A reassuring and timely move

Unfortunately, the critics of the proposal have not taken into consideration a variety of factors and the changing socio-economic conditions in the country and within the armed forces. Army has become a second class profession because little or nothing has been done to improve the service conditions. Those who feel that the Armed Forces would lose its youthful profile with the increase in the retirement age, are perhaps not aware that the quality of physical fitness and general health of even a common citizen has changed for the better. There should be no doubt about the job related physical and mental robustness of an officer who leads a disciplined life and is subjected to regular training courses.

Since the Ministry of Home Affairs had declined to accept lateral induction of officers in the central police organisations, the present proposal is timely. Resultant short time stagnation can be partially looked after by the Directorate General of Resettlement, whose charter of duties can be amended to include placement of desirous superseded officers.

The author 8211; who served in the Cabinet Secretariat, is now settled in SAS Nagar