जो शहीद हुए हैं उनकी, ज़रा याद करो कुर्बानी

These words moistened the eyes of Nehru (in spite of him enjoying top slots in the India's biggest bastard list). 5 decades on, as a billion Indians hurtle thru the rat race that is an average Indian life, its saddening to see my country just chug over the sacrifices millions of men are making for us.

Thanx to rediff.com, I came across these articles about the fate of some of our army's officers. The series is very aptly titled "Lest We Forget".

Posting the links here for public viewing. Read every single one of them. Shed a few tears and be grateful. We live and run after millions while these men lay down their lives.

Capt. Saurabh Kalia - http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/07kalia.htm
Capt. Vikram Batra - http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/jun/17batra.htm

This is one of those few times when I appreciate the Indian media (more of my cynicism in some later post). Thanx to them, such stories get etched into contemporary public memory and unite (one of those few times we do) the nation in grief, pride and rage.

But don't for one moment think that reality is only full of such paeans of valor unsurpassed. Read the next two articles and feel a pang in your heart. (If you don't, you are not human. You might as well go and start monkeying around in some zoo.)

Flight Lt. Abhijit Gadgil - http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/13inter.htm
Lt. Colonel S. Ravi Shankar - http://specials.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/23slide1.htm

This is just the tip of a gory, deathly iceberg. The cries and woes of the families whose sons don't make it to the media's fancy go unheard. And you better not ask for data on this one. Some simple arithmetic can easily lead you to this conclusion.

Let's talk of just peace times. War times, to me, are too scary and blood-boiling to comprehend.
Think about how many officers and jawaans die every year thanx to terrorism and anti-insurgency operations. Think about the no. of MiG crashes that happen for pilots in training. These, at least, make the headlines.
Now think about the scale on which the Indian army operates. How many cantonments, how many offices, how many posts manned in how many locations. It isn't preposterous to then assume that many a scrupulous Lt. Ravi Shankar's would be turning martyrs. And, all the Defence Ministry and the administration can do is think of a cover-up to protect their slimy, blood-soaked asses!!

That said, it triggers a tsunami of rhetorical questions.

1. What sort of a nation treats it's soldiers this way? How can we forget our war heroes so easily?
2. What becomes of a soldier's family if he dies at service? Is the future of old parents or a young infant-son of a soldier secure if he is not around?
3. Why doesn't the government - those dickheads who parade themselves as the saviors of the nation - have the balls to stand up to Pakistan and take perpetrators to task?

Surely, conferring a medal, giving a notional compensation, best case - a post in some God-forsaken public service, can never be commensurate to a mother's loss of a son. Perhaps nothing can ever be.

Then, what should we be doing? Have a system in place that is rich enough to provide on-going care for soldiers' families and not just one-point braggadocios. A few thought starters are listed below:

1. A corporate can set-up a fund that provides for the welfare of martyr families.
2. A simple campaign by the army will generate selfless millions in donation, if they willfully wanted to do something for these families.
3. The media can take this cause up which would open tons of avenues of help.

As with any other system that aims at mass-welfare, the biggest challenge is in ensuring reach to the families of those countless, faceless jawans that die unglorified. This segment will be the largest and the one in biggest need of support as their families would be the most strained for survival. (Jawans are usually not super qualified and would be the main bread earners for their families).

The clamor for a defence-mechanism against such tsunamis should have been irrepressible by now. Sadly, it just remains a trepid, indiscreet murmur masked out and lost in the loud honks and blares that are India.
We are eons away from where we should be. Guiltily, it hurts to know we could've been there but apathy and indifference again got the better of us :(.

If I make something of myself some day, this post should serve as a reminder for me to do something for this cause. A few tears though is what I close the note currently with. It's the least each of us can do.