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| Army: In constant struggle | | | MOUSUMI KALITA SACHDEVA
None can deny the
great service im
parted by the army soldiers to our nation. The army is ever ready for protection to the last gaiter-button. Sitting and eating peacefully at home, enjoying our life day and night at every corner of our country, do we ever spare a minute to cogitate about the problems and sacrifices of these nation servers? Fighting against all odds of life, defeating the coldest and the warmest climate, they are still standing alert at the borders to provide us a safe and peaceful meal with our family. Are we really aware of the various difficulties faced by them in trying to honestly devote themselves to their job or are we getting swayed away by the daily criticisms bestowed on them?
This piece of writing is a deep look into the services of Indian Army and the debate for and against the most burning issue AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act). There has been much hue and cry on the withdrawal of AFSPA in Jammu and Kashmir since a long time. This act was passed by the parliament of India on September 11, 1958. Since 1990 this Act has been employed in the Indian administrated state of Jammu and Kashmir. What inspired me to put my thoughts into the matter is a recent letter to the editor by an individual named Surjeet Singh, (a resident of Jammu) thanking the commendable job of army. In his letter he has expressed his respect towards army mentioning how they have saved a pregnant lady. I would like to quote one of his sentences from his letter, "the jawans of Indian army have been doing a commendable job by not only protecting our borders but also by extending every possible help to civilians in difficult circumstances." (Daily Excelsior dated January 12, 2012). I definitely do not know this person personally but would urge everyone to go through this letter and give a deep thought to the real spirit of Indian army. This is not only one such letter expressing their gratitude to army but there are many such voices whom we generally forget to give our eyes and ears to them. Presently the most boiling issue is the people's demand for the withdrawal of army from this state, the complete withdrawal of AFSPA. Before moving ahead let me define what AFSPA is. It is the power given to the armed forces to shoot, arrest and search for protection and aiding civil power especially in the disturbed areas of the state. My question is if the common people are happy with the service of army who are these 'people' who are protesting to put forces out of their state? Is it a particular sect who is putting Army in the vicious circle to operate their duties? Besides the letter, live proofs for the support of army are the comments of the so called common people of Srinagar in the shivering month of January 2012. The media who have been carrying news against army was compelled to broadcast the situation of snow covered Srinagar where there was no help for the common people except Indian Army. If we Indians are good at watching, reading and hearing news, we must remember the people expressing their thanks to army in providing help to them in all critical circumstances. In the extreme mid winter when the whole Srinagar was buried in white snowy thick bed sheet; people had no water to drink, no electricity, no contact with the family members and relatives and everybody was seen shedding tears in cold, thirst and hunger. None but the brave soldiers of Indian Army were helping them to cater their needs. The brave jawans were the one to clear the streets and routes covered with snow at all hazards struggling against the cold and chilly weather so that the general public can continue their daily activities and restart to earn their daily livelihood. Army is keeping their feet in this state not only to fight against militants but to provide general service, welfare to the people, to save people who fall on evil times. If these people are happily taking the help of our soldiers and are accepting the great service, then who are 'these common people' who do not want the services of the armed forces in their area? Is somehow a particular sect putting the services of Army in the vicious circle of politics for their own benefit? The soldiers of army are not excused for the cold climate or the snowfall; they have to carry their duty and remain firm under fair or foul weather. In doing so sometimes few accidents or mishappenings may take place by some sudden careless look; but would it be correct to blame the entire organisation for the mistake committed by one among many. After all they belong to the same species called human.
Instead of playing the criticising and blame game, would it not be worth to get to the root of the cause of many accidents whom we consider to be 'not right'. There have been cases where innocents are killed suspecting them to be militants which of course could never be forgiven. But what causes such unfortunate incidents? Having talked to a soldier on duty, I came to know that many a times they are sick unto death of tough duty and a man with a stick on his shoulders seems to be a gun from a far distant. In continuous operations in jungles and disturbed areas, the fighters sometimes fail to have a clear view with high pressure on them to look for the evil ones. One civilian dead who may or may not be involved in any evil deeds, there is lot hue and cry. So much so that people with banners are seen to coming on streets and protesting against army. How many of us have come up and stood on the streets for one army man who died fighting against militancy in tough operations? Did we see any group or individual carrying banners or raising voice against terrorism when the bravest of the brave young officer Lt Navdeep singh gave away his life in a fierce encounter with Lashkar terrorists recently in North Kashmir? Now that the discussions are on for a solution to the problem of AFSPA, let us see why this power is a need to wipe out the evils of terrorism and make our country free from terrorism giving us complete independence to move around anywhere and everywhere in our own country without any fear. Search for militants, holding various operations do not take place only in the day times. They can be when the sky is dark, at mid night and at any odd hour. According to the civil law, the police have to take permission from the magistrate, take out a warrant against anybody who is suspected to be a militant or any kind of support to such organisations. They have to seek permission to search any house if they suspect anybody to be hiding in it. If the army faces such cases at odd hours or midnight, they would have to first find the magistrate, take out warrant and then carry forward their action giving sufficient time to the suspect to flee from the place. In such cases don't we find the effort made by the soldiers go in vain? With the help of AFSPA, the army can take immediate action and protect the civilians without any delay. The most important point to be noticed is the restrictions added along with this power. Army has to hand over the arrested person to police within a stipulated time after required interrogation along with a medical report from a well authorised doctor.
One thing which passes my comprehension is the fact that why we the common people cannot join hands, stand together, help our soldiers in eradicating terrorism rather than protesting to repeal this act. Why don't we find any civilian come up in the streets with banners, protest and fight when a militant kills a member of us? Why haven't we hear and see any civilian filing a case, raise voice when a terrorist humiliates a lady in any village or disturbed area? Is it the fear of losing our lives or loss that restricts us from protesting against these killers? Why can't the whole village come out and fight against the terrorists when they come to know that someone from such organisation is taking refuge in their village? The media equally has an important role to keep the peace in the state. It is for sure that nothing can compensate the loss of a life in a family. But when such cases accidently take place where a civilian loses his life in the hands of an army, never done intentionally, the over highlighting of the issue adds fuel to fire provoking people to create a chaos in the state. What about all the soldiers who suffered baptism of blood for the sake of our protection? A soldier is also a son of a mother, husband of a wife, a father of a child and the sole bread earner of a family. Can anything compensate the loss of his life? The passage-at-arms over the withdrawal of army from the disturbed areas of the state seems to be no solution to bring peace and tranquillity back to this heaven. It is time to fight together avoiding all bad blood between army and the so called common man or civilian. It is time to open our eyes wide and bring to light the truth - who actually wants to turn down the services provided by army? Let us help army not to be clutched into the vicious circle of politics. After all we belong to the same family called Indians. |
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