Way back in 1975, when I was awarded the President’s Police and Fire Service Medal for Gallantry for my derring-do in an encounter with Naga insurgents in Tamenglong district of Manipur, I sent a copy of the Government’s Gazette Notification to the Tamil Nadu Government as I hail from that State. While I expected to be given a piece of land in my native district of Tiruchirappalli, all that I got by way of a reply was the Government of India notification laying down the rules governing the award of the said medal which I already had. In course of time, I realised that my State chooses to ignore its policemen for their gallant action. Thankfully, during the last few years, the State has been paying a solatium of ₹1 crore for those who lay down their lives in the course of their duties. While the policemen are given a step-motherly treatment, personnel from the defence services are treated with some modicum of respect, not just in Tamil Nadu but in several other States too.
Better monetary grants
While defence personnel are paid handsome monetary grants by certain States, several others turn parsimonious. While Telangana Government’s grant is ₹2.25 crore for winners of Param Vir Chakra (PVC) (the highest war time gallantry award) and the Ashoka Chakra (highest peace time gallantry award), and ₹1.25 crore for Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) (second highest war time gallantry award) and the Kirti Chakra (second highest peace time gallantry award), Tamil Nadu government’s monetary grants are ₹25 lakh, ₹20 lakh, ₹15 lakh and ₹10 lakh for the PVC, the Ashoka Chakra, the MVC and the Kirti Chakra, respectively.
The police medals for gallantry and services are never in the reckoning for any monetary benefits by the States, except Rajasthan Government which pays a paltry sum to the awardees. While an Ashoka Chakra awardee gets paid ₹2 lakh and 25 bighas of land or ₹2 lakh in lieu of land, an awardee of the President’s Police and Fire Service Medal for Gallantry (PPFSMG) gets ₹75,000 and 25 bighas of land, while the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG), which is lower in the order of seniority vis-à-vis the PPFSMG, gets a higher sum of ₹1 lakh along with 25 bighas of land. For the Police Medal for gallantry, the amount paid is just ₹50,000 and 25 bighas of land.
CAPFs comprise the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Assam Rifles. They were, however, eligible for Chakra series of medals if the battalions were placed under the operational control of the Army.
Assistant Commandant of the BSF — Ram Krishna Wadhwa — was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for his gallant action in the Indo-Pak war of 1971 at Mamdot on the western borders, as the battalion was under the Army control operationally. Bimla Devi, a constable of CRPF, was awarded the Sena Medal for her alertness that led to recovery of 770 detonators from a woman who was working as a courier for militants in Jaffna in August 1988.
The President’s notification of January 4, 1952 had debarred personnel of the police forces and the fire services from being conferred with chakra series of medals, though civilians were eligible. A notification of June 24, 1999 amended the order to include “citizens of either sex in all walks of life and members of police forces including Central Para Military Forces and the Railway Protection Force”, which rendered them eligible for the Chakra series of medals. As a result, several policemen and personnel of the CAPFs have been awarded Chakra series of medals since then.
Three classes of gallantry medals
For want of clear-cut guidelines about the award of chakra series of medals and the police gallantry awards, the Government could consider setting up a high powered committee to go into the nitty-gritty of instituting three classes of gallantry medals exclusively for the police forces on the lines of the Ashoka Chakra, the Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra, which could be named Sarvottam Police Chakra (SPC), Uttam Police Chakra (UPC) and Police Chakra (PC). Those who have been awarded the PPFSMG and the PPMG could be placed at par with the Kirti Chakra and awardees of the PMG could be placed at par with the Shaurya Chakra.
Minister of State, Nityanand Rai, had stated in the Rajya Sabha in March that over 2,000 personnel, including 47 Gazetted Officers of the CAPF lost their lives on operational duties during the last three years. The sacrifices made by the police and the CAPF personnel in the service of the nation cannot just be ignored. They deserve a much better and honourable deal.
M.P. Nathanael is Inspector General of Police (Retd), CRPF
