INDIA'S PARADOX

The word ‘irony’ has taken a new meaning in the last few weeks in our country. With the educated youth of our nation delivering anti-nationalist slogans about the very country that bore them, delivering speeches and carrying posters that iconise a militant on one hand and the educated youth of that very nation are dying to protect the people of their country from these very militants that pose a threat to the innocent and sacrifice their all to uphold and maintain the nation’s peace.

As the JNU students chant the name ‘Afsal Guru’, names like Capt. Vikram Batra, Capt. Manoj Pandey, Lt. Anuj Kheterapal, Col. Santosh Mahadik and many many more fade away into silence. We remember the names of those who have killed innocent people and use this as a way to fight for their so-called ‘nationalism’ but we choose to ignore the sacrifice of those who have died to protect the innocent they don’t know to safeguard their nationalism.

Where on one hand the citizens of our country are burning cities to fight for backwardness, on the other hand citizens of that very community are joining the Defence Forces through an examination, which does not allow even one percent of reservation and are sacrificing their lives to protect a minority community of their country in Kashmir.

The biggest irony of all is that this 23-year-old son of India was a JAT and held a degree from JNU, did not question the ‘idea of India’ – whether it exists or if it ever existed. He simply wanted to protect his nation and soldiers like him are the proof that India indeed does exist and have a hope for it to grow stronger. He died so that all of us have our ‘freedom of speech and expression’, so that we remain ‘Azaad’.

The only difference is that there are people who always ask what the country has ever done for them and then there are people who think what have they ever done for the country and are working to make the change that they want to see. We need to choose which type do we choose to be a part of. If we cannot ourselves do what we want this country to be, we should atleast let the ones who wish to make a change, ‘make a change’. We might remember Capt Pawan Kumar, 10 Para and Capt. Tushar Mahajan, 9 Para for a few days, but their sacrifice which is now like the biggest favor that one can do – ‘dying to protect the unknown at the cost of the happiness of their own family and friends’ is non-payable for if nothing else then atleast in this lifetime because it is not only ours but is like a rebirth granted to us by them. As Capt. Tushar Mahajan used to rightly quote “so jayegi kal lipatkar tirange ke sath, yeh deshbhakti hai sahib, tarikhon par jagti hai” – “tomorrow, patriotism will also sleep, with the folding of the national flag, it only wakes up on few dates”. Let us not remember our true heroes on only a few dates and keep them alive within us for as long as we can.

 

 

SUCHITRA AHLAWAT