They were someone’s love, someone’s son,
Those 527 were someone’s one and only one.
They fought for us till the last breath,
They gave their lives for the nation’s health.
They died as cattle…
In that brutal battle…
No funeral ceremony, no cremation…
They were dead…dead for the NATION..
26th July 1999,Indian flag was hosted as Indian army occupied Kargil Dras sector on the success of Mission Vijay. The victory was not an easy one, it was made up of sacrifice of lives of those 527 Indian soldiers who gave their lives for their Motherland. It was made up of the tears of a mother, who lost her son; made up of the cries of a bride who was now a widow; made up of a child’s sadness who lost a father’s shoulder to climb on, made up of a sister’s dead emotions who lost the wrist she has always tied rakhi on. Made up of the hard work and sleepless struggle of our brave and dedicated Indian Army and their families.
Just few days back it was Vijay Diwas, 14 years of our victory in the Kargil war and hardly anyone cared. No ministers making huge speeches as everyone is soo busy with their political agendas, no news channels broadcasting the stories of those Brave Sons, no big ceremonies or even small ones, no forwarded sms fever on cellphones and not even facebook updates or tweets!! No one cared to devote atleast one day to those soldiers who selflessly fought for the motherland, or those mothers who gave their sons to this nation, or those widows who sacrificed their ‘suhaag’ for India. No one!!
When we lay safe in our homes, those brave soldiers were surviving in extreme cold weather and fighting with the enemy for our safety. They struggled in the snow-capped mountains of Kashmir, fought with hunger, weather, deaths of companions and what not. Those soldiers didn’t carry food with themselves as they didn’t want that there should be any extra weight, they preferred carrying bullets of that weight as a food for enemies instead. Their struggle and bravery can’t be penned down in words. Why did they do it?? No they were not going to get anything out of it, neither were their families, they did it so that we could live safely. They did it for a nation who doesn’t even care to remember their sacrifices. A nation which has all the time to celebrate valentines, friendship day,hug day, and god knows what all days, but doesn’t even know about Vijay Diwas.
We all have full knowledge about the film heroes who work and act according to script, but I want to ask what about those martyrs, who fought for us?? What about those real life heroes? Does anyone of us know what happened to the old parents of Captain Manoj Pandey after they lost their son? Does anyone know what happened to the girl who was waiting for Captain Anuj Nayyar to come back from the war front and marry her after she came to know he won’t come back ever? Does anyone know about the bride of Captain Vikram Batra who before she could have a honeymoon had to see her husband going to fight for the motherland, and she became a widow after that? Does anyone know about the child of Major Vijayant who lost his/her father before he/she could even come to this world? Does anyone of us know anything about the Martyrs and their families? Anyone??
Well I just want to remind you all of those Forgotten Heroes, of their selfless sacrifices with this article. No, I don’t want to say that everyone of us should join the army, or go on the border to fight, neither am I saying that we should stop celebrating valentines, friendship and all other days, all I want to convey is those Brave Sons gave their lives for us, we should value their sacrifices. Watching movies like LOC, Border, Lakshya and crying for those 3 hours won’t do that, observing a 2 minute silence in the school/college assembly on 26th July won’t either, lighting a candle at the Amar Jawan Jyoti or singing patriotic songs won’t work even. If we really want to value their sacrifices, may be knowing them, their families, and remembering their struggle would do it. When we can be die hard fans of the Bollywood heroes, then why not of our Real Heroes? Raising fund for the NGOs working for the families of the martyrs would help, remembering Vijay diwas would help even. Most importantly, being a better Indian would help preserve the nation, they gave their lives for. Lets come together, and pledge we won’t let those sacrifice go in vain, we with our efforts will make this country a better India.
“Aye mere watan ke logon, zaraa aankh mein bhar lo paani,
Jo shaheed hue hain unki, zaraa yaad karo qurbaani.”
-Tanya Maurya (MetroAndYou- Youth Blog of India)
