MP Sachin Pilot becomes Lieutenant with Territorial Army

(Will upload the pics shortly)

 

Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot picked up his rank of Lieutenant with the Territorial Army on Thursday and became one of the few politicians in the country who have 

experience the pride of soldiering. 

Unlike the other celebrity joinees of the TA who become only honorary member, the 35-year-old Member of Parliament from Dausa constituency in Rajasthan will join the ranks of politicians like KP Singh Deo and Manvendra Singh, who became regular officers in the TA. Pilot was given his rank on Thursday at a ceremony at South Block by his mother Rama Pilot and the Army Chief General Bikram Singh. Pilot had to prove his mantle before joining the force as he cleared the preliminary examination and Service Selection Board (SSB). 

 A beaming Lieutenant Sachin Pilot gave a brisk salute to the Army Chief before interacting with the media. "The decision to join army is for my personal satisfaction. My father was a fighter pilot and my grandfather was with the Indian Army. So I wanted to have a permanent link with the armed forces," Pilot told the hall packed of media persons.

Exuding confidence of a soldier and with a maturity of a politician, Pilot also deftly handled the question about conscription or enrollment in the Army shall be made compulsory to meet the shortage of officers faced by the Army.  “It is an individual’s choice. People should also look at the Army as a way of contributing to the country. In this we will not have any shortfall of officers,” Pilot added.

It was the brain child of Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju to attract young politicians to join TA. He, in fact, also organized a presentation for young Parliamentarians in the South Block some two years ago. Recently a group of these young guns have been seen going to witness various wargames in the border areas.

As part of his duties with the TA, Pilot will undergo seven months of rigorous training at Deolali and Indian Militiary Academy. Annually he will be reporting to his 124 infantry battalion Sikh regiment for 36 days unlike two months as the unit is raised on urban concept. Pilot's duty hours will be on the weekends and out of these 36 days, 14 days will be in a camp and rest 22 days will be parade for four hours every day.  

While history of US, UK and Canada has examples of politicians and their kith and kin serving in the armed forces and laying down their lives in war, Indian Parliamentarians do not have any military tradition. In such a scenario Sachin Pilot’s step would herald a new beginning that would motivate the young guns experience the pride of soldiering. Only males aged between 18 and 42 can join the TA. 

 Brigadier Deo, former Information and Broadcasting Minister, had joined the 144 Air Defence unit of TA in 1971. During his inspiring stint he participated in many high profile military operations and was awarded Ati-Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his exemplary services.

To make the force more popular, TA is deliberating to make its training shorter and more flexible.

Military and Politics

- 22 sitting British MPs and sons of 85 parliamentarians were killed in World War-I. Two British PMs, Herbert Henry Asquith and Andrew Bonar Law, lost their sons in the same war.

- Former US Presidents Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan were all World War II veterans.

- Wooing the young politicians was the brain child of Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju

- TA is a second line of defence after the regular Indian Army. Only meant for those people who are already in mainstay civilian professions.

Lt Col Kapil Dev visits NDA

Haryana Hurricane and skipper of Indian cricket team that lifted the 1983 World Cup visited the National Defence Academy (NDA) at Khadakvasla, Pune. Kapil has also joined the Territorial Army and presently holds the honorary rank of Lt Col. The cricketer had also taken training as part of the reserve force.

Statement by NDA

Former Indian cricket captain Kapil Dev visited the National Defence   Academy here today. (02 April 2012) He witnessed the various areas of   training and appreciated their enthusiasm and high morale. He said that it was an eye-opening experience for him to have glimpses of the training which changes a boy into a military leader. 

He also shared his experiences with the Cadets. Addressing the Cadets, he said that he was privileged to be at the NDA. He said that the most important thing in life is to be disciplined and have a passion to succeed. He said that the Indian Armed Forces are the best in the world and the cadets should consider themselves to be lucky and privileged to be putting on the uniform. He also exhorted the cadets to learn every day and believe in themselves. He said that having talent alone is not enough, one needs to have the commitment and desire to succeed. He said that the nation looks upto the cadets as the future and believes in them.

Young MPs disappoint Territorial Army

Two years after making announcement that they would soon don the Olive Greens the Young Turks of the Indian Parliament seems to have developed cold feet. None of them has so far enlisted for the Territorial Army, a voluntary, part-time citizen’s army which acts as reserve for the Indian Army in times of need.

While history of US, UK and Canada has examples of politicians and their kith and kin serving in the armed forces and laying down their lives in war, Indian Parliamentarians do not have any military tradition. So when the likes of Deepender Hooda, Navin Jindal, Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed and other young MPs showed enthusiasm to join the ranks of Territorial Army many thought it would herald a new beginning that would motivate the young guns experience the pride of soldiering.

However, two years have elapsed since Territorial Army made a presentation to 30 odd MPs to woo them but no one has so far come forward to join the force.

When I spoke to Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed, the youngest MP in the country from Lakshdaweep Islands, he said: “Territorial Army requires a lot of time. Month long training is not possible for a Parliamentarian.” “The long absence from the constituency will not be a good signal,” said Sayeed. 

Sayeed’s statement seemed to be in complete contrast to what he said after seeing the presentation done by TA. He had said: “. “I went to an air force school. Joining the TA will be a natural progression.”

Only males aged between 18 and 42 can join the TA. So to enhance its brand appeal the TA had targeted the likes of Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, Congress’ Nilesh Rane, Independent member Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJD’s Kalikesh Singh Deo and RJD’s Jayant Chaudhary.

Of the very few politicians who have joined the TA are Major Manvendra Singh, a former BJP MP from Barmer and former Information and Broadcasting Minister Brigadier KP Singh Deo.

“I write a lot on defence. So it is a good way to get an insight into the military. That is why I kept contact with TA,” Singh told The Sunday Standard. However, Singh also could not keep a balance with the annual peace time training required for joining the TA after getting elected to Lok Sabha from Barmer in Rajasthan.

Brigadier Deo had joined the 144 Air Defence unit of TA in 1971. During his inspiring stint he participated in many high profile military operations and was awarded Ati-Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) for his exemplary services.

TA was brought into focus after legendary cricketer Kapil Dev joined its rank in 2008. He was closely followed by the southern super star Mohan Lal.   More recently, the President has granted the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel to the Indian skipper MS Dhoni and ace shooter Abhinav Bindra. But nothing seems to impress the politicians.

To make the force more popular, TA is deliberating to make its training shorter and more flexible.

Military and Politics

-          22 sitting British MPs and sons of 85 parliamentarians were killed in World War-I. Two British PMs, Herbert Henry Asquith and Andrew Bonar Law, lost their sons in the same war.

-          Former US Presidents Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan were all World War II veterans.

-          Wooing the young politicians was the brain child of Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju

-          TA is a second line of defence after the regular Indian Army. Only meant for those people who are already in mainstay civilian professions.