Ram Kishan Grewal, a 70-year old retired serviceman hailing from Harayana, committed suicide on Tuesday in the Country’s capital. It was a protest against the problems of the OROP (One Rank One Pension) scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The scheme entitles the same amount of pension to the officers of the same rank, who have the same length of service period. It was introduced in September 2015 after much debate and delay. But the veterans are still not happy with the operations and the pay out procedure with complaints pouring in from all places. Grewal was one of the protesters from the Harayana front. He resided in the Bamla village in Bhiwani and retired from Defence Security Corps in September 2004 after working there for 24 years. Before that, he had worked for 6 years at the 105 Infantry Battalion of Territorial Army.
Grewal with two other of his allies had gone to Delhi on Monday, 31st October, to give his petition to the Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar. The ex-serviceman had been apparently receiving 3,000 rupees less of the actual figure (Rs. 25,000 instead of Rs. 28,000). Even after his repeated requests, he wasn’t allowed to meet the minister. Following this, he and his companions went to Jantar Mantar to regroup and think about their next step. Around 1:00 P.M., he asked one of them to bring food while he went for a walk. It was then that he consumed 3 pills of of a pesticide used in rice, and chose the path of suicide. “They (the ministry) did not let us enter. We requested that we will not take much time as we just need to give an application but we were not heard. No one was ready to listen which upset Grewal. To get OROP cleared was his mission. Despite the government implementing it, none of us could get any benefit. He always said that it was our right. He fought for us soldiers. When the government refused to listen, he had no choice but to kill himself,” said Jagdish Rai, the friend who had traveled with Grewal.
Although the Modi government has been applauded on bringing the 43 year old problem to a speedy solution in the form of OROP, there are still a few loose ends that need to be tied up. Many veterans are insisting on the same problem about receiving lesser pension that the correct calculated amount as per their right. With over 5,500 crore rupees disbursed for the initiative and over 19 lakh ex-soldiers and their families being catered to, there is still a long way to go as this is only two of the four installments of the complete plan being implemented. Manohar Parrikar said in a meet on Thursday at Budgam in Jammu & Kashmir that the problems of ex-servicemen still to get revised pensions under OROP due to “some technical difficulty or documentation problems” will be resolved in the coming two months.
The government is now obligated to find faster solutions to such problems, especially if they are escalating to people taking their lives because of it. “I am sacrificing my life for my country, my motherland and my country’s brave soldiers,” Ram Kishan Grewal wrote in the suicide note penned right below the letter before he called his son and took the pills. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and five sons.
