Martyrs don’t die !

Brethren! Growing up in India, how many of us really nurtured dreams of joining the Defence forces? How many kids today put their hands up and want to be counted? The answer is … none. You don’t need me to remind you that the Union of India is hardly 60 years, yet after a hard to forget 100-year freedom struggle all is forgotten. We are too busy with our lives.

Why am I writing this? After all, I am one of those that had the unique opportunity of serving the country yet chose to turn my back on it. I am writing this because, today I read an article about a man who gave up his life for our country and earned India’s first Param Vir Chakra.

Param Vir Chakra! Ah, it takes me back in time, when I used to stay glued in front of the TV to watch the series that chronicled the brave deeds of extraordinary men who time and again saved our country. It also ingrained the indelible philosophy – No Guts No Glory! Yes, those were the days when we were fed patriotism for Sunday brunch. I was young and motivated. I listed myself in the NCC and grew up thinking I would be in the army.

Part of that turned out to be true … I grew up thinking! My focus started changing, I was waking up to reality, the society that is India. A society where fallen heroes are not respected, a society where heroes are hardly remembered, a society where the hero is, whos that again, that’s right King Khan ! That is who today’s hero in India is, not a leading man, not a movie start but a HERO! That is who todays heroes are. Gone are the days of Param Vir Chakra, TV is filled with glamour and oomph.

Hailing from TamilNadu I can assure you that only a handful of the state’s population will remember Maj. Saravanan. Who is that again, that’s right, the young lad who gave up his life (and saved many) in the Kargil War. Not a single year has passed when people stopped their lives for one minute and paid homage to the soul on the day he achieved martyrdom. And yet, I havent seen a single year pass by when people forgot to celebrate the anniversaries and birthdays of the Superstars of the state.

Such is the sorry state of the society. We worship the wrong people. How do we remember our heroes? Whats that again, that’s right, Martyrs day? When is that again, that’s right, Jan 30. How many of us observe the day…… none. Our war heroes died giving us the gift of freedom and dignity and we uabashedly forget them.

Martyrs don’t die, that’s why they are called ‘Amar’. In the society that is India, Martyrs don’t die …. We just bury them.

PS: Kids cant grow up feeling proud about their country if they don’t know what to be proud about. They have to be educated.