfare funds.
Soldiers
and religion
By putting his hand on
the holy book at the attestation parade, a recruit
pledges his allegiance and loyalty to the country, his
unit and his superiors. This oath-taking ceremony on
completion of his training, changes his status from a
recruit to a sepoy. From this day whenever he faces a
challenging task during his service, he is reminded of
his sacred pledge.
The religion is given
great importance not only in the Indian Army but also in
all armies of the world. When correctly channelised, the
religious fervour of the troops can become a rallying
factor in war and for the national cause.
Every unit in the Army
has its own temple and or gurdwara, depending on its
class composition, where the soldiers pay obeisance on
Sundays, holidays and on festivals and raising days. No
wonder then, the war cries of units which goad the
soldiers to launch an assault on the enemy in the face of
the raining bullets are all religion based.
Spiritual training is
considered to be an important motivating factor for the
jawans. That is why it finds a mention in the annual
training instructions of units and formations. It was
their motivation that made 21 soldiers fight till the
last against a few thousand tribals at Saragarhi in
September 1897; to quote only one of the many examples of
unmatched bravery.
In April, when the
country was celebrating the tercentenary of the Khalsa at
Anandpur Sahib, the Army organised a tented camp for over
10,000 devotees, including the Army jawans. Apart from
this, the bands of the Sikh and Sikh Light Infantry
regiments also joined in the celebrations.
Renal
treatment
Most of the
ex-servicemen and their families do not have the
wherewithal to afford expensive treatment in civil
hospitals, unless ther disease is covered under the Army
Group Insurance Fund (AGIF). Take for example, renal
disorder, each dialysis costs Rs 1200 in civil hospitals.
To offset this
disadvantage, a dialysis centre, funded by the AGIF, was
started at the Command Hospital Chandimandir for
ex-servicemen and their families in December 1997.
Subsequently, facilities for dialysis were also extended
to the serving personnel and their families.
The centre that provides
both haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis facilities has
two machines at present. There is a plan to expand the
centre by procuring three more dialysis machines.
Besides, kidney transplant facility will also be provided
at the centre in a year or so.
The dialysis centre has
provided treatment to 417 patients in 1998. And in March
last, 68 patients had undergone this treatment. On an
average, three to four patients get haemodialysis every
day.
The ex-servicemen and
their spouses who are members of the Medical Benefit
Scheme (MBS) of the AGIF are given this treatment free of
cost, while the non-members have to pay about Rs 400 for
each dialysis. Incidentally, the membership of the MBS
which was closed on June 30, 1994 was re-opened in 1995.
To avail themselves of the benefits of this scheme, the
ex-servicemen who have not yet become its members, should
opt for it now.
This
feature was published on May 2, 1999
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