Skip to main content
We Indians are an extremely self centred, selfish, apathetic and insensitive people. 

If, as a Nation we cannot care for and respect our soldiers, then we really are. And there are enough instances in post independence Indian history to prove this.

Take for instance the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. As part of the Simla agreement signed between the two neighbours, Pakistan pressed upon India to release it's more than 90,000 POWs held captive within India. We acceded to that demand in a hurry, never stopping for a moment to check on the fate of our own Officers and other ranks possibly alive and being held prisoners in Pakistan. Today 38 years later 54 Officers and men of the Indian Army and Air Force are allegedly being held captive by Pakistan. As a Country we lack the political will to get Pakistan to do anything about it. And as a people, we are completely insensitive and uncaring towards the families - parents, wives and children of those brave men who sacrificed their lives and their freedom, so that we could live as independent people.

Or take for instance hundreds of brave men who lost their lives fighting for India -for us. They were the sole earning members for their families. Years later their kin continue to fight from pillar to post with the bureaucracy and the red tape, in the most undignified manner, almost begging for that promised yet ever elusive gesture from the State, that would barely help them survive..

And today, hundreds of ex servicemen, pushed to the brink of complete frustration and despair at the worst kind of treatment met ted out to them, in the form of disparity in the pension scheme in the 6th pay commission vis a vis their counterparts in the civil bureaucracy, decided to walk up to the President of India, and return all their service medals that they earned during their Service life, as a sign of protest.

But the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces - the President is not listening. She did not even bother to meet the delegation who returned thousands of their service medals to Rashtrapati Bhawan yesterday. The President couldn't care less. And we, the people are not bothered.


A soldier devotes a good  part of his life to the service of this Country. During that period he is subjected to trials and tribulations of various kinds. Separated from his loved ones for prolonged periods of time, living and harsh and inhuman conditions while guarding the frontiers of India.
Only to be forgotten the day he hangs his uniform. 

And when retired Generals and other senior officers have to be driven to resort to processions, 'dharnas' and strikes to make their point, the entire Country should hang their heads in shame.


India - a Nation with the second largest army in the World, does not even have a "War Memorial" to pay respects to its soldiers.  Because we have debated for and against it for the past two decades and have still not taken a decision to go ahead and build one. We couldn't' heap greater insult to this profession and to those who joined it. 


Its high time we the people started some introspection and looked within us. That the armed forces should be the highest paying and the most respected Government profession, attracting the best talent in the Country, is probably a far sighted dream. 

But can't we even be sensitive and empathising to the problems of and express solidarity with the cause of these very brave soldiers who gave up so much of their lives so that we could enjoy our freedom? 

Why are they fighting this battle alone? 







 


 









 

Comments

  1. AtulsushSunday, 22 February, 2009

    I couldn't agree with you more..and maybe many more on the civvy street do too...but how are we going to break the shackles of bureaucracy?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memories of the 1971 War.....

1. Flight Lt. Vijay Kumar Wahi - 10144 F(P) Vikram Wahi was my class mate in Class V, in 1971. When the Indo-Pak war broke out in December 1971, our Class V final examinations were on. Many 'fauji' families had to grapple with the stress of these exams, with the war as a backdrop. There were two papers each day, and between them, during the break, I remember seeing the Air Force's fighers landing close by at Palam, after a Combat Air Patrol sortie... On the 7th of December, 1971, we - all 10 year olds were busy writing whatever we had crammed, in our answer sheets, when all of a sudden, we noticed some commotion at the back of the classroom. We saw Vikram Wahi, breaking down, and sobbing away inconsolably. We ten year olds did not quite comprehend the problem, and got back to our answer sheets. That was the last we saw of Vikram Wahi. Till this day, I do not know where Vikram went, and where he is. On the 6th of December, Vikram's family received the news t...
12 comments
Read more

Lawless Delhi

So we saw two instances of violence in Delhi the last two days. One resulting in murder and the other related to a police officer actually breaking the law instead of enforcing it. In the first case a young brash teenager was accidentally knocked down by a DTC bus. The resulting road rage was of such extreme proportions and further heightened by instigation by the kid's own mother, that he violently attacked the driver in the most gruesome manner, resulting in his death. The man was in his 40s, head of his family and the bread earner. Obviously, the kid flew into a rage virtually losing his mental balance. His intent therefore was not just to hit but to kill. His actions partly were translated from a thought process that he could teach the victim a lesson, and get away with it, in a Country which is virtually lawless. While he has been arrested, we all know how long it will take our criminal justice system to punish the murderer. In the second instance, a lady scooterist is att...
Post a Comment
Read more

Terror strikes cricket...

Today, cricket lovers, particularly Indian cricket fans sat and watched with a sense of renewed confidence, the Indian team redeem quickly their prestige glory temporarily lost when they lost the '20-20' series against hosts New Zealand. Redemption coming through a good batting innings in the first ODI at Napier, leaving the hosts to chase a very ambitous, if not an impossible target to achieve to secure victory. But early in the morning, this feeling of euphoria was soon replaced by a sense of deep shock, when news came in of the cruel terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team currently touring Pakistan, in Lahore. Six players were injured but are thankfully safe. The unthinkable and the unprecedented has happened. Never before were sportsmen targeted in such a henious manner as this. Questions and concerns that were raised about safety of players who toured Pakistan, have now probably been comprehensively answered. And no Country will be keen on sending their teams to p...
2 comments
Read more