The first symptom of a not so great nation is its ungratefulness
For once, it was incredible to see the way media
played a stupendous role in reliving the memories of the Kargil War, a war whose existence the bureaucracy had refused to accept once. Again, it was vindicated why the Indian Army is one of the finest institutions of the country. So, while the debates of the worst kind over the commemoration of the Kargil War continued (some from the political dozen were busy arguing whether it was purely an NDA victory, which therefore excludes the UPA from having the right to celebrate), what has been conveniently forgotten in between is the loss of numerous lives in the summer of ’99. Not only were those lives valuable, but the fact also is that many of those who died were young officers and jawans freshly out of military academies who willingly gave up their lives for a forgetful nation. Also is forgotten the fact that without that victory, the strategic paradigm of India and even the map of India would have changed forever.
Certainly, the Pakistani intrusion was not an impulsive one. It was clearly aimed at cutting off NH-1 and thus Siachen. A prolonged war, instead of a quick victory, would have spread the war beyond Kargil to other fronts in Rajasthan and Punjab. The situation then could have gone completely out of control; and with the threat of a nuclear war looming large, India would have been forced by the international community to negotiate with a recalcitrant and cunning Pakistan.
The quick and decisive victory was thus critical and came at a price. But the Indian Army didn’t forget to honour the sacrifice of those young men who were not fighting for any political formation. And certainly unlike many, the soldiers didn’t have the vote bank politics in mind while giving up their lives. But for a change, the media took the event to the people at large all across the nation. It was great to see that for two consecutive days, i.e. July 25-26, 2009 , the television media didn’t bother about anything else and allotted all their energy and prime time for the fallen soldiers and their dear ones.
But at this juncture come a few questions – one of them relating to the concept of remembrances. Why can’t we have a similar event every year for every victory of India instead of once in ten years? Isn't it also important for India to tell its progeny about the likes of Vikram Batra, Vijayant Thapar and Sandeep Unnikrishnan and make them able to distinguish between the real heroes from the surreal and fake ones? One line of thought promotes that with the history of India, the number of such celebratory events would simply go out of hand, in case we were to have one for each significant response of the defence/security forces.
Surely, there is credit to that argument, but then, is there any better method to educate India's future generations about our valid place in history than what the ridiculous and meaningless reality shows are spawning? School education! It is possibly the best option to ensure that school children are educated formally about the happenings of the events in the past, so that they realise that the literal present that they're enjoying did not come for a cheap ask. But at this point, comes the final kill. Even though it was truly inspiring to see the candlelit hills of Drass, one did notice that the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces – the President of India – and certain Chiefs of Staffs remained conspicuous by their absence at the commemoration ceremony.
Was it a matter of chance, a design of inadvertent circumstances or simply a 'tactical decision', is a question that'll never be answered. But then, that has almost always been the case when it comes to Kargil, hasn't it?
For once, it was incredible to see the way media
played a stupendous role in reliving the memories of the Kargil War, a war whose existence the bureaucracy had refused to accept once. Again, it was vindicated why the Indian Army is one of the finest institutions of the country. So, while the debates of the worst kind over the commemoration of the Kargil War continued (some from the political dozen were busy arguing whether it was purely an NDA victory, which therefore excludes the UPA from having the right to celebrate), what has been conveniently forgotten in between is the loss of numerous lives in the summer of ’99. Not only were those lives valuable, but the fact also is that many of those who died were young officers and jawans freshly out of military academies who willingly gave up their lives for a forgetful nation. Also is forgotten the fact that without that victory, the strategic paradigm of India and even the map of India would have changed forever.Certainly, the Pakistani intrusion was not an impulsive one. It was clearly aimed at cutting off NH-1 and thus Siachen. A prolonged war, instead of a quick victory, would have spread the war beyond Kargil to other fronts in Rajasthan and Punjab. The situation then could have gone completely out of control; and with the threat of a nuclear war looming large, India would have been forced by the international community to negotiate with a recalcitrant and cunning Pakistan.
The quick and decisive victory was thus critical and came at a price. But the Indian Army didn’t forget to honour the sacrifice of those young men who were not fighting for any political formation. And certainly unlike many, the soldiers didn’t have the vote bank politics in mind while giving up their lives. But for a change, the media took the event to the people at large all across the nation. It was great to see that for two consecutive days, i.e. July 25-26, 2009 , the television media didn’t bother about anything else and allotted all their energy and prime time for the fallen soldiers and their dear ones.
But at this juncture come a few questions – one of them relating to the concept of remembrances. Why can’t we have a similar event every year for every victory of India instead of once in ten years? Isn't it also important for India to tell its progeny about the likes of Vikram Batra, Vijayant Thapar and Sandeep Unnikrishnan and make them able to distinguish between the real heroes from the surreal and fake ones? One line of thought promotes that with the history of India, the number of such celebratory events would simply go out of hand, in case we were to have one for each significant response of the defence/security forces.
Surely, there is credit to that argument, but then, is there any better method to educate India's future generations about our valid place in history than what the ridiculous and meaningless reality shows are spawning? School education! It is possibly the best option to ensure that school children are educated formally about the happenings of the events in the past, so that they realise that the literal present that they're enjoying did not come for a cheap ask. But at this point, comes the final kill. Even though it was truly inspiring to see the candlelit hills of Drass, one did notice that the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces – the President of India – and certain Chiefs of Staffs remained conspicuous by their absence at the commemoration ceremony.
Was it a matter of chance, a design of inadvertent circumstances or simply a 'tactical decision', is a question that'll never be answered. But then, that has almost always been the case when it comes to Kargil, hasn't it?
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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