Veteran’s Day at ECHS

There was a time when a retired Major driving a Morris Minor would be known to everyone in town. He couldn't walk into a room unnoticed. He got respect and attention as a military veteran. There were only so many retired officers after all.

Half a century later, there are more  Major Generals than there were Majors back then. Everyone down to Ex Havildars (and other services equivalents) drives fancier cars and takes foreign holidays that the Major never took. In all, more veterans now have it better than that Major. And thanks to increasing life expectancy, they enjoy the benefits of the fauj for longer too. Alongside the benefits, this change in the circumstances of veterans is also a cause of stress, the kind that the Major never had to face.

While the Major could walk into an MH to see a specialist, today a Major General must negotiate a disorderly queue first to get to the ECHS doctor to seek a referral for MH. It takes a few more visits back and forth before one can find a referral for the empanelled hospital.

This part of the process is unavoidable, and one accepts it, even uses it as an excuse to get out after breakfast and run into friends at the Polyclinic. One is however saddened at how these outings quickly turn stressful.

On Indian roads, everyone seems to be out to beat each other and get ahead. However, it isn't what one is used to, or wants to get used to, in a place run by and for veteran faujis. I was amazed to note how the general registration queue at my ECHS Polyclinic gets disrupted with even a small technical glitch every morning. 

Volunteer veteran officers are available to help in registrations for the veteran officers. However, the officers’ queue also gets disturbed by the influx from the general registration counter. To add to that, when one finishes with the doctors, one must be lucky to not find a second row of cars unruly parked behind to block one’s exit for the next half an hour.

If you are referred to the MH for a specialist’s opinion, a visit to that fortress becomes another ordeal. You are asked to park half a kilo meter out and walk in – a practice which began in Covid times and has never been reviewed thereafter. Any self-respecting veteran would hate to have to ask for special favours only for himself/herself. Some people come up with ingenious excuses to drive in. Those who do not wish to plead with the security guard simply park outside.

It must be remembered that the veterans’ population has gone up manyfold and government supported systems are under stress. Yet some processes must constantly be reviewed with an eye towards the convenience of veterans. Other than what the establishment can do, it is our responsibility as veterans to co-operate in the smooth running of our ECHS Polyclinics.

If only the driver who races everyone on the road, jumps a signal, narrowly missing a cyclist and causing stress to so many people, realised that he was worth more to the system. He/she grossly underestimates his ability to create hassle free passage for everyone on the road, including oneself. And guess what? One would have saved oneself and everyone some time too.

I like to believe that our fauji years of decorum stand us in good stead. So, it is particularly painful to see veterans racing to beat each other to an early registration, the same way cars race each other on our roads, breaking all established protocols and creating just what the protocols are meant to avoid - a traffic jam. I, for one, find it extremely awkward to participate in such a war to get to the counter and be heard over everyone else. I am sure there are many others like me. All of us, in our work in service, have solved problems far more complex and adhered to the rules when we were asked to. Why can't we uphold the same discipline at ECHS? If everyone stood in the queue meant for them, if we didn't make it a race, how much time would one lose? And how much heartache would we save each other?

God bless us all !