Col Satish Singh Lalotra
‘Flags are bits of coloured cloth used first to shrink-wrap people’s brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead’— Arundhati Roy.
The recent news emanating from Rajasthan regarding a gross action of ill-treatment meted out to few protesting widows of martyrs of Pulwama of 2019 by the state police at Jaipur should make every right thinking Indian hang his head in shame. In a country like India with majority of its population fed on the heady mix of potion consisting of nationalism, bravado of its armed forces and it being the last bastion of democracy bespeaks of former’s unshakable & ultimate faith in the later. In a country like India surrounded as it is from both sides by its arch rivals with nuclear weapons and boasting with 4th largest standing army, the incident on 09th March at Jaipur is a big blot on the country’s exalted image of biggest democracy and savior of free speech and action which these widows of martyrs were exhibiting. India unique in its very being from rest of the world has always been technically at war either in its external realm (China &Pakistan) or within its internal boundaries (CI Ops, Maoist actions etc) since its gaining independence from colonial powers. This has always kept the clock ticking of its armed forces personnel meeting their maker in the line of their duty.
According to the latest data released by the DSW (Department of sainik welfare), India has more than 26000 martyr’s widows impacted by either external aggression or internal security challenges owing to insurgency, militancy /Maoists. This figure is the highest in the world for any country, beating by a leading margin even those countries which have been perpetually in the throes of strife. Most of the people in the world including Indians believe that since the country is not usually at war, no men are martyred. What a fallacy to base our further deductions on the country’s security challenges which are increasing by the day and counting. The same lot forgets that India right from independence has been fighting one of the oldest insurgencies of Asia (Nagaland-Manipur) since 1949 in addition to the traditional wars which have been foisted upon the country not of its volition. The insurgency in Jammu & Kashmir coupled with that of NE has taken more armed forces and Para military personnel to their doom that can be imagined by any one of us. Every year we have fresh cases of battle casualties with more women becoming widows faced with an uncertain future staring at them squarely in their eyes. A colossal tragedy for which various governments of the day too have been found wanting in its resolution. It goes without saying that the official data released by the DSW (Department of sainik welfare) is absolutely correct when it says that 90% of all martyrs widows live in the rural areas and are either illiterate or have minimal levels of education .
The above listed shortcoming limits their employment opportunities, and in some cases leaves them vulnerable to losing their entire monetary benefits to her in-laws. Most of these women become widows even before they attain the age of 30,and hence for the next 4 to 5 decades of their lives they are left with an unending struggle to survive the loss, raise the children and take care of their families. In the instant case of Manju ,wife of Pulwama martyr Rohitash Lamba she has alleged that she was thrown like a gunny bag when she was going to meet the Chief minister of the state regarding her demands. So much for the sensitivity of the Rajasthan police towards a martyr’s widow. An action of such nature i.e throwing a martyr’s widow by the police has to be under orders from a very senior officer of the state cadre/police department thus displaying an abject apathy and wanton disregard to the societal propriety. This also goes against our stated claims of assuaging the hurt feelings of widows who have been wantonly humiliated in full public view instead of being supportive of their efforts and reaching out to them. The four widows in question i.e. Manju Jat, MadhuBala, Sundari Devi and Renu singh had been holding protests as stated earlier in this write up outside the residence of congress leader Sachin Pilot since February 28 demanding change in rules which would have ensured their relatives and not just their children to get government jobs on compassionate grounds as also installation of statues of the martyrs of Pulwama attack of 2019. On 09th March they began an indefinite hunger strike, but three of them were shifted to the nearest hospital of their residences, but the fourth one was pushed to such an extent by the police that she suffered injuries to her body prompting a heavy protest march led by the state BJP wing.
Though allegations and counter allegations have been pouring in from all corners thick and fast in this entire sordid drama with despicable details ,the point worth pondering is why has the nation come to such a pass where the law enforcing agencies act in a manner which refuse to separate wheat (genuine protests) from the chaff (bogus and hooligans) ? Though NCW (National commission for women) chairperson Rekha Sharma wrote to the DGP of Rajasthan to personally look into the matter and conduct an impartial enquiry into the allegations of ill-treatment and assault on the widows, it remains to be seen on ground if any forward movement takes place so as to justify mitigating the pain and shame of being shoved by the sentinels of the society.
An important barometer of societal consciousness which has been totally forgotten in this sordid drama has been the absolute disregard of generation of empathy and concern by the state police force and the society at large for the plight of the martyr’s widows who otherwise are up in the arms for even a trivial matter at nation’s iconic places like Jantar Mantar? Where is the gender sensitization of the state police force in dealing with harmless widows of martyrs? Will it require another ‘Police reforms commission” in the country to help understand the nature of policing in India with the changed socio-economic milieu? Or are these discourses on police reforms kept alive only to be discussed on national media/ seminars to earn brownie points by the highest in the level of governance? These are some of the burning questions begging an immediate answer by the country at large failing which an undeniable damage will be caused to the pristine image of India as holder and champion of human rights of a section of society(martyr’s widows ) who have been rest assured that with their husbands gone in the line of duty ,it is the country which stands steadfastly with them now at this hour of their crisis. As famous writer Arundhati Roy has said-‘Flags are bits of coloured cloth used first to shrink-wrap people’s brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead’. Does India want to put her words to action by its own inaction ? I leave it to the reader to decide upon .
(The writer is a retired colonel )
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