The State and martyrs

How the State deals with the families of the servicemen who lay down their lives fighting the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has become a serious issue to the extent that the judiciary is forced to intervene in the matter. The State gives ex-gratia relief of one lakh rupees to a state subject soldier martyred while fighting the terrorists. This is a paltry sum when compared with the amount of relief given by other states to their fallen heroes. These range between 20-50 lakh rupees for each bereaved family. In a PIL filed before the High Court the plaintiff argued that one lakh rupees was peanuts. The High Court upheld the plea and ordered that it should be raised to 2 lakh. The Government declined and the Court was obliged to file a suo moto PIL of contempt of court. At the hearing, the Government came out with the argument that there is a rule according to which Government job is provided to one family member of the fallen hero. In case no family member of the fallen hero is eligible for employment, the Government would pay four lakh rupees plus one lakh to the bereaved family. As no member in the family of the petitioner was eligible4 for employment in the Government, hence it demanded four lakh rupees under rules plus one lakh which the Government normally gives plus additional one lakh which is the recommendation of the Court.
The point is that it is the Central Government that funds security expenditures in the State. Sums allocated for security purposes are enormous and it is not at all difficult for the State Government to enhance the amount of ex-gratia relief to the bereaved family. During the last year nearly 100 jawans have laid down their lives in defending the country against the threat of terrorism. The State Government should do some introspection and compare its approach to the issue with other States.

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