The Hindu : War widows decry discrimination

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 03, 2004

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National

War widows decry discrimination

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 2 .Are soldiers who die fighting an external enemy, terrorist or militant more heroic than those who lose their lives in a `fidayeen attack' while guarding a post?

It appears so. The widow of a soldier killed on the border in firing or while ambushing militants gets Rs 7.5 lakhs.

But the widow of a soldier killed in fidayeen attack gets only Rs 5 lakhs.

Similarly, death on the heights of Kargil earns a greater compensation than while warding off a terrorist attack on innocent lives on the plains of Jammu.

These are not the only discriminations that war widows face. Even at the State level, the Bihar Government pays more monetary relief to the widow of a soldier who dies defending the country's border than the government of Karnataka or Maharashtra.

Raising this issue on behalf of the 3.72 lakh war widows in the country, representatives from the War Widow Association today demanded a uniform ex-gratia for all those widowed in an official war, low-intensity fighting or militant operation.

``The Armed Forces has recommended a uniform compensation structure. But, since the issue is not a priority, the proposal is gathering dust and in the meantime our men continue to die leaving widows with discriminatory ex-gratia compensation,'' said Mohini Giri, chairperson of the Association.

Widows of those killed in `Operation Vijay' at Kargil in 1999 got a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs. After Kargil, the Army has lost more than 2,000 men in `Operation Parakrama' and `Operation Rakshak'.

But their widows may or may not get Rs 10 lakhs. Pointing out the irony of the timing of death changing the value of the compensation, Ms. Giri wondered if the implication was that the trauma of these widows and their economic needs were different.

The association demanded the setting up of a Commission for ex-servicemen that could be a bank of disciplined human resource. It wanted the Sainik Boards to be strengthened by appointing Class-I women officers as Welfare Officers, since they retired after 15 years of service and had the potential to push forward welfare schemes.

There were over 18 lakh ex-servicemen in the country as on June 2003. ``The Sainik Boards are not just institutions. They are the symbols of the nation's recognition of the service and commitment that a soldier has given,'' Ms. Giri said.

As of today, there was a shortfall of 119 officers on these boards.

Even worse was the discrimination against widows who remarried before January 1, 1996 and are not entitled to the Special Family Pension, except when they married their brothers-in-law according to tradition.

Many women were in their twenties when they were widowed in the 1971 war and needed support and companionship.

The Government appeared to be insensitive to the emotional and physical needs of these women, Ms. Giri said.

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