Let me narrate an interesting rendezvous I had with Army Men. After completion of a trek to Har-Ki -Dun as we reached the base camp village, we found that the road from there till Dehradun was closed due to landslides. We were cocooned there for 24 hours with rationed food, rain, and chill. There we met an Army Unit led by a Colonel. I had a great opportunity to interact with heroes of the Army and later they helped us reach our destination through narrow gaps using their powerful vehicles. We got to know how they help and rescue people. Having associated with Defense forces through a few small activities built around defense entrance and the help of ex-servicemen, I was already in awe of our Army and with this interaction of someone who had the experience of Kargil combat, my awe turned into worship. Thus the sad news last week about the Helicopter crash carrying CDS Chief General Bipin Rawat, his wife, and accompanying soldiers was devastating. The public outpour of grief and salute to the sacrifice of the martyrs was reflected on the respect armed forces have in the public mind space. But the reactions from a few quarters of society are perplexing.
There are three kinds of reactions I am talking about. Firstly, there is nothing short of disgust I feel towards enemies within India who expressed in their usual manner. These tendencies need to be addressed appropriately. The second reaction is something I would like to discuss in the context of the nature of this tragedy. Some people had problems addressing the departed as martyrs as they were not in combat and were not making ultimate sacrifice by choosing to do actions that might result in their own death. They died performing their duties in an accident. To that effect, I would like to share a personal tragedy. I had a very close school friend Parag Chandrakant Limaye. His only ambition was to be a fighter pilot. There was one post that went viral on social media. It was titled: ‘I went to IIT and he went to NDA’. Most of us chose to be in the rat race and followed conventional paths. But he persevered and finally got into Air force training through NDA. The experience he shared about life as a cadet at NDA and later at the Flying school in Allahabad was really amazing. They create the best leaders and soldiers for the Indian Armed Forces. They get further groomed into Army, IAF, and Navy officers at different schools. It’s a complete package. He passed out from NDA and completed many flights as a part of training to become a fighter pilot. While on the instructor-led flight, his MIG plane crashed in Ganga River near Allahabad and he died along with this instructor. This was a great tragedy for his family and friends. How can you not call him a martyr as he was on his path? Later we formed a trust in his memory focused on promoting /helping defense entrance, helping ex-servicemen, and supporting adventure sports which he was interested in. So the semantics around world martyr is really uncalled for. The third reaction is from ‘knowing it all’ journalists and opinion makers who commented on the outpour of grief and respect on social media and public discourse as jingoism. This is a subtle and veiled political opposition and they spare even a tragic moment like this to superscribe their opposition to the current dispensation. These people are slowly making themselves obsolete.
Leaving asides the political equation, the Armed forces is the only institution that the public respects. They have lost faith in political class both executive and legislation. The fourth estate press has lost all credibility. Judiciary with a huge backlog, inherent flaws, and suspicion is also not on the top pedestal. These are the last men standing.
Indian Armed Forces have delivered every time despite all odds in the history of India. Kargil is a prime example. As they say in Sanskrit that war stories are always engrossing, I continued my discussions with the Colonel of the Army unit at the camp in Sankri in the Himalayas. . He led a unit that is unknown to outside out of Army highest levels. They were the deadliest commandos and were called Helicopter Mounted Unit. They were trained with the hardest routines involving intense hand and weapon combat training, harsh survival techniques, mobility, and navigation across the hardest and cruel terrains. His men were the best selected out of various regiments. He said “In the army, we are assigned battalions say Maratha, Rajput, Sikh etc. Each soldier has loyalty toward the motherland and then towards his battalion. I am loyal to my regiment but at HMU we represent our battalion and want to do our best. My commandos are mainly from tribal regions. They can survive, fight and win anywhere on this planet”
During Kargil, he was in combat. Our soldiers made the difference between winning and a probable loss of land and face for India. They scaled very difficult mountains in the dark surviving incoming bullets. The enemy had higher and stronger positions. But our Army units all over the region climbed and overcame the enemy they got into hand combat with the enemy. Once our units got there, the enemy had no option but to die. The enemy soldiers didn’t realize that they had fought for nothing. Their bodies were left unclaimed. They did not die as martyrs as the Pak Army men killed at Kargil were disguised as local insurgents.
Armed forces also do face challenges like Corruption at all levels. There are bad apples everywhere. But that has not hampered our armed forces and their spirits to overcome against all odds. There are also a few bad tactical decision-making in history but there are more positives than negatives in the history of the Indian Armed Forces.
These really are the last men standing as all the rest falter.
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