On Kargil Vijay Diwas One Rank One Pension run in Delhi and Mumbai

KalimNews, Indian Express and agencies, 26 July 2015: On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas Major D P Singh who lost his right leg while fighting the 1999 Kargil War, ran the run with his prosthetic limb from Dhaula Kuan, and joined by other military veterans,  members of Gorkha Youth and Students Association (GYASA) in t-shirts emblazoned with slogans seeking the implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme. 

Singh, popularly known as the Indian Army’s ‘blade-runner’, started his 11-km run through Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Road and Connaught Place — including a homage at Vijay Chowk — before culminating at Jantar Mantar. The run was organised to support the larger cause of OROP, Singh also had another reason to undertake the gruelling physical exercise. That was running for the sake of the army’s many faceless and nameless soldiers. On July 15, 1999, four of them had risked their lives to rescue him from the battlefield, in the thick of the Kargil conflict. “If those four jawans had not picked me up from the battle zone, I would not have been alive today. It is for them, for the Indian soldier, that I feel I should run,” Singh . 

Photo Courtesy: Indian Express and Michael Dsouza

At Jantar Mantar, where he was joined by social activist Anna Hazare, to demand the implementation of OROP. Singh’s long and arduous journey to overcome his physical limitations, after being seriously injured in Kargil War, is fairly well-known. Not so well-known is the fact that the officer had to fight a long, gruelling legal battle to claim his rightful dues. 

The 14-year-long fight culminated with an order from the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) in 2013, asking the Army to pay Singh the correct pension amount due to him. But Singh is reluctant to talk about it. “It is in the final stage of implementation now,” he says without divulging any more details about the “personal” struggle. Singh also happens to be part of a committee, proposed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, to resolve issues and litigations related to pension and service benefits of army personnel.

In Mumbai Roshni Rai and running fraternity of Mumbai ran the 8 hrs at a stretch run organised by Runstastics "Dilse" Family across Mumbai-Thane road supporting OROP for Indian Soldiers.