“Every gun that is made under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”-Dwight D. Eisenhower
Since independence, India has fought many wars against its neighbors to protect and liberate but none were provoked by her. People were martyred. They waited for orders and died waiting for help. None came but only the sounds of Bravehearts and RIP echoing in households. Will our condolences really help them rest in peace? Didn't they have their rights to be treated fairly and live for their country? Were they only supposed to get torched and die to fulfill their duty? Did death pay their price for service? Didn't they serve well while they lived? These questions should haunt us, haunt those human rights advocates because whoever said this and swears by- ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ obviously never encountered automatic weapons. “Army personnel using 'human shield': The rights thing. The Army should act quickly on reports of the use of a human shield by its personnel.” This headline was reported by the Hindu shortly after a video clip went viral. A man was tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep and was driven through the streets in Srinagar on the orders of Major Gogoi. The public address system of the vehicle announced the threatening words, “Patthar bazon ka yeh haal hoga” (this shall be the fate of stone-pelters).The man was identified as a 26-year-old Farooq Dar who embroiders shawls and the Army personnel are said to have belonged to the 53 Rashtriya Rifles. While our soldiers were beheaded for years and their bodies were mutilated, no human rights activist came up. Then why now when they decided not to hurt him but make a safe passage for the convoy as they knew the civilians would then not pelt stones.
The 1962 and 1965 wars are known for the might of our Bravehearts but were epic failures. The War of Razangla was fought with sticks and bare hands because of the lack of ammunition. No help was sent by the government. We say RIP, Chinese paid tribute to our mighty ones by laying down their rifles and headgear on the red blood clad snow scapes- honoring their bravery. People sat there for days and waited for orders to be passed by those who sat under the shelter at the center, unaware of real-life crises at the battlefront. Is this what the soldiers went for? It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it but these politicians never cared for that did they? Even the military actions that were taken was to serve their electoral wins not to win the war. Such a waste of young blood and those roles as a brother, son, father of an unborn child and a husband that can never be fulfilled.
Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh Rathee was then the Deputy Commandant at NDA and was asked to report to the terrains of Sela pass on 28th oct, 1962. He had refused to come back from the war as his senior who was on his deathbed in delhi had asked him to. A three time war veteran was not bestowed by any gallantry award because he didn't give up and went against his senior’s order to fulfill what he pledged was his duty. Did he deserve dying without even appreciating his efforts to keep up with his senior's ego? In India only morale, and ethos gets awarded. Capt (IN) Mahendra Nath Mulla for instance is the only Mahavir Chakra recipient from Navy to have kept up with the traditions and went down with his ship- INS Khukri, a korvette class after evacuating 193 crew members onboard in 1971 and India marked this date of 10th December in the name of human rights whereas we mourned in silence across the military establishments. The secret serving agents of RAW lead their lives as a common man/woman in the country that they were brought up to hate, for the country they love. But their profession leaves them away strangled in an enemy nation when things go wrong. Would the 71 war have been a success without them?
They talk about pellet guns and army activities in Kashmir. Did anyone question, who pays the stone pelters to carry out this propaganda? Civilians get paid 4000 or so to pelt stones by separatists and militant outfits. A place that has everything on curfew and is shut down; no opportunities for employment, nationalism takes a backfoot and all it comes down to is earning those few thousands even if it's to sell your country. World reporting channels like BCC have reported incidents of stone-pelting and have gone to an extent of mentioning POC as Indian administered Kashmir. “The plight of a 19-month-old child who suffered severe eye injuries after being hit by a pellet gun fired by the security forces has renewed anger in Indian-administered Kashmir.” Where were those human rights activists when Capt. Saurabh Kalia and his men were taken in POW on 15th may 1999? He, along with five other soldiers of his patrolling team were captured and kept in isolated captivity where they were brutally tortured, and then killed by the Pakistan Army. Saurabh Kalia and his men were held in captivity from 15 May 1999 to 7 June 1999 for over twenty-two days and were subjected to torture as evident from injuries to their bodies when they were handed over by the Pakistani Army on 9 June 1999. Post-mortem examinations revealed that the Pakistanis had tortured their prisoners by- “burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing the ear-drums with hot rods, puncturing eyes before removing them, breaking most of their teeth and bones, fracturing their skulls, cutting the lips, chipping of the nose, chopping off limbs and castrating private organs of the soldiers, and finally shooting them dead, as evidenced by bullet wounds to the temple.” The post-mortem also confirmed the injuries were inflicted before death. Why didn't the human rights activist speak up against this human body mutilation then? Why wasn't their case fought? For their parents, as they fight till this date, the Kargil war never ended. Your RIP will never give them peace.
A mother of a soldier asks the army chief and breaks down crying- “you don't accept men if they fall short of even one inch during recruitment. Then how can i accept the body of my son who isn't even in one piece, he's a foot short in height.” They mutilate our soldiers, your RIP falls silent. Setting up candle marches won't bring back the lost light of their families, it doesn't help them sleep in peace. Then why do you come up to protect these pseudo-liberals in the name of human rights? Why do you protect the tukda tukda gang. Is this what human rights activists are supposed to do?