Vijay Divas: Remembering Real Heroes

TEN YEARS have passed since the Indian Armed Forces fought one of the toughest wars against Pakistani intruders at Kargil, Drass and Batalik. July 26 is Vijay Divas – and commemorates this victory. It was 26 July 1999 when the last of the Pakistan Army intruders beat a retreat leaving their fallen compatriots in uniform on Indian soil unhonoured, unwept, unsung and unburied.

I have followed this war very closely through newspaper and television. This was the first war in my generation and even the first televised war. This war has left its mark on the current generation. The soldiers who died while defending the honour of the country were mostly in their early 20s. They climbed up the steepest cliffs in the middle of enemy fire to hoist the Indian flag. They conquered what was considered impossible. Even then, the Army Chief, General VP Malik said,”In Kargil, nobody ever told me this can’t be done, every soldier was full of high spirits. It was the spirit of the Indian soldier on the battlefield, which steeled the leadership. And therein a famous victory was forced.”

There will be many for whom the memory of this war must have diluted. But this is the time to pay tributes, homage and gratitude to those who chose to walk on the road to death for us citizens. You just cannot let them fade from your memory. They are figures of inspiration and motivation. They are figures of grit and determination. They are the figures to guide us through difficult times and make our nation proud. These figures must be idolized.

These war heroes have motivated thousand of youth of my generation to join the forces and take charge of the security of our nation. There is no higher honour than serving the nation. The Indian Armed Forces give you that feeling of pride and dignity. In today’s time, the biggest Dharma is “Rashtra Dharma”. The stories of these heroes should be told over and over again. This will motivate even more men to serve the nation. Currently, Indian Armed Forces is short of thousands of officers. It is very important for young men of this generation to sacrifice their personal comforts to join the forces.

The government of India and the ministry of defense should also focus on this shortage, else the situation can get out of control. If the military is weak, all of us will have to share the blame. These are tough times and call for tough men to stand up.

As a grateful citizen of this nation, I salute all our nation’s warriors.
I can think of a couple of lines at this time in praise of our warriors:

How else can a man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his god.

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