Karmayogies of Kargil

They in the Armed Forces say, “ the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war”. But there is something that they don't say. That whether a solder sweats or bleeds he is remembered only for a little while, that too after he is killed in action. Quoted below are two lines from Rudyard Kipling’s poem Tommy about a British Soldier, Tommy Atkins.

 “It is Tommy this Tomy that and Tommy go away.

 But, when the band begins to play it is thank you, Mr. Atkins”

 In peacetime Tommy is treated with disdain (Tommy go away). It is only during the war (when the band begins to play) that someone remembers Tommy and thanks him. The press and public who are ecstatic about our Kargil heroes are no different. Even before the guns fall silent the heroes of Kargil will be forgotten along with their kith and kin. The only thing that is likely to endure is the fund collection which may never reach the bereaved families.

 Sub-zero temperature, oxygen-deficient atmosphere, inaccessible snow mountain ranges, deadly avalanches:  these are a few facts of everyday life of a soldier in Kargil - Siachen sector.  Now add to this the Pak army and the fanatical terrorists and you get the modern version of Dante's Inferno.

Words alone cannot describe the horrors and misery of our brethren facing the enemy in those treacherous terrains. Nor can words adequately portray their acts of bravery.  Can they be adequately thanked or compensated for their supreme sacrifice?

                           They died so that we live. Lest we forget. 

                                                                                 Sugathan R P

        (Published in a magazine in 1999 during the Kargil crisis )