Col J P Singh, Retd
Sir, my feedback is related to Hon’ble Raksha Mantri’s this statement. “It is said that a soldier is always ready to lay down his life for the country. I am against it. Why get killed? Don’t get killed. Kill the Enemy”. Brig Anil Gupta has vividly explained through your esteemed daily on 19 Dec 2015 on how our soldiers have been killing the enemy to restore sovereignty and peace. Even as UN Peace Keeping Force they have glorified India. Why, how and for whom a soldier dies and how the precious lives can best be saved has been spelled out by the author. My assertion is to remind the valued readers that a soldier does not die by choice or compulsion but by compassion. He dies for the motherland. He dies for the honour of his unit and the country. He dies so that others live. Nation must acknowledge the sacrifices of young officers and men gratefully and ensure that his family is respected. Let me remind the readers of two meaningful statements. 1st of Gen Patton, “A man who dies in battle is ‘frequently a fool’ adding that the wounded are heroes” and of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, “If someone says he is not scared of death, either he tells lies or he is a Gorkha”. It means that the life is very precious. Still the soldiers lay down their lives for us. Same Gen Patton, while addressing US 3rd Army before he led it to final advance into Germany before the end of WW II, said, “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor damn bastard die for his country”. To that extent Raksha Mantri’s statement is timely and deserves credit.
Our army fights as a team. We have best of the team and the team spirit. A soldier loves to kill and in the bargain gets killed if the opponent is stronger. The very thought of losing a battle is hateful to the nation. No repeat of 1962 the nation says. A soldier therefore has to be alert all the times if he has to kill. If not, enemy will sneak behind, annihilate him and threaten us. In the war, when the shells and the bullets are hitting all around and a soldier sees the blood of his comrade, he does what is ought to be done and wins. We have best of the soldiers in the world. Sadly we don’t have best of the weapons and equipment for them. Yet our soldiers pity Pak soldiers who had best of everything yet lost in each war. Hence we have to create conditions that favour our soldiers’ instinct to kill and succeed in annihilating even a superior enemy.
ISI and ISIL sponsored terrorism, cutting across Europe, US, Central Asia and Africa is causing people to fear it in a manner that is hugely disproportionate to the destruction it can actually cause. This rational fear is dreadfully seeping into Indian psyche, as seen in Raksha Mantri’s statement about dying and killing. That is why we need to view Brig Anil’s article in the proper perspective. No govt or an army can prevent every potential terrorist attack, it simply cannot be done. But the govt can certainly equip the military to attempt to prevent these attacks and mitigate those which cannot be prevented. Pressure must be built on the govt to empower the military for the safety and security of the nation.
Indian soldiers love to fight and wish their superiors fight for them. Brig Anil has timely reminded the minister that the morale of the soldiers is lowest at the moment. It needs immediate attention. They are demoralized because of inadequate preparedness, deliberate degradation, indifference of bureaucracy, failed promise of ‘one rank one pension’ (OROP) and the recommendations of the 7th CPC for which the three Chiefs have jointly met Raksha Mantri on 22 Dec. Agitation for OROP at Jantar Mantar continues without govt blinking a bit more. Job of the RM is to ensure that our soldiers are always at the best of their fighting ability and spirits. He is well advised not to make tactical statements about soldiering. Best leave them for the Generals who lead them to wars. He should also advise the PM not to make tall promises. The soldiers feel cheated when they are not fulfilled as in the case of OROP. Then the question arises, for whom shall we kill? Take care of the military Mr. RM, if you wish the nation strong and prosperous.
feedbackexcelsior@gmail.com
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