SPARSH: A system that touches veterans’ nerves, not lives
India Sentinels illustration for representation. Even after almost five years since its launch, the System for Pension Administration (Raksha) or SPARSH – the government’…
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Col Dinesh Kumar (R)
The author was commissioned the Indian Army’s Regiment of Artillery, in 1978. He participated in Operation Meghdoot, Operation Parakram, various counterinsurgency operations in the northeast and in Kashmir, and took part in Operation Vijay. He retired from the Army in 2009.
Articles by Col Dinesh Kumar (R)
The ECHS Paradox: Service remembered, care forgotten
An ECHS polyclinic in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. (Representative photo via ECHS website.)When the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) was launched on April 1, 200…
Rising incidents of mistreatment of soldiers by police point to deeper rot
File photo of military veterans protesting at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over “one rank, one pension” with a placard that roughly reads “Soldiers Are A Storm, They Are The…
Army’s induction of assault rifle remains a never-ending nightmare
An Indian Army soldier practising with a SIG 716i assault rifle. (File photo)Recently, the Ministry of Defence concluded a deal with the United States-based SIG Sauer Inc…
Erosion of India’s armed forces is a cause for national concern
The national emblem on the top with the insignias of (L to R) Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, and the Headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff. (Photo: Wi…
Unveiling injustice: Have the armed forces been discriminated against?
Defence minister Rajnath Singh (2R) with the Army chief, Gen Manoj Pande; Air Force chief, ACM Vikram Ram Chaudhari; and the Navy chief, Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar.…
Indian Armed Forces: Whose military is it anyway?
Army contingents marching during Republic Day parade in New Delhi. (Representational photo)The 2014 general election was unique in many ways. The world, perhaps for the f…
OROP: The wretched veteran’s endless mirage chase
Veterans at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding for implementation of one rank, one pension. (File photo)The genuine demand of the veterans of the armed forces seeking on…
Today, the once-proud Indian Army seems like a crumbling edifice
Indian Army soldiers. The Indian Army, as the current service, took birth on January 26, 1950, when India became a republic. Since then, it grew in stature and is now con…
Kargil Vijay Diwas: To celebrate or introspect?
Indian soldiers praying before going to the Battle of Tololing, which took place between June 10–13, 1999, during the Kargil War. (Photo via Twitter/@JoBeingJoe)India see…
Now, soldiering in India has become unattractive profession
Indian Army soldiers near the line of actual control with China in Ladakh posing with the national flag.When soldiers and veterans demanded the implementation of one rank…
Agnipath scheme: Government must come clean on forcing new policy
An Indian Army patrol in Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield. (Representational photo)Agnipath, the government’s new four-year-recruitment scheme for all personnel o…