You know the enormous responsibility on each jawan’s soldier when the second most populous country is guarded by the 5th biggest army in the world.
And apart from the full-fledged wars and battles with both neighbours, China and Pakistan, that make the headlines, there are numerous cease-fire violations and skirmishes everyday that we, the commoners, don’t even know about.
We only quiver with jingoism when we watch a patriotic film or when the National Anthem plays out before a movie screening. And then too, it is irksome to some as it mars their cinematic experience.
Indian army guards the roof of the world at the highest battlefield on earth at Siachen. While we are glued to the notifications on Facebook and WhatsApp, and so enamoured with our daily lives, the soldiers in Siachen are facing the brutal forces of nature with little protection, minimal supplies and a forlorn longing in the heart for home.
Whether it was driving out the Pakistani insurgents in 1947, the Chinese encroachment in 1965, recovering the Kargil peak in 1999, or fighting terrorist attacks, and the daily cross border violations, the Indian Army has stood forth in their stead, and ensured that our daily lives go on peacefully and unharmed.
The Armed Forces Flag Day is specially commemorated as a reminder to us to do our bit for the soldiers too. The requirement of keeping our Armed Forces young necessitates that every year about 60000 Defence personnel are compulsorily retired. Caring for these ex-soldiers and their families is therefore a national responsibility.
Ongoing counter-insurgency operations have also left many broken homes without a breadwinner. Flag Day brings to the forefront our obligation of looking after our disabled comrades-in-arms, widows and dependents of those who have sacrificed their lives for the country.
Today is the day to do something for these jawans, and their families by contributing to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund.
