The Curious Case of A Soldier: Served with bad food, gone to media and being punished.

A Soldier was served with the bad food, gone to media and got punished.

I would like to shed some limelight on the situation and leave it for others to judge. But before I begin, I would want to establish and convey that by all means, the soldiers serving and safeguarding our motherland deserve the best of everything; be it the food or clothing or anything for that matter. My Dad served in BSF for 37 Years and stayed in Kashmir for almost 9 Years. He commanded the battalion and troops on the high altitude in Neru & Gurez valleys. So the below points are from the horse’s mouth.

1. The Video says the Dal was bad and the chapattis were burnt. Clearly it was not made by the officers in command. In the video itself you can see a nice Matar Paneer curry is lying next to the Dal, so it suggests it’s not the issue of the will but the issue of wish. The cook did not prepare the Dal well. Many a times this happen because of lack of expertise as there are no or less trained cooks in the armed forces. (No involvement of Money or corruption) 
   
2.  Let’s say the food was really bad due to bad or non-supply of the ration but my question would be, is it so easy to supply the ration on the high altitude? Let’s understand some facts about the high altitude guard-posts shown in the video. The points like Neru and Gurez (where my dad served) are one of the toughest and highest peaks of the Himalayan range where our armed forces stay. (Common people like me and you will die in just the extreme conditions forget about the bullet). The altitude ranges between 12000-15000 Feet, which means more than 6 months of the year the guard-posts are disconnected from the outer world. Now, coming to the issue of supply- the ration for the whole year is being transported on foot by the soldiers themselves with the help of the local porters. To carry this load on foot on such an altitude is no joke. Trust me, only the basic ration for survival is given the first preference. Most of the supply is not the food but the arms & ammunition and Kerosene to keep them warm from the killing weather. Most of the food is frozen due to extreme cold conditions like frozen peas, frozen potatoes, frozen chicken and frozen Paneer.  It is not so difficult to understand that it is unimaginably tough to have great food on such altitude due to the non-availability of the resources. I salute my soldiers for bearing this for us! (Again no involvement of Money or corruption) 
   
3. Jawan accused the officers with corruption, I do not deny that our forces are 100% corruption free but my question is how it can happen there? The Jawan shown in the video is from BSF and the ration supplied to BSF is not by any vendor but directly by the government of India through ARMY and it’s a FREE ration. Only Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur are the regions where there is a provision for FREE ration to the armed forces. Since it is no local purchasing and it happens by the central board through tendering process and thus involves no local officers in the process. (No direct purchasing, No involvement of Money or corruption) 
4.  According to the post, the Jawan was expelled from BSF; no-one knows the authenticity! If it is true where are the Human Rights of the Jawan? We all are humans and the soldiers too require the best of the treatments as they have the same rights as other citizens. Well, the question is do they really have the same rights? The answer is No. When somebody joins the armed forces they are bound to follow certain set of rules and guidelines in order to ascertain the discipline of the armed forces which is one of the largest in the world. For example they cannot be political, they cannot have a union, they need to follow the orders of the superiors, they can be jailed, reprimanded, court-martialed and even be shot in case of mutiny or sedition. In the nutshell, all the personnel have to live by the protocols and follow the channel in case of any issue. Going directly to the media without seeking a resolve from the high command demands an action by the internal court of the Force. The armed forces are the most disciplined human beings of the nation which are for a bigger cause. Seeking media attention and popularity clearly shows the poor intention of the Jawan.  The past history of the Jawan of the video clearly indicates the lack of discipline and poor respect for the command. According to the statement issued by the armed forces officials, he was already punished several times in the past for his misconducts. (However I do not claim the fact to be 100% accurate)
   

Hope this gives a clear picture to some of you. My intention to write this piece is not to just clear the assumptions of some people but also to bring forth the truth and circumstances that our soldiers face in order to safeguard our beloved nation. They are the true sons of our motherland and command our utmost respect. Pakistan is mocking at us because of the video and also circulated fake news of his death few days back in order to create a chaos. The people kicking and pelting the stones on our Jawans are nothing but traitors. And so are the ones who are hurling abuses, barbecuing and serving news’ and the people politicking on our respectable forces. Let us leave the Armed forces out of the petty politics by which we the common people are surrounded.

Jai Hind!

I Lost My Three Best Things!!

I am TIME and I take a toll on everyone. You sacrifice good things to get better whereas the difference between Good & Better is altered. The Attractive has taken the place of Better. A collage of past and present reveals that thin. Looking back and laugh is always easy but it’s me who has the 'LAST LAUGH'.

