Guwahati, Oct. 25 -- Pension is not merely a payment made after retirement. It is a promise that the State makes to a person who has spent the most productive years of his or her life in public service.

The renewed agitation for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) in Assam should not be dismissed as a narrow employee demand. It raises a larger question about balancing fiscal prudence with social security.

The issue has acquired fresh urgency in Assam, where teachers' and employees' organisations have decided to intensify their movement for restoration of OPS. Their grievance, however, is not new. Assam's employees have been campaigning for years against the National Pension System (NPS), which replaced OPS for new recruits in th...