The recent gag placed by the Govt on the media coverage of OROP protest by veterans at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi has not helped arrest the further growth of the protest in terms of support. Clearly, this development was never expected. Perhaps, it was expected that this community is not well formed and united, and it will be difficult for them to sustain this movement. The results have been otherwise. Veteran power is being demonstrated across India, having the potential to become the largest yet peaceful, non-violent movement in the post Mahatma Gandhi period. What has caused this is not a one off incident, and certainly not OROP alone. It is a feeling of neglect that this community had carried for years but without a vent, without a channel to express it out. There are 5 main points where the successive governments have erred in the manner the veterans have been dealt with: - 1. The Veterans have not been given the Respect they Deserve - Anyone who has served for the country for more than 15 years, has undergone extreme weather and strenuous working conditions that are beyond imagination. These veterans have sacrificed a normal civilian life with basic comforts and denied stability to their families. And most importantly, they have been directly and indirectly involved as part of a bigger machinery to ensure that our borders remain secure at all times. Such respect does not come from matters like OROP alone. It comes from:- • Creating a system to ensure they are resettled in the deserving positions and roles. • Creating awareness and respect in the citizens through media and planning events. • Creating a more robust and interactive system than what is available to make them feel cared for. 2. The Governments have not realized the potential in the Veterans towards Nation Building - The veterans retire with what could be the biggest assets for this Nation of opportunist Babus and greedy Politicians - the desire to serve the nation, the immense exposure to the Indian geography and diaspora and vast experience of handling men and machines in a disciplined environment. Veterans are exceptionally skilled people, from physical training instructors, to technical hands-on specialists in so many fields, with added advantage of handling large projects as part of a larger force. How could any government miss that out, unless they were not looking this side at all? 3. The Veterans are looked upon as a Has-been community, with No Comparable Support Structure akin the Serving Armed Forces Personnel - The awe and glamour associated with the Armed Forces is immediately severed upon retirement. The lot which was responsible for winning battles just a few years ago are consigned to their fate and forgotten. They are expected to re-invent themselves into their civilian molds and relace the unflinching comradrie and trust generated within their units with the unreliable social groups around them. No other country with a large army and a legacy to carry does that. Unfortunately, this syndrome is present even in the Armed Forces, with the senior serving officers not realizing that they would soon be part of this fraternity. The fact that there is an ineffective Directorate of Resettlement and a Contributory Health Scheme with no proven benefits only reaffirms this point. 4. Veterans have been Grossly Underestimated - Since Independence, the veterans had been following the laid down charters for their welfare as determined by the Governments, being law abiding and having been habituated to follow orders, more so when their affairs were being handled by the service chiefs and the MOD (the set up they were familiar with). But with the eroding importance and corresponding lowering hierarchy of the Armed Forces Officers as compared to the other government officials, the veteran welfare was discarded and even considered as an opportunity by the corrupt and the indifferent lot (both in the Forces and the Govt). They have been taken for granted and tossed around by successive Govts over many issues, one of the being OROP. What everyone disregarded was the fact that these veterans are made of a strong moral and mental fiber and if allowed to get into a formation , can regroup to be a potent force. 5. Allowing everyone else but the Veterans to have in say in the affairs of the Veterans - Bureaucrats, Central and State machinery and politicians, all want to have their say in policy matters pertaining to veterans. The reward for the victory of 1971 for the Armed Forces of India was a drop in pension percentages from 70% to 50 with a corresponding increase for civilian government employees from 30% to 50. Then was the snafus created by the NFU. The administration of the Veterans by the Serving is an equally regressive step which is detrimental to Veteran Welfare. The Ex-servicmen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) , Directorate General Resettlement(DGR) and Kendriya Sainik Board (KSB) are attached offices of Dept of Ex-Servivemen Welfare (DoESW), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and function under the Chief of Staff Committee (COSC) through AG and DGDC&W in Army HQ. But naturally, the staff officers in these departments would tend to manage these non-critical offshoots in perfunctory manner as they do not affect them directly. To sum the above, it is not the greed for a few thousand Rupees that is making the veterans spread all over India protest against OROP. OROP was not the core reason of all the ex-servicemen seeking unity of effort - it is actually a Tipping Point of years of protest. For the discerning, it would not have been difficult to analyse this, however the veteran community was never considered important enough for such analysis to be submitted in the corridors of power. But maybe now, even they need to take note before it is late. Because, the veterans have been badly let down by those whom they trusted their lives with. I am forced to borrow a quote from an American website (they still do not have an appreciation made public for veterans in India) which states: "The sanctity of our battlefields, monuments, and veterans institutions is of utmost importance to preserve military history and pay respect to those who fought."