Satara’s oldest ex-soldier fights for govt aid to save his foot

The 98-year-old is among several war veterans in the state, most of whom served in World War II, who face their greatest battle yet: Getting adequate financial and medical aid in their silver years

Satara’s oldest war veteran, 98-year-old Nivruti Maruti Barge had marched to the front as part of independent India’s brand new armed forces on September 10, 1947. Today, he’s unable to even walk around properly in his house, every step wracked with pain due to a gangrenous left foot. 

“I can’t avail free medical treatment at the military hospital or any empanelled healthcare facilities. Nor can I afford treatment at a private hospital, as I have no money,” says Barge, who receives none of the benefits of an ex-serviceman as he was discharged with injury before he could complete the minimum service period of five years. 

He sustained an injury to his left leg in his second year of service, during enemy firing in Jammu and Kashmir. Two of his colleagues were killed in enemy action, and Barge had a narrow brush with death during the operation, when his leg was crushed by a sluff or mini-avalanche. Declared unfit for service, Barge was discharged on December 31, 1949.

Vilasrao Laxman Ghadage, former Assistant District Sainik Welfare Officer in Satara, says free medical care would help a lot of WWII sainiks’ families

The regulations for military recruits and their benefits are different today, but as Barge is a veteran from the period immediately after Independence, he was allotted limited benefits along with another group of soldiers who served in World War II prior to Independence. Under this concession, he currently receives a mere R11,000 per month, which barely supplements his family’s meagre earnings of about Rs 2 lakh per year from farming soybean and sugarcane on their over one-acre plot. On these earnings and his compassionate monthly payouts, Barge supports his family of four.

Today, he is the sole living soldier in Satara district to receive benefits in this category, apart from 192 widows of WWII soldiers, who are all in their twilight years, aged above 85 years. Much like Barge, these widows too depend entirely on the monthly payout to bolster their insufficient income from farming. They all have the same plea—for the war veterans to be recognised as ex-service men (ESM), so that they can avail free medical care at military hospitals and subsidised rates for household needs at the military canteens. Only the central government can make this happen, as armed forces fall under the ambit of the Defence Ministry.

There’s a major hurdle in the community’s hopes though—as soldiers in WWII, which took place before the country’s independence, these men served as part of the British army fighting Germans. After WWII, some were discharged, while a few went on to serve the Indian Army for a short duration. However, post-independence, most of them who could not fit in the recruitment criteria of the Indian Army, either quit or were rejected. Since they either never served with the national army,  or didn’t complete their minimum tenure, the government does not recognise them as ESM.

Kalavati Jyotiram Shedge, a resident of Anajpur village in Satara district, holds a photograph of her husband who had served in the British Army during WWII. Her family of five survives on her monthly benefits

As per the state’s Department of State Sainik Welfare records, the number of WWII veterans and their widows has shrunk in the last seven years from 4,155 to 1,566. Most of them are aged 85 years and above and reside in rural regions. 

As the group gets smaller and smaller, with the demise of ex-soldiers and widows, Barge hopes the government will consider more benefits for the surviving members of the community. “I will appreciate if the government considers our diminishing numbers and allows us free medical treatment at military hospitals and also allows us canteen usage.”

His grandson Sahil, 27, recalls that Barge’s foot problem began seven months ago, with a small wound on the left foot that refused to heal. In the last four months, gangrene set in, leading to discolouration of his entire foot. “Doctors said his leg was not getting enough blood supply, due to which the foot was becoming discoloured. We spent over Rs 40,000 for my grandfather’s treatment at a private hospital. We can no longer afford treatment at private hospitals,” says Sahil, who is torn between his gratitude to Barge, who raised him, and the practical limitations of the family’s income. “I lost my father in a road accident when I was four years old. My mother and grandfather raised me and my younger sister and supported our education. We still have to repay loans running into a few lakhs,” says Sahil, who is a senior associate at the Pune office of an MNC, earning a monthly salary of Rs 25,000, while his sister Shraddha pursues an MBA degree.

Retired deputy education officer Vishwas Phadtare with his mother Dhorkabai, 92, widow of WWII veteran Shrirang Phadtare

“It was difficult for my grandfather to even take care of his basic medical needs with R11,000. Most of it is spent on his medical requirements and on basic household needs such as groceries,” the grandson adds.

World War II was an atypical situation,” says Col Suhas Jatkar (Retd), Former Director at the State Sainik Welfare HQ who is presently heading the Military Polyclinic at Buldhana, “This was not a regular army; it was a force that was raised for the duration of the war, so the basic conditions for recruitment—physical standards, medical fitness, age—were lowered.” Once the war was over, it was not possible for the British to sustain this kind of army, so they discharged them. “That is the reason these people were not taken care of. Firstly, they did not work for a pensionable service, nor did they put in the number of years of service required to get pension,” he adds. 

