Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today said war veterans complain of not getting response to their conerns from governments but his regime is committed to ensuring that they get due respect and recognition.
He kept forth
his thoughts during a panel discussion at the first military literature festival here and said his government has initiated a series of measures for the welfare of defence personnel and ex-servicemen.
"The Indian Army continues to boast of the best quality but the problem is that the defence personnel are no longer getting their due respect from the political establishment and the civil administration.
"War veterans and ex-servicemen complain that they do not get any respect or response from the government to any of their concerns," he lamented, adding that his government has initiated several steps to correct the situation.
Asked if there was a "waning interest" among the youth towards the Army as a career choice, Singh, himself an ex- soldier, rejected the suggestion.
To another query from an army officer, the chief minister disclosed that he would soon be writing a "comprehensive book" on India's 1971 war against Pakistan, followed by another one on Indian military's role in Sri Lanka.
The session saw experts Thomas Fraser, Alan Jefferys, Lt Gen T S Shergill and Ed Haynes participating in what turned out to be an open discussion on a variety of issues relating to war and peace across the world.
Earlier during a discussion on the 'First Kashmir War 1947-48', the chief minister said India made no military or territorial gains in 1965.
"No heavies were fired at all by the Indian Army during the battle, and even the field guns, along with ammunition, ran out," he said, adding the situation was pathetic and had the war continued for another week "we would have ended up using stones to fight."
Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore said the military literature festival will prove to be a powerful platform, especially for the younger generations, to know and learn about the country's rich and glorious military legacy.
He said the youth will also get inspiration from this event, which commenced today, to join the armed forces.
A large number of leading military leaders, veterans, thinkers, scholars, writers, journalists, war correspondents, historians, poets, artists, composers, came together to share their experiences during the event.
The Governor also congratulated the Chief Minister for staging the festival, which has "showcased the indomitable spirit of Punjabis and their unparalleled contribution to India's freedom struggle".
Badnore honoured Captain Bana Singh, Subedar Joginder Yadav and Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar -- the three recipients of Paramvir Chakra, country's highest gallantry award.
Punjab's Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the state had been proudly known as the "sword arm" of India.
"The state has the finest and the most efficient soldiers and veterans, who have made us proud with their exceptional acumen and expertise in warfare while defending the country from internal as well external aggression," he added.
Lt. General Surinder Singh, the General Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Command said going forward the festival would be further upgraded on a large scale to elicit maximum participation of the military academia and experts from across the country to make civilians aware of the Indian military's glorious past, besides keeping them updated on the various ongoing military activities.
He said it was the need of the hour to educate people about the defence preparedness of the country.
During the event, several war veterans shared their experiences of the battlefield as more than a thousand students from Mohali, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Rupnagar participated in the 'Children's Samvadh' during the event.
Captain Bana Singh informed the students that till now 21 soldiers of the armed forces have been honoured with the coveted gallantry award of Paramveer Chakra.
Of these, 14 soldiers were bestowed the award posthumously while seven were presented to war survivors, of whom only three were alive, he said.
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