J R Aryan
Since the creation of life on our planet by the Almighty, the creator of the universe, He made the life of every living being to advance with time to attain phases of age growth from birth to death. A human being’s life has thus 4 to 5 spans from his birth to his last breath and these are known as the infancy, childhood, boyhood, youth and oldage or Hoary. Of these spans the first and the last i.e infancy or childhood and the oldage or advanced age are most delicate sensitive and crucial. A lot of care and attention is required by the caretakers for these two lots. A child is the focus of attention of everyone in home for his safety, well-being and maintenance. Similarly an aged member quite advanced in years say beyond sixties also needs attention and extra care because of the wear and tear of his limbs and body parts and other senses on getting worn out. Having passed through the various phases of life he reacts more towards any degree of inattention towards him by his caretakers. So he is more sensitive and reactionary for his proper care and look-after. The Govts do have some special amenities and facilities for the senior citizens under some special provisions and laws. Even on humanitarian grounds the people worn out by the pangs of oldage should be given proper attention by their younger generation the same way as the younger generation would have been taken care of in their boyhood and childhood by this old folk as their parents or grand parents.
A man and a woman right from their young age have to do something, perform some duty to eke out a living. Some do labour, some business, some run factories, some are industrialist and some join Govt service as per their qualification, tastes, conditions and available opportunities.
Those who join Govt services they impart or give 30 to 40 years of their life span in Govt services. This span of their life is most valuable, important and worth its proper utilization for offering good service for better results in any organization whereunder the work. Thus the Govt servants are like the family members of the Govt organization where they work or discharge their duties with dedication, honest, sincerity and enthusiasm.
A Govt servant in any capacity from a peon i.e 4th class employee to HOD, a bureaucrat, and MLA, MP to Minister or PM does not emoluments i.e pay or salary from the Govt exchequer for his/her nattire of duty or job for his service period. When he/she renders his service in a Deptt of the Govt for decades upto the age of 58 or 60 years where after the Govt feels him/her almost age-torn and unable to continue with the same spell and energy with which he had been working earlier during his youth, he is given the retirement. Also for his/her livelihood during the remaining aged span or the fag end of his life with his face writ large with wrinkles, and body with infirmity and weakness, the Govt under moral and humanitarian obligation as caretaker of his last surviving part of his life provides him monthly pension to enable him/her eke out his living and this has been there from times immemorial which indeed is a very positive and quite genuine rule or policy and during the present time when in our society all our ideals and values under the blind race for so called modernization have received a set-back and our cultural heritage is diminishing because of hi-fi life and westernization where aged and old people are an uncared-for material to be in the dust bin, it becomes quite imperative and very essential for the Govt to take utmost care of this forgotten lot of human society-the senior citizens by providing them the necessary requirements till they depart, the same way as it is in western countries whom we try to imitate but not in true sense and manner.
It is quite shocking that some stalwarts sitting in the power echelons who opine entertain, maintain or believe the theory or ideology that pensioners are like the parasites and an unnecessary burdens on the Govt exchequer are really the enemies of the humanitarian values and true social justice which they shall come to realize when the time shall make them feel the grip of the old age. However rich they may be, millionaires or multimillionaires, they shall be undone unless and until there is some one to look after them, to treat them, to serve them and make them feel that they are a part of the family, society and have been a part of the Govt and not to be ignored altogether. Time is a great master. It keeps going, it never stops, nor hops. It never retreats, nor looks back, it moves and moves. Today’s child will be father some day and may become a grandfather with time on some other day but a grandfather can’t get back his childhood.
The writer has a request for our Finance Minister who too being almost a senior citizens is hoped to give a consideration to it. Why have the pensioners not been given the arrears in one installment and why have they been made to wait for 5 years ?
Some of them may even find their place in a grave or pyre by the time their last installment becomes due. When the MLAs, MLCs, Ministers have been awarded a lump sum of the arrears who not the employees and the age-beaten pensioners? Is it not a disparity ?
The demand of the pensioners that pension be fixed with the formula of equal pension for equal rank as is applicable to the Army personnel, is quite genuine and entertainable. How strange that a lecturer, doctor, KAS Officer or IAS Officer who would have retired in 2005 or just before the 6th pay commission came into force, gets not even one half of the pension what his counterpart of the same rank after his retirement, Just after the 6th pay commission in 2006, gets. Both have retired in the same cadre and are facing the same tough time of inflation and dearness to eke out a living after retirement in these hard times. No doubt, they had different pay scales when in service as per the degree of inflation varying during their that span of service, but at present both are sailing on the same level of market rates and both having retired in the same cadre with same nature of duty, but one is having better pension than that of the other goes to create disparity or step-motherly treatment for one section.
It is worthwhile to mention that being more prone to frequent health disorders due to advanced age the pensioners need extra health care and as such more medical allowance compared to others, but they are being given Rs 300/- per month as medical allowance while legislators have Rs 1000/- per month as medical allowance, despite many other facilities. It is really a very bitter prick to the pensioners and requires to be rectified and redressed.
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