“Managing the Migration From Military to Civil Society”

• Author: R. Krishnaveni,K. Maharajan
• Published date: 01 July 2016
• DOI: 10.1177/0095327X16629160
• Date: 01 July 2016
• Subject Matter: A Continuum of Employment Related Issues: Active Duty, Family, and Veterans

A Continuum of Employment Related Issues: Active Duty, Family, and Veterans

‘‘Managing the

Migration From Military

to Civil Society’’:

Motivation Model

for Socioeconomic

Needs in Resettlement

of Veterans in India

K. Maharajan

1

and R. Krishnaveni

2

Abstract

An estimated 70,000 personnel are annually released at the prime of life from the

Indian armed forces to maintain a youthful service profile. The migration of veterans

in search of a second career to civil society involves managing crucial socioeconomic

needs. This article examines the resettlement needs of veterans using survey

research which measured resettlement needs of air force veterans in two distinct

districts (regions) in India (N¼400). The analysis reveals that the educational needs

of dependent children are on top of the agenda followed by the need to find civilian

employment. This study also develops a socioeconomic need continuum and a

motivation model of resettlement.

Keywords

air force veterans, India, migration, public policy, pyramidal motivation model, reset-

tlement of ex-servicemen, socioeconomic continuum

1

Centre for Research, Anna University, Chennai, India

2

PSG Institute of Management, Coimbatore (Affiliated to Anna University), India

Corresponding Author:

K. Maharajan, C/o Dr. R. Krishnaveni, PSG Institute of Management, Peelamedu, Coimbatore 641004,

Tamil Nadu, India.

Email: prof.maharajan@gmail.com

Armed Forces & Society

2016, Vol. 42(3) 605-625

ªThe Author(s) 2016

Reprints and permission:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/0095327X16629160

afs.sagepub.com

Introduction to Resettlement of Veterans

The Indian Armed Forces, with a strength of over a million active personnel, is

among the largest military force in the world. In order to keep a youthful profile,

each year more than 55,000 to 70,000 personnel of the army, air force, and navy are

released from the services (Kishore, 1991, p. 24; Phadatare, 2003; Rao, 1995).

There are about 2,500,000 Indian veteran beneficiaries (including 400,000 widows

of ex-servicemen [ESM]), and about 60,000 are added to this list annually (Uppal,

2011). These released personnel called ESM or veterans are mostly in the prime of

their life, and therefore their successful resettlement into civilian society is a

national concern. Resettlement here refers to a process which not only ensures a

smooth second career transition but also smoother out the jerks of the migration

through institutional counseling, guidance, training, and coordination (see

Kishore, 1991, p. 25).

The Indian Air Force (IAF, 2015), the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces, today

stands as a credible airpower counted among the foremost professional services in

the world. International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates that the IAF has a

strength of 127,000 active personnel (Hackett, 2010). Even though the current IAF

parlance refers to the ESM as air (force) veterans, the awareness and use of the term

‘‘veterans’’ is yet to become characteristic in India (Maharajan & Subramani,

2014a). Even in the international context, a previous study in the United Kingdom

noted that the term veteran does not have a universal meaning; it connotes different

things to different people, whether military personnel, national governments, or the

general public (Dandeker, Wessely, Iversen, & Ross, 2006). Another survey on the

ex-service personnel of United Kingdom concluded that only half of the sample

described themselves as veterans (Burdett et al., 2012). Hence, we use the terms

ESM and veterans interchangeably.

This study focuses on the personnel below officer rank (PBOR) who were

released from IAF. These men tend to have middle socioeconomic background,

educational qualifications, and rank at enrollm ent in the armed forces (Kishore,

1991, p. 67; Maharajan & Subramani, 2014a, 2014b). All the PBOR, except a few

instructors in the IAF, are recruited as trainees in the rank of aircraftsmen and are

governed by common terms and conditions of service. The PBOR share a unique,

sustained comradeship. In addition, the uniformity of their ranks even after release

from the services, distinctly characterize them as a separate socioeconomic group

(Kishore, 1991, p. 67; Maharajan & Subramani, 2014a, 2014b). In contrast to the

retirement age of 58–60 years for most civilian government employees in India,

tenure for typical defense personnel is truncated. Retirement begins much earlier

(35–47 years). This policy ensures the armed forces are young and fighting fit (Rao,

1995).

The changing socioeconomic structure in India further provides these ESM with

contemporary challenge (breakdown of joint family system; Rao, 1995). The ex-

serviceman of 2015 cannot count on the support of his family of origin or close

606 Armed Forces & Society 42(3)