Soldiers protect borders and politicians fight elections, but Police assault army on the road. Is this why we keep soldiers, to just protect us on borders. The gimmick of honouring soldiers is often telecasted on TV, but what is it when India doesn’t celebrate Independence Day or Republic Day.
It is soldiers who are humiliated on roads by police and are decommissioned or retired after the end of their tenure of service. They don’t get the respect they deserve. But so-called peace lovers think every soldier will turn out to be Zia, who also did great service to the nation.
And then public apathy is shown to them. We just post status on Whatsapp and Facebook. Are we Indians as a nation truly grateful to these veterans? Or do we just comment RIP on the martyrdom of a soldier?
Even if people don’t realise our last Viceroy, Mountbatten, was the Count of Burma who was serving with the British Navy in East Asia. I wish to soon write a book on soldiers a few years from now.
Our first head of Independent Indian Legion was Rashbihari Bose, later Shubhash Chandra Bose took over in Singapore during the second world war, who had made an army, who marched in up to Burma.
I cannot recount any book of political leadership which does not contain the name of any soldier or military leader, whether it was Caesar, Mustafa of Turkey (the man who led Turkey during the first world war and won back Turkish territories lost under the Treaty of Gallipoli.), Charles De Gaulle.
Japan’s major innovations Sony, Toyota, Mitsubishi, came from the Army. The Army also acts as a basis for entrepreneurship. So, in reality, the Army has the potential to transform the economy if given freehand from the politics of India.