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.   

Why I believe Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is the last hope for running an efficient government.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress along with many other regional parties form the nucleus of the political structure of our country. And as such the political parties don't enjoy good reputation. Before Anna Hazare’s campaign against corruption in 2011 the political class silently did everything to fill their and their relatives’ pockets but now with increased awareness and media attention they just cannot get away with all that. But the movement died down after few months and it was agreed by few of the activists of India Against Corruption that entering into the political jungle is the only way to clean the already flagging system. But Anna Hazare’s reluctance to join politics meant a split and Arvind Kejriwal formed his own political party called Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in November, 2012. This was preceded by series of exposes’ that pulled the curtains off many prominent people and institutions. It became a foregone conclusion that graft is ubiquitous in India.

Amidst all the problems of corruption, AAP has been a breath of fresh air. It is a party which does not polarize the electorate on the basis of caste, creed, religion etc. Arvind Kejriwal is an IIT graduate and a former IRS officer and it takes a lot of guts to sacrifice a more than comfortable life for the sake of taking up a cause of national interest. AAP has ticked all the right boxes and has been taking up issues which affect a common man.

Moreover, AAP has communicated directly with the people courtesy their protests, dharnas. It simply has connected with the youth of the country. ‘Transparency’ is a word which is rarely associated with political class while AAP has mentioned the list of donors on its website. Their various exposes’ backed by all the documents is again a commendable effort. The pro-people approach of theirs augurs well for the country. While other members of political parties regularly make insensitive comments there is not a single instance where an AAP member has made any such comment. They remain very well behaved on the media front and the calmness and humility in their arguments is reassuring. They are fighting the elections on the problems that confront the common man and not on who is the secular party acceptable by all? Its two major competitors are Congress and BJP.     

The current Congress led UPA government has eroded the goodwill of the entire nation in four years with scams after scams and the brazen arrogance that follows after that. The Congress particularly Sonia Gandhi and her son have behaved more like rulers than leaders. Their dynasty brand of politics will harm the country more than the gains. They have lacked the will to communicate with the people except of course during the elections. They have refrained from campaigning against social problems and have polarized the voters with their false promises. If a charge is made against any of their leaders or even their precious Robert Vadra they are extremely quick to comment and refuse all those charges but when there is abuse of power or if a girl is raped then all of their leaders suddenly disappear from the main stream media such is the sad reality. They have failed big time in the last 9 years and are living in denial. The amount of scams cannot even be calculated on a calculator. The party is also known to make some insensitive comments about anyone under the sun.

The other big political party is BJP. It is often being criticized for promoting hindutva by pseudo neo liberals and secularists. Their RSS leanings have been very well documented. But, the BJP ruled states have fared better than their Congress’ counterparts. If the question is Who would you prefer corrupt one? Or the lesser corrupt one? And then surely the lesser corrupt one is BJP. The problems remain the same but on a smaller scale. Their internal conflicts are a problem. The ideologies of BJP are also in question.

So looking at all the alternatives that a voter has, I think AAP is the best option on all fronts. Though it remains to be seen whether they can expand the party to different parts of the country or not. The different chapters have started working and if they fight the General Elections then surely my vote goes to them for the simple reason that be it BJP or Congress the abusive use of power has not yielded any result. It is worth trusting a party which has an objective of national interest. 

Learnings from the game of 'Cricket'.

Cricket is not just a sport in our country it is been termed as a ‘religion’. Every other day the performance of Indian Team is judged by millions of fans. Some of our cricketers are eulogized while others are constantly criticized. The sport itself has made lives of many players who have been from humble backgrounds; it has given them everything. For fans, the sheer joy of seeing your own fellow countrymen succeed gives the feeling of togetherness. I have been tracking this game very closely for the last 10 years and I can vouch for this. But most of the fans only watch the game and do not observe the minutest details attached to it. They may be the biggest supporters of team but you need to understand the game very carefully to learn some of the things which are part of this game. Cricket can teach you many things which will help even in our routine life.

One of the aspects which I learned very early from this game is that it teaches you to share your success unlike tennis which kind of promotes individualism (though doubles can be an exception). This is very important for anyone who watches cricket to learn and inculcate in life. Sharing your success with everyone who has contributed even in a smallest possible way gives you a sense of satisfaction. This trait will help immensely in life for it gives you some moments to rejoice. It will also make a person more humble and level headed. Team sport; be it Cricket, Hockey or football teach you this. While other games like tennis or snooker give rise to a more individual centric environment which personally I don’t like. 

Another remarkable thing which cricket teaches you is the leadership qualities. The cricketing world has seen some of the most spectacular leaders. The way they handle their resources could easily draw applause from management experts. The times of adversity are a true test of any captain/leader. The leadership styles and patterns are also very different. Sourav Ganguly was a dynamic leader; full of aggression and a will to fight back while Rahul Dravid was more of a ‘leadership by example’ type. This may sound more like a management article but fact of the matter is having good leadership skills always reap good results. 

Also cricket in many ways is as unpredictable as life. The constant need to innovate and improvise is an important ingredient for any business to succeed and similar is the case with cricket. How teams respond when they have their backs against the wall is a case study in itself. It can motivate any one to go all out after your dreams and may be opponents to achieve success. It has also shown us that success and failures are two imposters in life for they rarely show the true picture. 

To tackle different opponents teams often plan very meticulously; strategizing the strengths and weaknesses etc. This in itself is a very interesting exercise as it makes you observe the weaknesses and plan about the downfall of your opponent and then execute the plans. It involves a lot of mental work which would shape any individual provided he has a sharp observation.

But, one of the significant learning from this game is that it creates a feeling of oneness and togetherness amongst all of us fans. If the team does well then it instantly lifts your mood this is the effect. It binds us together be it at high end restaurants or at pan parlour. This emotional attachment with the game gives us the message that we are with our country come what may. Also since it is the team game, the message which it spreads is that to achieve big we need to build teams and not individuals.