The outcry for financial assistance began in the late 1980s, as the former soldiers got older and couldn’t work anymore, says Jatkar. “When these people were discharged, they must have been between 20 and 30 years old; of working age. By 1989, though, they got to 60-70 years and couldn’t work anymore. As the elderly veterans died, their widows were left without support in twilight years of their life,” he adds. 

Since financial assistance to WWII soldiers is a state subject, every state made necessary provisions as per their discretion. The Maharashtra government, on compassionate grounds, from October 1989 decided to provide Rs 10 per day or Rs 300 per month. After repeated campaigns for a hike, this figure was raised over the years to the current Rs 11,000 per month, announced on January 1 this year.

The R5,000 hike in the compassionate payout, from Rs 6,000 to Rs 11,00 is thanks to the effort of Rupesh Rathod, 40, who chased the ministers and  political leaders at Mantralaya to push for this relief. Sunday mid-day tracked down the farmer and tailor from Vithala village, in Yavatmal district to hear his account. 

“My grandmother, Sundalbai Rathod, has crossed 100 years this month. She is the widow of Fulsing Rathod, who served the British Army from July 1944 to December 1946. We had no clue about it until my grandfather died in 1991. We visited the District Sainik Welfare office and showed his discharge book, and my grandmother got arrears of R300 per month since October 1989. Since then, my grandmother continued to get this monthly amount.”

Over time, this rose to Rs 6,000, but Rathod still found the amount paltry. “I started writing to and meeting politicians, requesting for an increase. The last request—for a hike from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000—was raised as a Legislative Assembly Question by Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod, who hails from my district. I also met CM Eknath Shinde and requested a hike of an additional Rs 2,000. This was approved by the Finance department, and the payout is now Rs 11,000,” recalls Rupesh, adding, “This is the least we can do for WWII soldiers and their widows. I will be writing to the new government  (post the election) to allow them medical care and canteen facilities too.”

The hike, while welcome, is still not enough to keep pace with inflation, say the beneficiaries. The payout is far less than the pensions recommendations made by the seventh Central Pay Commission for Class 4 state and central government employees.

“Eleven thousand rupees is less than the average monthly rural household income in India. Given that the recipients are senior citizens, their chances of supplementing this income are next to zero. With their advanced age, a single medical emergency can wipe out their savings, unless they have recourse to free medical care and other social security,” says Anupam Manur, Professor of Economics, Takshashila Institution. 

“Given that the survivors are so few in number and that it will not put a huge fiscal burden [on the government], the amount can be further increased—ideally by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index, with yearly increments. Even more importantly, this group must be entitled to the social security and safety net that the armed personnel and government employees enjoy. This could be a combination of access to subsidised or free health care, access to education for the dependents, and insurance coverage for emergencies,” Manur adds. 

The WWII soldiers are just as concerned about what will happen to their children upon their death. “The benefits are limited to the war veteran or his widow. After their death, the benefit stops, unless the couple has a dependent daughter who is unmarried and/or disabled,” says Vilasrao Laxman Ghadge, 65, a retired subedar and former Assistant District Sainik Welfare Officer, Satara. “There are many families that are still dependent on this income for their day-to-day expenses, and most of it is spent on the medical care of the elderly family members. Free medical care would help them to a great extent,” he adds.

Officials in the Department of State Sainik Welfare, who maintain records of the veterans and disburse financial aid to them, agree that the sum is paltry, but add that it’s unlikely to change any time soon. “Our department merely executes the decisions taken by the powers that be. Once the state decides the amount, we draw it from the treasury and transfer it to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts,” says an official.

Another officer adds, “We are sure that more support should be provided for them, but our hands are tied due to bureaucratic hurdles. Sainik welfare is a low priority for expenditure planning as this is not a large vote bank.”

Rs 11,000
Monthly aid the veterans get from the Sainik Welfare Department

1,566
No. of WWII veterans and their widows in the state

72
No. of beneficiaries in Mumbai city and suburbs

Families speak

Kalavati Jyotiram Shedge Veteran’s widow, 88 
‘My husband Jyotiram had joined the army on December 17, 1940, and continued serving until April 20, 1947. At the time of discharge, he was a Naik Subedar. I have four dependents—my son Ankush, daughter-in-law Swati, and their two children Dheeraj, 27, and Bhagyashree, 24. Our only source of income is from farming, and the family relies on the monthly payment from the government. We are thankful to the government for increasing the amount from Rs 6,000 to Rs 11,000. The Rs 5,000 hike means a lot to us. But the government should allow us access to medical aid and canteen subsidies to offset rising costs’

Vishwas Phadtare, Retired deputy education officer
‘My father, Shrirang Ramchandra Phadtare, served in the British Army between 1941 and 1948. He belonged to the Maratha Light Infantry and was last posted in Motor Transport Department, Belgaum. [After discharge,] he did some farming. He died at the age of 65. My mother has age-related health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes. I take her to a private hospital for treatment, but there are many widows who cannot afford this’ 

Also Read: ‘If our kids study English, they won’t be poor farmers like us’

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