The real hero of the land: The Indian Soldier

The last few days have shown us the fickleness of human lives; Within seconds thousands of people washed away and many more are stuck there and suddenly there is a wave of sadness, disappointment but there is also the hope that we will help our fellow countrymen and grow over this fatal disaster. This was the result of the unstoppable rainfall and the flash floods that followed in the state of Uttarakhand which has left everyone high on emotions. Destruction remains an understatement and it has made us realize that our own misfortunes are diminutive when compared to this colossal tragedy. After such natural calamities people think about the various sequences of events that have happened. And among those events the role of Army men will hold prime position because despite the large scale nature of the disaster it took the swiftness of men in uniform to tone down a part of the damage. And by Indian Army I mean the Indian Air force, Defense personnel and Border Security Force in totality.

In a country like ours which is by and large peaceful, the purpose and the intention behind the constitution of army forces is a quandary to many. Whenever one hears the word ‘Army’ one starts visualizing about the sight of war about to break out and lots of fit people in green uniforms ready to fight for the country. But, very seldom do we realize the impact of armed forces in other areas besides serving the border. Many times as it has happened in the past ‘Peace Missions’ and ‘Disaster Management’ constitute an important vertical within the army. Their importance is also significant in a country where 58 percent of the area is earthquake prone, 12 percent is flood prone and 8 percent prone to cyclones. They are professionally trained and assist in real time rescue operations which in the process saves lives of many people.

Army’s assistance has come to the fore in this situation and with the help of more than 8500 army men and 43 IAF choppers they have made the survival of many people possible. In addition to this, around 3000 troops from Border Roads Organization were deployed along with their heavy equipment including Bull dozers and cranes to clear up the roads which were partly demolished because of the massive landslides. There are myriad complexities involved in conducting such an operation like the uneven nature of the rocks, poor weather conditions but the army men have braved all these hiccups and have come out and rescued people as quickly as they could have possibly.

The construction of numerous dams around the rivers have not helped our cause and has led to environmental negligence leaving the rivers polluted. The obsession with development has left our precious and holy rivers in tatters. There was no opposition from any office of Government and thus putting the sanctity of our rivers into danger. In this perspective, the agility and the nimbleness of the Armed forces is laudable. The situation was quite challenging and it would have been difficult for the army to navigate such uneven terrains.

There might be some issues in the top level management but rest assured there is a soldier who gives everything he has regardless of the circumstances. He is also a human being; he is also exposed to the same danger of which he is protecting the civilians from. These are the people you instantly admire and remain in awe of them for a long time for the simple reason that they worked only for people and not for money or recognition. They have lots of compassion and humanity. Simply inspiring and truly admirable. 

The soldiers and their whole team conducting rescue operations deserve a standing ovation, lots of love and happiness in their lives and much more for their selfless service for the last 4 days. You all are the real heroes of this country and not those film stars who merely act. 

Journey from Railway tracks to Mt. Everest; Hailing Arunima Sinha

Arunima Sinha, this name was unheard of before the end of the last month. But, now she is the epitome of courage and inspiration. Arunima became the first woman amputee to conquer Mt. Everest on May 21, 2013. This, after she had lost a leg in April, 2011 when she was thrown off a train by a gang of chain snatchers. She was also a national level volleyball player. She then spent few months in All India Institute of Medical Sciences for her treatment and was provided with a prosthetic leg by a private Delhi based Indian Company.

During her treatment she resolved to climb Mt. Everest taking inspirations from Yuvraj Singh who had successfully battled cancer. She excelled in the basic mountaineering course from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, Uttarkashi, and was encouraged by her elder brother Omprakash to climb Everest with a prosthetic leg. She took training under Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to climb Mt. Everest. She also climbed Island Peak (6150 metres) to prepare for Everest. After undergoing various training methods and procedures, she finally reached the summit of Everest on May 21, 2013. It took 52 days for her to complete the summit and create history. Many prominent politicians and ministers congratulated her and showered her with awards and prizes.

Looking back at her condition in 2011, No one really thought that she could scale the Everest but this is what determination and hard work can do to a person. I was particularly impressed with the way she trained; clocking hours after hours. This surely is a tale of hard work, determination and grit. Many aspiring sportsmen/mountaineers can take heart from this effort. A woman achieving this feat in a country where they are not safe is exemplary and commendable. This effort also shows that a woman need not look elsewhere for inspiration and support; if it comes from within then no one can stop them from reaching the pinnacle.  

Need to bring these stories of courage, tenacity and perseverance in the public eye to bring about a change that could cross the boundaries of conservatism and patriarchy.

A Traffic Policeman Speaks..!!

Few days back, I was caught by a traffic policeman as a part of their routine drive to check the vehicles at University Roads. I was wearing the helmet and had produced every required document and as I was leaving from there I asked him a simple question; how are you? And he was first surprised and then started telling me about the times and miseries he had been through. 

He was around 55 I guess but looked a lot older with wrinkles on his face clearly visible. I won’t be surprised if he was carrying some chronic skin problem. His body was not in best of the shape but he was still discharging his duty with utmost honesty and integrity. His name was Mahendra Sinh Rajput and true to his name he carried a moustache which looked settled. He told me about how his measly salary doesn’t make his ends meet. The medical bills of his elderly parents were mounting and as I’ve said earlier he too was not keeping well, so things were not at all good for him.

He joined police force way back when he was 22 and after a service of well over 30 years he is yet to get the dignity which he deserves; leave alone the financial problems. Same was the case with his colleague who repeated that dialogue from Singham which said ‘’Hum police walon ki salary ek corporate company ke peon se bhi kam hai.’’ Apart from that they are transferred like dogs and not to mention that people hurl abuses at them when they get caught by policemen for apparently doing their own duty. To add to that they have to work under the sun for 365 days in the process exposing themselves to various health hazards. This man hadn’t got leave for last two months and mostly his salary is delivered late he says.

As he was talking more about his life I was impressed by the man. He was not ranting about the cruel job and told me that honesty always pays off. His wisdom made me realize that education and literacy are two different things. He was a high school dropout but to me he was a literate person. He also taught me that you can either be content and keep working, or you can keep ranting and cribbing and make yourself least efficient. He gave me solutions for solving the problems plaguing the traffic. That says it all about the man’s dedication.    

The situation is even worse for the contracted traffic policemen. Since they are not permanent they do not get benefits like Provident Fund, Leave encashment etc. Imagine a 12 hour job under the sun for 365 days in a year without any permitted leave for a salary of Rs 6150 per month. Is this justice? Is this right? We use words like ‘development’, ‘growth’ but what we need right now is social upliftment and a bit of empathy from people like us. We need to treat them decently if not well. At least we should be polite and generous with them. And we should at least say sorry and pay the penalty if we break any law and not abuse or argue with him or use your dad’s connections. 

His story and struggle through the life inspired me. Was admiring him for all the tenacity that he had shown. He simply made my day with that talk. I couldn’t see his pain and so had to share the story. This is an unjust world I thought while writing this. Do not shy away from sharing such stories that’s the least we can do for them.