Colonel Shiv Choudhary (Retd) “Anation that does not honour its heroes (martyrs) will not endure long”, said by the famed American President Abraham Lincoln nearly 150 years ago, but it remains relevant even today. He had also said, “It is better to die for something than to live for nothing.” Another great ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte once said that “It is the cause, not the death, that makes one a martyr”. According to him, the valour is a gift, which remains unknown until tested. Once tested, its repossession remains elusive until the next test comes. He believed in no mourning or half-masted flags, rather propagated flying of flags at their peak so that the martyrs can rejoice seeing where their valour is placed. Obama while addressing veterans and families of martyrs said, “I believe that our nation has a sacred covenant with our veterans and martyrs – that just as you served to protect us, we have a moral obligation to take care of you and your families when you come home or you don’t return home. Working to uphold that covenant has been one of my most solemn responsibilities as the president.”Promising words indeed! Martyrs are those who die for a cause in the line of duty whether assigned or bestowed upon them for the motherland and other noble causes. Martyrs choose to sacrifice their lives rather than submit to an opponent and betray their country. Martyrs die heroically on their own terms like archaic warriors in battle for the tribe. To them, martyrs are God-like in their honour, nobility, and glory. Like King Oedipus or Christ, martyrs are scapegoats and saviours, dying so that others may live. After death martyrs become saints in Christian tradition, divine in Japanese traditions, and hallowed in all traditions. They cease to belong to anyone community and instead live spiritually as part of the entire nation. When on national missions, it is roll of the dice for a soldier. If a bullet has his name on it, he is a hero. If he hears a bullet going by, he is a survivor, and if he does not respect either of them, he is a coward and unpatriotic for some. Are they automatically non-flinching when faced with threats, grenades, bullets, Kalashnikovs and situation offering choice between life and death. Martyr stake difficult journeys, put a price tag and then lay their lives for a larger cause. The assassinations of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Stephen Biko, not only stunned the world at large, but they were of such great political consequence that they broke the resistance of the opponent camps. Martyrs after their death, speak louder, faster, inspire generations and endear universally. Every time one visits war memorials like one in Delhi, Jammu, Srinagar, Kargil, Kohima and numerous others locations both in India and across the world like Colombo in Sri lanka, Dhaka in Bangladesh, Arlington in Washington, Cenotaph in London and Arc de Triumph in Paris, one experiences the prangs of pain. How these mere mortals accepted death. How did the courage come to take a bullet? How bold and blessed were those parents who gave everything of theirs for others. The tales of their dare devil braveries inspire everyone. When the nations rise to salute and honour the services of brave immortals, a feeling of pride surges in every patriotic heart. Now the question arises if this ritual and the mandatory two minutes silence with sounding of the last post is enough to commemorate our gallant martyrs. Our gratitude and ceremonial gestures cannot match their monumental sacrifices. Does it, thereafter, absolve us of our responsibility? Regret fully No. It becomes our utmost duty to cherish their martyrdom and provide succour to their families, not for a year or two, but for life in an uninterrupted way. Think of the parents who lost their son, a wife who lost her husband, kid, who lost his dad, a sister who lost her brother, a village that lost its emerging hero, unit, which lost its soldier and a commanding officer who lost his leading brave man; all in the battlefield protecting motherland. Indeed, difficult to fathom the harsh reality. We need to make a beginning by acknowledging their contribution, and helping martyrs families in whatever way, we can. The families of our ‘Veer Naris’ as we gratuitously call them, do not seek any financial hand outs, nor are they in want of our pity or sympathy. What they need is our empathy, bonding and emotional support. They need to be associated with organizations and all related forums. We should reach and help them in resolving their land, military entitlements, school admissions, career counselling and information, opportunities and such matters. Only then, the soldiers will feel part of a society and the nation worth dying for. Why don’t we celebrate their bravery and immortality out of sheer regards for them and their supreme acts? It should be the solemn duty of each nation to honour their valour, sacrifice and martyrdom in a dignified and holistic manner. It is equally unbecoming of the political leadership to attend their funerals for first and last time, more for photos, PR or vote bank politics, and less for alleviating the ordeal of their families. Ironically, their ordeal begins with the cooling of the funeral pyre only. Public and more so, the political leadership has a short memory. The sacrifices, tales of bravery, citations and adulation are conveniently forgotten. This insensitivity is glaringly evident from the fact that we still don’t have a national war memorial. Astonishingly, it has taken colossal efforts, meetings and heart burning amongst serving soldiers, veterans and dependents of war heroes and martyrs and 70 years of Independence to get an approval of Rs 500 cr on 7 Oct 2015 for building a National War Memorial and a National War Museum near India Gate. The historical memorial is ready for everyone to visit, salute our martyrs, pray and feel proud. The entire project has been placed under the jurisdiction of Defence Secretary to lace it with usual delays. Is the delay in this monumental decision due to political apathy, ignorance, lack of focussed push by military leadership or sheer absence of collective foresight? Whatever may be the reason, everyone must applaud it instead of calling the planned epitome, a denial of open space for tourists and skyscrapers. Now that the approved project is under way, Indians deserve to know the names of all Indian armed forces and security forces personnel who have been killed or missing (‘presumed dead’) since independence. We have fought four major wars besides innumerable operations, which are still on, resulting into sadly but proudly approximately 23000 martyrs. This excludes war wounded living with prosthesis. The memorial inspires and promotes a sense of patriotism besides people’s expression of gratefulness for the brave hearts. The future generations must be made aware of the value of freedom and provide a sense of pride to the affected families, units, military leadership and people at large. Incidentally, India is amongst 15 countries, which celebrates its martyrs’ day. Painfully, we are quite apt at selectively misusing our right of freedom of speech and expression and remain divided for personal and political gains by observing different Martyrs Days. No single day was being celebrated as martyr’s day by a large population across India, perhaps due to lack of awareness of the solemnity of the day. The PM had to fix 30 January as ‘Martyrs day’ to pay homage to the heroes who laid their lives for the freedom, welfare and development of India. This is the day when Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. Accordingly, all schools, Institutions, public offices, PSEs, PSUs, associations, organizations and public in general, have to stop work and movement and observe two minutes silence by standing at 11 am including all required cultural activities, documentaries, films and role of martyrs in the freedom struggle. Your worshipping Bolly wood stars, sportspersons, politicians, sadhus and other celebrities as ‘heroes’ need rethinking. Aren’t the martyrs who lay down their lives at the prime of their youth only to keep you alive, the real heroes? They are, indeed, who inspire our future generations and us. Their names are no more called, but continue to be remembered. Killing in the name of cow is unacceptable but why disrespecting a martyr is acceptable? This is perhaps due to lack of understanding of the solemnity of sacrifices, absence of collective national consciousness and cheap politics. The nation owes a debt to the martyrs and their families. No nation can pay the cost of martyrdom, it is highest price paid by humans for restoration of peace on earth. Our claim to liberty, equality, dignity and a life without fear is written with the blood of those who died guarding every inch of our country’s land, sea and air. So, cheer the serving soldiers, spare few tears for the martyrs and show respect to their martyrdom. feedbackexcelsior@gma
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