THE GLORIOUS PRODIGALITY OF LIFE

Couple of weeks back, I saw an obituary in Times of India. It showed the

photograph of Captain Harshan, a dear friend, who gave up his life two years ago,
fighting terrorists in J&K . Captain Harshan, an officer of the elite Indian Special Forces
was less than 27 years of age…. Definitely not a viable ‘dieable’ age… At the threshold
of an adult life which held many a promise, he fell to the terrorists bullets.

Over six feet tall, dark in complexion with a face bearing an uncanny similarity to
Zenedine Zidane, (I used to tease him by calling him Zidane) he was a quintessential
TDH young man. He had a calm and composed demeanour which betrayed his
exceptionally high level of toughness. I had known Harshan and had come to like him
and respect him as a capable, virtuous young man, extremely committed to the noble
profession of arms. An ideal officer and a gentleman, he epitomized the ideal Special
Forces officer, reaffirming one’s faith in the younger generation of Army officers.

I do recollect the TV news channels giving a small foot note on the ‘death of a
Captain’ in J&K in those days. But in the days that followed Harshan’s sacrifice, it was
most disgusting to find more coverage to some imbecile who shot his father-in-law. I was
confronted with the question “Who and what did this brave young man gave his life
for?”….. for the neo-rich Gen X, who have their eyes focused on the El Dorado that lies
to the West and whose dreams of heaven on earth are dominated by possession of
material assets and comforts only? …..for a consumerist society where esteem is solely
dependent on the power of wealth….for the new age Messiahs who preach salvation only
in terms of money earned…..for an entire generation of subverted youth which glorifies
the labour of listening to abuses from the ‘emancipated’ world sitting in call centres…..
for a nation which finds criminals more heroic than heroes….for a government which
refuses to have a representative from the armed forces – the toughest and the biggest
central government service- in the pay commission….. for the politicians whose sole
purpose is attainment of power,– exemplified in the form of a man, who, after enjoying
the fruits of power- the kidnap of whose daughter was a watershed event in India’s
terrorist chronology- now raises the rhetoric of ‘demilitarization of Kashmir…. Or for the
babus who lick the feet of the politicians for perks and promotions (and are granted too,
in an arrangement of reciprocal niceties; one has lost the number of secretaries and DGPs
in the government, but if I remember the statistics correctly, there are over 30 officers of
the Forest service in Kerala of the rank of Chief Conservator of Forest with 15 of them
being CCFs in charge of various inconsequential sub departments) but are never there to
shoulder responsibilities……

It is not surprising that I was forced to reflect on the NDTV’s ‘Indian of the year’
poll which happened some time back. Amongst the ones the ‘Nation’ chose over Major
Pitambre of the Special Forces, who died killing a dreaded terrorist of the Hizbul
Mujahideen, was a criminal found possessing the same Kalashnikov which accounted for
many Harshans and Pitambares. The winners also included Mr Matoo, the father of late
Priyadarshini Matoo. Not denying Mr Matoo any credit for what he did, one has to accept
that his was essentially a personal battle. I am not sure if he would have taken the same
pains to fight some one else’s battle…..Pitambare’s was not a personal battle; he fought
our battle, mine and yours, the battle of our Country’s survival…..So did Harshan, but it
was most obnoxious to realise that the media found a man who shot his father-in-law
more significant than a man who wielded the gun to protect the motherland…The
memory also goes back to the story of two Udays who achieved martyrdom near
simultaneously….Our own Capt Uday- yet another Special Forces Officer- who fell
defending the motherland was relegated to the side lines, while Sgt (equivalent of
Havildar in Indian Army) Uday who fought America’s war in Iraq was hailed a hero….
No wonder one is made to feel despondent and ask some basic questions on the meaning
and essence of national spirit and patriotism…Is it only a cause to open a bottle of
champagne when our cricket team wins a match……Or does it really translate in to
concern, compassion, recognition and respect for the men in uniform who give their
todays for the tomorrows of many millions?... But even more critical is the primordial
existential question; is idealism dead? ..... What and where are the ideals worth living
(and dying) for? …..

Harshan could have, with his abilities, easily opted for an easier, safer career,
earned loads of money working in the cozy confines of an air conditioned office…. But
he opted to devote his life in service of the nation and chose the toughest way of doing it,
the Special Forces; where every man is a volunteer selected only after a series of grueling
physical and mental tests, where each man is Special….What a pity that such courage and
glorious prodigality of young life goes un recognized…..I think we need to do
something…. Let unsung heroes not remain unsung….

Before my marriage I would have never felt any emotion reading a piece of news
like this. But after marrying an army officer, having felt the pain of the loss of many
friends and having seen mothers who lost their sons, wives who lost their husbands and
babies who lost their fathers in the line of duty, even news items like this which hardly
occupy any space in the papers touches my heart and I realize that I should have
understood the trials and tragedies of the valiant soldiers and their families earlier….And
having known the bravest of men- the ones who go in to battle field, unsure of return,
with a smile in their lips, the real life heroes, who unlike the reel life ones, do not use
dupes to leap out of skies- for years now, I know that these stories need to be told and it
pains me when these sacrifices go unnoticed… And I feel proud in being a member of
this great family called the Indian Army.