Soldiers in Love

What makes the soldier a perfect hero ?

Not as one of those paint-faced, lip-stick smeared, prancing heroes of celluloid world!

Why has a soldier’s calling been as gallant and exalted as that of the monarch or kingdom he serves?

To begin with, he is a true soldier who stays focused on the mission entrusted, without fear or doubt; loyal to the hilt.

Display of courage goes without saying. Courage not of facing a foe in battle but in letting go of everything near & dear held close to his chest, for a nobler ideal of which he fathoms not in full.

So, to comprehend the psyche of a soldier, one usually needs to belong to the family of one or more rare, be the one whom the soldier serves.

In the golden era, it was a king or emperor and the monarch who was served by the army of soldiers. In recent centuries, it has got transformed into a nation – the country for which soldiers swear by dignity and honour, to serve faithfully, unto the last breath of life.

Sacrifice. Valour. Courage. Bravery. Free mindset. Carefree disposition. Happy soul.

And, in discussing a soldier, one includes these men of all ranks and file.

The line-discipline distinguishes the army from all other organizations. They are one in cause, in battle and at war. But, in times of peace, they maintain a set decorum and the ladder of hierarchy lends a special beauty to the brass buttons and the orderly lifestyles.

Their mess is actually the spirit of freedom let loose.

Oh, yes, one had occasion to mingle with many a bigwig of defense forces, in course of law practice.

Pro bono always for a soldier, be he a retired sainik or serving lance naik or brigadier of air chief marshal, it has been a tremendous experience to notice that by and large, they all had immense respect for law and love humanity.

Needless to add, the only instance one felt sad was to institute a criminal defamation case against an ex chief of staff seeking an unconditional apology for casting aspersions on integrity of a deceased prime minister under whom he had served, failing which he was asked to shell out a nominal damage of one rupee.

To the credit of this brave son of the soil, he apologized day he expired at the army hospital in national capital. Such is the spirit of good conscience amongst this class of humanity.

It was another thing to have got strictures passed against then defence adviser to then prime minister for the huge scam involved in developing a prototype for a main battle-tank .He was of course,a civil servant.

Here comes the no-no term ‘ civil society ‘ .

A misnomer, for sure..

All anarchy prevails outside the cantonment zone of defence families. In the name of unbridled, unlicensed, unchecked freedom, there is absolute abuse of power, freedom of power and so-called fundamental-rights enshrined under the Constitution.

Criminal gangs roam the free society. Haftas, mamools, vasools, ransom are collected en-masse, by gangsters, rowdy-sheeter elements and corrupt officials masquerading as upholders of institutional governance. Political leaders including ministers in State cabinets are convicted by courts of law .

So, what then is opposite of a soldier is the civilian. Or so it seems..

For he who actually, ought to be the supporter, abettor and upholder of peace in the country when soldiers are sent out to safeguard borders against infiltration by terror groups and prevent dastardly attacks by foes, inimical to social progress and human development in our nation.

In recent news are umpteen reports of certain mole-journalists supplying tweet-by-tweet reports of real-time troop movement and ongoing operations to confront invading attackers.

Thus, unless a Government in power arrests such known and other sidekick spies of enemy lands, the whole exercise of raising an armed forces department or ministry turns farcical. As well as self-defeating.

Had it been any other culture, it would not take long for disciplined soldiers to revolt against the weak, puppet-governments in saddle of power over a billion-plus population.

But, it being a most glorious and humane tribe of people, our forces have displayed exemplary restraint in disregarding gravest provocations from civil police or civilian elected political structures of governance.

There was a call for revolt by a certain leader once. Which was sad but did not work on the sober minds of the defense forces.

And then, there were relatives manning divisions who were moving in regiments towards the national capital in true style of Shakespearean Macbeth style on a wintry morning but had to let it vanish with a whimper just as a mysterious rumor planted by evil press reporters.

Before the Second World War, all soldiers of India were just Indian soldiers. The colonial rulers ,to a certain ominous plan, divided and split on grounds of religion.

But, even to this date, our brave soldiers take pride more in the national tricolor than on the personal name stitched to right of their shoulders or the name of a regiment carried on the chest .

Such is the devotion and spirit of indescribable love for the motherland!

A soldier sees. Not strife. Not wars. Not evil ones. But, the gift of life. Of love. And, treasures every breath on this earth. He worships Nature. His nature blends with ecosystem in which he is placed, deployed or caught up in!

In the soldier, by the soldiers, do we all breathe free . So, let every non-soldier member of the society emulate and tread in the shoes and mindset of a soldier. May discipline become the hallmark of existence.

Across every institution.

Punish the wrong-doers. Enforce the rules of Law. Respect elders, seniors, cultural values.

So, a persona is reflected in manners and courteous disposition. Need not be harped over hoardings and in electoral posters.

But, a word to conclude. Not in jest of course!

Unless the civilian society gets rid of all it’s anarchy elements, soldiers shall spring from amidst the masses who ,unlike extremist outfits, would not harm innocents but liquidate these rotten elements from the glories of a prosperous world .

A thousand Netaji Subash Chandra Bose clones will emerge as the lotus bloomed out of murk of scams presided over by a fraudster, for and on behalf of an invader. History teaches these lessons.

Respect all Soldiers. Shower your love to these soldiers of love. Be as them.

If you can!

Jai hind!!!