A very nice piece I received from one of the forces groups – thought it deserved to be forwarded. Unfortunately the lady’s email ID is not mentioned, or one could have congratulated her on her thoughts.
Rohit
Absolutely genuine views of an Officer's daughter!
It's very simple. A military coup, that is. One collective word
is all it needs to convert this nation from a democratic country to a
progressive economy with martial law. The armed forces will take over the
nation, and no one can do a thing about it. Not the police force, not
Manmohan Singh(=Sonia Gandhi), not A.K. Antony. No one. A movement will
arise so suddenly and with the fury of a raging tsunami, that it will
rewrite India's future, inject discipline in the blood of every Indian,
unscrew unopened bottles of potential and terrorise the intestines out of
those who dare to oppose them or irrigate the minds of others with vile
thoughts. Corruption will be eliminated 90% and progress will double..
Indeed, the souls of our forefathers who fought for real freedom, will rest
whole-heartily under this military control. Ironic, but true.
The question here is, why won't they do it?
Let me tell you what bothers me. I am the 19 year old daughter of a retired
government servant, an army officer to be specific (note the 'Servant'..
absolutely true in case of the armed forces)
My father, who retired as a Colonel, is not a receiver of the PVSM, AVSM,
VSM, or even the VC for that matter. He was a part of the army, served an
ordinary Colonel's role, did not jump in front of a bullet to save his men,
or plan an intelligent strategy to capture some enemy territory. He was a
part of both major wars with Pakistan and China, returned without being a
decorated war hero, served in regiments in both borders, saw extreme weather
conditions and backward technology and most importantly, he enjoyed and took
immense pride in doing all this and serving the nation.
Yet, I feel my father is a greater man than many 'greats' in this nation.
Shahrukh Khan, or Pratibha Patil,to begin with:neither of them have
sacrificed more than a sleepless night or compromised on their Saturday
morning sleep for the nation.
I don't blame you for saying, 'Oh, she's an army officer's daughter,
obviously that's why she's biased'. I don't deny it. It is true. I am
biased. And I want every single person in this country, if not the world to
be biased. I can only tell you what it is like to have seen these people up,
close and personal, to have heard true incidents of bravery and selflessness
and then know they're are being paid peanuts, to sacrifice their lives
without hesitation for the nation.
When I was 16, my family took a holiday to Arunachal Pradesh, to the
regiment where my father had been in command, more than 20 years ago. From a
scenic , quaint little town called Tenga, on the banks of a gushing river,
we travelled to a snow desert near the Chinese border called Bumla. Here, in
the middle of nowhere, one could see a small board stuck in the ice reading
'Welcome to India'. For as far as our eyes could see in all four directions,
there was nothing but snow. Beside that board stood a guard, probably of
south Indian origin, in 6 layers of clothing, a giant wind-cheater and the
heaviest pair of snow-boots imaginable, against constant rapid winds,
endless lengths and immense depths of ice, pacing an abandoned minefield
from the 1962 war, looking through a telescope at Chinese vantage points to
track enemy positions and moves.
He didn't opt to be there, but when he chose the forces as a career he knew
what he would be facing, and he faces it with valour, for he has the
patriotism that you and I and many of our politicians lack. Tomorrow he may
die in battle, but I know for sure, that no one who has joined the forces
will ever regret taking up that profession. If he dies in an act of bravery,
he will most probably be awarded a VC or PVC medal for the same,
posthumously. Then the government might give his family a lump sum and/or a
measly monthly stipend of Rs.850 to Rs.1500. I ask you, is that all this
man's life is worth?
What about a serving soldier? He mostly hails from small areas or rural
backgrounds with an uneducated wife and 2 children back in his village
alone.Typical, but true. This man, who has time in the forward areas only to
eat, sleep and watch the enemy, hardly sees his family. His entire salary is
sent back home to his spouse, who faces the brunt of yet again uneducated
parents-in-law ready to blame her for anything that happens to their son. In
such a situation, a soldier's wife receiving the pitiful salary of her
husband will be left an orphan in the middle of the road, simply for the
lack of money.
Then, these war heroes, and martyrs are forgotten within minutes, no, wait,
seconds of their death. No one forgets to come for the Republic Day parade
,or to place that wreath they didn't order on the grave of some memorial
they don't know was built for what on Independence day. Just because it is
protocol. Protocol to 'remember' (or forget?) these people on these 'days'
meant for our nation, to 'remember' them for the 30 seconds it takes you to
read patriotic forwards and messages in your in boxes on email and on your
cellphone.