6th Jan

Puff.. Pufff... !! It is not that somebody is running out of breathe but the uninterrupted supply of nicotine to the lungs, which is brought to you by imported Marlboro Lights. I always feel RELAX and SMOKE has a strong connect apart from the common 'E'. But there seems to be a show of Zero connectivity at this time.

Is it really working? Both the smoke and the watch are eager to quit my friendship. Am unsettled and it’s still showing Eightish in the night since my sixth cigarette. I would have fired both of them on the grounds of unsuitability if they were my employees. I even hardly pay anything to them 'in return'. I’m upset more about the Cigarettes because they had never betrayed me till date whereas my watch always had a bad history.

8:52- Seems to be a test match going on between the hour and the minute hand. Hour hand is playing the role of 'The Wall' and I’m still waiting for my turn. Samples of sincere gossips can only be shown by the well equipped gender with 50% reservations. Their faces were never so irritating before unlike today. I felt like turning and giving them a stern look but here comes the call- NEXT! The same stern look was now on the other side of the door and yes, there was no turning back for anybody now.

Whispering News- "Due to recession, expect no more companies in the campus!"

It’s the last chance for me to be walking on the lobby of the working class. Being a son from Army leads you to a mandatory monetary deficit which could be termed as an Education Loan. It was the first thought to shiver down my spine. What If....? Dekha Jayega, Huh! The consoling thoughts are never away and always come pretending to prepare for the worst case scenario. "It’s very easy to pick pebbles than a rock".

It simply can't happen to me! It’s the time when Confidence is the only Savior but his shine seems to be lost or maybe his counterparts are more powerful. Eyes are still at the door! I was still trying to gauge the expressions of the classmates coming out of the cabin. There was a willing hope to find them in misery and dejection, while walking on the red carpet like corridor coming out of the ‘Mount Doom’. This was the first time when a sad face gave enormous joy and relief. That was the first thing I lost, my best quality- "Innocence".

21st Jan

The josh, the excitement, the enthusiasm; all felt just same as the feeling of having a new girlfriend. One love: one attraction: all sweet: all charming. We tend to ignore everything- advices of the elders/seniors, experiences of veterans/ retired, sayings of philosophers/tycoons. ‘Entry in the corporate world is just like a spoon of salt- First pinch is always exciting, better and it gets bitter and bitterer’. Who cares!

Everything was new and nice- job, city and life. I think everything comes in a package only the time and the addresses differ! We term it as an awesome life and what if a sweet incident happens, just to add sugar to your life. God is always watching but he definitely is celebrating the 'Thanksgiving Day' up there. He wants to give away some freebies today. Finding a beautiful girl near the ‘Kemps corner’ proves the proverbial significance of 'finding love around the corner'. Indeed a Lucky Day!

3rd April

Smiles and laughter are the integral part of a new found relationship and so are the cries and problems. Transformations are inevitable but gradual. Too much of love can change the taste. Sweet transforms into bitterness even before you realize. A two liner hum was the ‘key’ to catch the attention of your beloved and now it was the shout. Finding faults were more interesting than claiming beauty spots. “Start of the Good times always ends with a Kingfisher”(Don't expect the details of the journey from ice cream parlor to a bar).

*Note- With all respect to Mr.Vijay Malaya and Kingfisher- Good Times, the names used were just the acts of an insane mind.

28th August

There are things which are omnipresent but can't be seen and there are issues which are always there but nobody wants to talk about it. The question is- Who's gonna ring the bell. I was always one of the bravest and hence I lost the second best thing of my life- My LOVE!!

28th Nov

After a heart break, life becomes too confusing. And the reasons behind are the adhesives from Fevicol, Feviquick and Dendrite. Time is said to be the biggest healer but do u find time for anything apart from thinking about the past? Even too many solutions for a problem stick you in a spider web. Am I still talking about adhesives?

In the early working days what exactly one wishes to have. A decent paid job, a nice room in a rented flat and some good friends. High salary, a nice owned flat and a family is a distant dream. But even to have a dream of great things is still comforting. Running away from the problem never solves it although that’s the first option on everybody’s list.

Change of the city might look like an answer but the question here is- can you change your soul? New city-New People but the eyes are still searching. Work definitely needs to be worshiped and it demands time but closing the eyes and thinking to have the old times back still feels like the most important thing. Is there a website to purchase a Time Machine?

Feeling lonely & being lonely are different – Magnitude & Degree of separation; Intangible & Tangible. The former is the worst.

Things changed. Passing the time became killing the time. Passion became passive but the past remained same. Expressions changed. Love became Lust. Smiles became plastic smiles but the past remained unchanged.

Enough!

Something calls you back and when it calls- Answer! Leave everything and answer the call!

I answered!!

Old City, Old People but no Old Life! Past is still in existence.

"The Heart No Longer Beats for Anything". It was the third and the worst thing to go.