My Story: "A Soldier Is Prepared To Lay His Life Smilingly, But The Question Is-For How Long?"

Major Devender Pal Singh is a Kargil war veteran. He was recently invited to be part of a discussion panel on a news channel after the Pulwama attack in which over 44 CRPF jawans were martyred. The incident shook the entire nation. Soon many people started calling for “revenge”, not understanding that asking for the war is easy, beacuse they wouldn’t be living the consequences of battle. Same was observed by Maj DP Singh, who wrote in an eye-opening Facebook post, asking, “A soldier is prepared to lay his life smilingly for the sake of Tiranga, country and its izzat. But the question is for how long?”

We stand by you, we stand by martyrs and their families. We must avenge the dastardly act.

And after few days its back to business. In fact all this hullabaloo is also a business. Be it political party, be it media houses or be it general public. None can understand the pain of losing life and limbs. A soldier is prepared to lay his life smilingly for the sake of Tiranga, country and its izzat. But the question is for how long? The question is, are we making some efforts which will improve the overall system?

Today morning I was on Zee news and the respect they carry towards soldier came out.

Sharing the incident….

On Zee TV debate I tried using logic over rhetoric. TV anchor Ms Aditi Tyagi commented, “Perhaps you have not seen the pictures of Pulwama that is why you do not agree that only solution is revenge, Badla”. I have grown above these things and it was not a shock for me that a lady who is howling, ‘we are with you’, doesn’t know that I am a wounded of a war that happened only few years back. For that matter while she introduced me, she was not even aware I hold a rank of Major.

What I said to her in reply was, ‘A soldier is still ready to sacrifice his life for tiranga but alongside we need to ensure that kashimri youth is getting more motivated to become Lance Naik Nazir Wani, double Sena Medal & Ashoka Chakra ( a terrorist turned soldier & attained martyrdom) than the jihadi terrorist like Waqas commando. Efforts to be made in that area too. If my neighbour can enter my house and radicalize my youth and I am unable to guard them, perhaps somewhere I am wrong.’

40 families are destroyed and many more will if we do not look for solutions. Before you shout out revenge, please ask other families, parents, wives and kids, are they ready to see themselves without their hero soldier? Unless the next generation is positively motivated we won’t see any change and it will be a loop. ‘Attack’. ‘Avenge’. ‘Their revenge’. ‘Our avenge’ and on and on.

It took me some effort to ensure good sense prevail in her head and that happened when the whole panel spoke my language. TV anchors, especially people like her forces words to your mouth and ensure you agree to them. And many gullible ( in order to not to lose opportunity to come on air again) keep just shouting and agreeing to nonsense. No one can even try imagine what it takes to lose life or limb. And then knock doors of court to get justice and dues.

We want soldier to die but his widows will knock door to get pension and rightful dues ( to some it needs to prove that her husband is martyr as the body couldn’t be found and she was told to get the body to take pension). We want soldiers to die but wounded ones need to go to court to get correct pension (even I had fought for seven years in AFT to prove that I am a war casualty and get my correct pension).There are 1000s cases pending in courts. ( despite SC judgements and instructions to withdraw unnecessary cases, MoD is the biggest litigant)

In my last meeting with RM (Raksha Mantri) madam along with Maj Navdeep Singh and Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, honorable MP, she promised to withdraw unnecessary appeals against disabled soldiers by January end… January ended and so her promises. Cases are still on.

We want soldier to die but his children’s Education allowance will be withdrawn as it is heavy on govt exchequere ( there are in total 3000 plus such cases only and total spending in just 3 Cr per year) it took some effort to cancel withdrawal and that was considered as a favor by RM on widows. ( irony is she is also a female but couldn’t understand pain of widow at the 1st instance)

We all know recent HAL case. We want soldier to die but when it comes to save his buddies we blame him and put case against him because he tied stone pelter to jeep. The list is endless. Don’t make mockery of lives and kill soldiers. Don’t use emotions for selfish business of earning brownie points. Indian Army and CAPF knows what to do and when to do. They had in past and they will keep doing justice to the situation with appropriate action. You do not have to tell us what to do, please. But after all they all have right of free speech. And who cares.. soldier is easily dispensable 

Jai hind

Story By: Maj D P Singh

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