Like a 90-year old war veteran said, I guess it's the forces who are to be
blamed. Right from the 3rd pay commission-who screwed up royally- the three
forces have always put the pride of serving the nation over money. I guess
it's their fault they didn't demand it then.
My father and I have been discussing this issue for a while now, and my
blood boils, every single time I see our so-called Defence minister
Mr.A.K.Antony defending his stupidity on a podium which he does not deserve.
Have you for a minute stopped and thought about why you at home are able to
enjoy your evening spent listening to your iPod, or watching a DVD on your
42-inch LCD? It is because you live in India, where the borders, threatened
by invasion every second, are guarded constantly, by the watchful eyes of
some 27-year old son of a mother who sits far away in a remote town, praying
consciously every second for the safety of her son. If that guard decided to
look away for even a minute, he would be dead, within seconds, and there
would be an invasion leading to chaos everywhere. Soon, India would become a
replicate Iraq, pandemonium prevailing,where you would need the permission
of your invaders to even use the toilet, which under normal circumstances
would be your birthright.
Sometimes it's scary, how something so simple and routine is linked to
something so complex and out of hand. From all of you who saw these reports
of the military's peaceful war against the government on television, some of
you changed the channel since it didn't concern you, some saw the report and
took it in as general knowledge, and some burnt rage over it for a few
seconds. Those whose blood still boils, would be the ones who have actually
some patriotism left in their blood.
Am I being too philosophical for a nineteen year old? Most of you might say
yes, but I say, why not? You would too, if you saw the fire in the eyes of
these people the way I do.
And what is it, with Mr.Antony's comment on discipline? I'm sorry Mr.Antony,
but you politicians, who hit each other with chappals, and microphones, use
unparliamentary language in the parliament, come half an hour late to a
meeting, and do not know the words of the national anthem, are talking about
discipline.Please, don't make me laugh.Or with the panel that is enquiring
the pay commission having IAS officers in it!? Why don't we have a separate
pay commission for the Military like most other countries do? Why do we have
to put up with a cock-eyed system? Why does a DGP get paid almost twice as
much as his equivalent in the forces? Why does the army have to replace the
fire-brigade, police force and everyone else, when it is specifically
mentioned that the forces are only for training during peace and attack
during war. Why does the government involve the forces in flood relief ,
earthquake relief, tsunami relief, and more recently, rescuing of children
fallen in pits? Then to put the cherry on the icing, you pay them in a pay
scale adopted in 1948?
I have faced and will face a lot of criticism for my views.As some of my
friends say, we do get good rations, accommodation and cheaper FMCGs and
alcohol. Rations and accommodation -anyone in a decent government service
gets that. Cheaper FMCGs- The least the government can do is to remove the
taxes off the MRP of many products and make it available to the average
soldier, who in return is willing to pay the price of his life for his
nation. Cheap alcohol- yes, a bottle of rum is relatively cheaper. Why don't
you spend one year of your life to replace a soldier in snowy altitudes, in
nothing but a tent or in the blistering heat of the Thar with the only wind
bringing sandstorms along with it or in the jungles of Nagaland with the
leeches sucking your blood out and I'm sure ANY soldier you replace to give
him precious time with his family will gladly give you all the rum he can
ever get in his life, simply so you don't die of exhaustion and depression
and actually live to tell your tale.Simply, so you can survive.
Let me remind you (non)patriotic souls, that the life of a person in the
armed forces is one filled with dignity and pride, and I believe it should
reflect in how much s/he is paid, for glamour and corruption rule the roost
today, and that bias will take our country nowhere.
Hoping for the best to come for our brave men and women..
JAI HIND.
--
Vaishnavi Prasad
Rohit Agarwal
9868967224
http://jottingsofmine.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/1agarwal
! PaUNa-mad: PaUNa-imad\ma pUNa-at\ pUNaa-maud\cCyato .
pUNa-sya pUrmaaVa pUNa-maovaaiSaYyato .
Absolute perfection comes from the absolute.
That which is well built
will never be torn down.
That which is well latched
can not slip away.
Those who do things well
will be honored from generation to generation.
(Tao Te Ching)
