Supreme Commander Kalam honours defence legends

A man who never bothered about money and viewed its conspicuous waste as a military tactic was today the recipient of a cheque amounting to Rs 1.16 crore in back wages.

Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt handed over the cheque to the legendary Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw in Wellington, where he is convalescing in the Military Hospital. Proving that even at 93, he was all there, Manekshaw asked Dutt just one question: "How much more tax will I have to pay?"

Another cheque for roughly the same amount is likely to be given to the Marshal of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh.

The move to pay India's top soldiers was the result of an intervention by President A P J Abdul Kalam, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, which caused a flurry in the UPA government's ranks. Kalam, sources said, spoke directly to the Prime Minister about the 'neglect of military heroes' after meeting Manekshaw.

Though the proposal was accepted immediately, the file was returned by the President with the noting that the money must be given to these officers with retrospective effect. It took the Ministry of Defence less than 48 hours to act on this.

The President is reported to have later invited Arjan Singh and his wife Teji for a special dinner at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Singh is the only former Air Force chief to get this honour.

The package entitles them to a pay scale equivalent to that of any chief of the three armed forces plus a special pay. Besides, they would also be entitled to residential accommodation or house rent allowance.