Jun

1

The bravehearts and the fainthearts

June 1, 2008 posted by indiatime |

defense minister gets carried awayNo, that is not a protester being carried away by the security. That guy in his pajamas is India’s defense minister A. K. Antony, being carried away by India’s finest from the 114th graduation parade of India’s most prestigious defense school, the National Defense Academy (NDA). The honorable minister who had been standing for almost an hour, fainted of exahustion and dehydration, vomited and fainted aftrards, and had to be carried away by the brave army personnel.

But recently, there was another group of army personnel who went on a fast (though they neither fainted nor had to be carried away). This Tuesday, India’s ex-generals and retired servicemen staged a token strike near the world war II memorial, protesting Indian government’s apathy in attending to their call for higher wages. Also recently, 15 colonels of the Indian army refused to enroll for an elite training program, expressing their unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the recent pay commission report.

indian soldiersOne thing yesterday’s fainting episode must have done is it must have shown the defense minister how hard and tough and physically demanding it really is to stand in scroching heat for even a few minutes. On the Indo-Pak border and on the Indo-Chinese border, India’s bravest stand guard, without blinking their eyelids, constantly fine-combing the mountainous region with their vigilant eyes. They do not faint of exhaustion. They do not complain of degydration. They stand atop some of the most dangerous ground on the planet, so that the rest of India can enjoy its Bollywood, Cricket, stock markets, IT revolutions, and the political silliness. They asked the government to make their salaries respectable enough so that they did not have to worry about the rising prices of vegetables and edible oil and rice and wheat. They demanded some extra Rupees so they too, could participate in the India 2.0 economic upgrade that the people they protect seem to be enjoying.

The man who was supposed to protect their rights now knows what standing in sun for even a few minutes can do to a human being. That should educate him a little more on the hard and exacting life our our soliders, who deserve a little more respect and a much better paycheck.


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4 Comments so far

  1. sam on June 3, 2008 2:25 am

    I think, some or most of the indian politicians should be captured & forced to experience the hardships the common soldier is facing. Also their wealth should be distributed to the army.

  2. Appu on June 5, 2008 1:22 pm

    Raat gayi baat gayi - an old saying.
    Who cares.
    All we need is government mandatory rule to create a post of Yoga instructor for all educational Institutions/MNC/Job sectors to provide yoga training to students/working people once in a week if not 6 days.
    If any educational Institute/MNC/Job sectors is working without a Yoga Instructor or without yoga training sessions, it will be heavily fined or banned.

  3. fun poquer game on September 2, 2008 3:19 pm

    fun poquer game…

    Masonite?thousandth scarf …

  4. www titanpoker com on November 10, 2009 4:58 am

    www titanpoker com…

    matchless gander guerrilla sedate …

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