The forgotten heroes!

Few days back I saw a movie on a TV channel that has been released a long back – “1971: The Prisoners of War”, featuring Manoj Vajpayee in the lead role.

The movie is indeed an emotional one and connects well with those of our forgotten heroes who have sacrificed their youth to defend the country from external aggression in the history of independent India. The indifferent attitude of the government and their callous approach towards the whole problem dates back to 16th December 1971 (end of the Indo-Pak war and surrender of the Pakistani forces) and 3rd July, 1972 (the signing of the Shimla Agreement). Wherein, the then Indian government was generous enough to release about 91000 Pakistani PoW, it hardly bothered to put up a condition for the release of the captured Indian soldiers by the Pakistanis. The movie authenticates about 54 Indian soldiers and officers who are still languishing in various Pakistani jails as the PoW of 1971 alone. The number will probably be much higher if the statistics of 1965 war is also taken into deliberations.

The governments over the years have really neglected the genuine requirements put up by the forces to keep itself at par with changing geopolitical scenario and balance of power in the region/world. It is quite evident from the fact that the Indian Air Force is managing with about only 35 fighter squadrons whereas the minimum requirement is about 47 to defend the huge and hostile frontiers of the country. Further, there has been an acute shortage of enthusiastic youngsters to fill up the vacancies at the officers cadre in the Forces which is to the tune of about thirty to thirty-five thousands for the Army alone.

The grievances of the serving personnel over the discrepancies in the sixth-pay commission and the unique method of protests by some of their retired counterparts by returning their gallantry awards to the government are an indication of growing discontent among the most disciplined organization in the country. A mere monthly allowance of Rupees one hundred and thirty for a particular gallantry award (award name concealed) is scandalous but true.

The government has probably closed her eyes on these issues, because she knows that our soldiers will never protest in the lines of the Bangladesh Rifles.

For further readings, please click: 1 & 2