Tuesday, December 2, 2008

TRUE HEROES



In memory of Late Maj Sandeep Unnikrishnan (10 BIHAR/NSG) who gave up his life bravely fending off a terrorist hostage situation in Mumbai. A tribute also to other men who lost their lives fighting the same battle. You have done our country proud. May you rest in peace.
There have been a million emotions whirl pooling inside me last few days, ever since the fateful night terrorists barged their way into our Mumbai hotels and into the very fabric of our democratic spirit . Anger, disbelief, helplessness, humiliation……then the next day, there was adrenaline pumping as NSG commandoes slithered down the ropes onto the roof of Oberoi…….relief….so much of it ! Utter pride and speechlessness at their bravado. Pure AWE. My chest filled with pride and fear for them as I saw the NSG men do their jobs with such discipline, finesse and patience considering it was a potentially life-threatening scenario. My heart was bursting as I watched Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s funeral. Tears streamed down from every eye around me.

It’s been difficult to get my thoughts together. Even more so it’s been difficult to put them in words. I’ve just held back from writing anything on the Mumbai attacks because writing an unbiased observation is proving to be very tough.

The first flash of thought in my head as I heard Sandeep’s name as casualty was his wife. Had she heard already? Was she watching the drama unfold on television? Had someone been kind enough to inform the family before they learnt it on the tele?
It was a relief to learn he was unmarried. My husband too is a non-resident kerelite, from Bangalore and he would probably be among the first to go across the border if a war breaks out. It’s difficult to not be biased. It’s difficult to not be emotional. And pissed. More later….

9 comments:

  1. Millions of people... millions of emotions... Hope something good comes off them this time around. Hope people will start looking at ONE nation. Hope they give a thought about those guards who've laid their lives for faces they've never seen before...for the love of their Nation, OUR NATION. Hope we give them THAT NATION, they must have dreamt of before dying...

    *salute* to the heroes who placed others lives ahead of theirs to save the hundreds over there and the pride of the nation!! Jai Hind!!

    See you when I see you...:)

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  2. i believe you belong to an army family and hence your view is valid. Initially, there was miscommunication between NSG and officials and it turned out to be fatal. no denial in this, but the way they've reacted to the situation is very inspiring and commendable

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  3. @ pranav

    AMEN to that!!

    @ dolphin

    the thing is, the NSG, the army, the air force, the fighter pilots, they'll always do their jobs. and do it well. because they are disciplined soldiers who are trained to do this. the question is when would the govt realize their worth? i shared my views on the govt's refusal to hike their salaries. is it like " look, come and shed your blood for the country when it needs you, but sorry, we can't increase your pay because u get canteen facilities and 60 eggs per month as rations".

    the sharp shooter who brought back a gold medal from the olympics was given 3 crores by the govt of india. the havaldar ( NSG commando) who lost his life saving his people, his family has been given 5 lakhs. great! that's the govt we've elected to guide us into our own ruin.

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  4. yes, it is always the way it goes. rather unfortunate. our politicians realize the real power of army and commandos only when a kargil happens (as you've said) or when a security guard shoots a prime minister. i only hope our netas realize the real potential of army sooner than later.

    from now on, each child from a family should be trained in army for at least 6-8 months. civic policing should be made mandatory in the syllabus from higher school education to graduation. this will ensure people aware of crisis management.

    the other day, i criticized shobha dee for her statement 'enough is enough' by saying 'enough was already enough when delhi, hyderabad, ahmedabad,varanasi were bombed and she replied "so long as u stand by your country.... it does not matter that u think i am a hypocrite" !! that is the attitude of 'Madam'. how will her statement doesn't matter when people are glued to tele all the time? This casual approach of personalities is what bothers me :(

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  5. @ Dolphin,

    hmm, the personalities in limelight need to realize that their actions are scrutinized, and they have a higher moral responsibility because millions idolize them. did you hear what the CM of Kerela had to say to Mr. Unnikrishnan? Our polititions are so damn dense and callous!

    i liked what Amir Khan wrote in his blog, though. he has a more mature view on how we should channelize our rage into serious change of outlook.

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  6. yeah our politicians haven't yet evolved after all the 'incredible india', 'india shining' 'india:young at 60' talk. i've seen aamir's blog as well. i felt it was sensible writing.

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  7. It does'nt come as a surprise to me at all that Maj. Sandeep Unnikrishnan embraced his death in the most valiant manner befetting the highest traditions and virtues that have been handed down from generation to generation in the forces. These virtues transcend all barriers of caste, creed, religion and are handed down from a soldier to the next.

    It also does'nt surprise me that we as a nation have been caught with our pants down and it did not end there - we were held there for an agonisingly long 60 hrs. To my mind one thing is absoloutely crystal clear - The only two organisations which seem to have done their homework to the 'T' were firstly the security forces and secondly much to my utter disgust (I hate to admit this) - those dastardly terrorists.

    Everyone else it seems, at all levels has conviniently chosen to roam about like a zombie - completely oblivious and unperterbed by his/her sorroundings/environment/area of responsibility/area of influence.

    Our netas did'nt bat an eyelid before calling the forces to attention and putting them on a state of complete preparedness for war post the attacks on the parliament. I personally wanted to hug each one of them (if i ever got back)for having taken this decesion - unfortunately it took us a year to realise that the ones calling the shots were a bunch of eunchs! WE NEVER WENT ACROSS WESTWARDS. What were they trying to do - play friggin peek-a-boo? OK we grant them the wisdom of running this country and their experience and all - we still respected your decesion to stand up in defiance when we were slapped accross our face in Dec 2001.

    What was the catalyst then that isn't there today to spark a similar if not a stronger reaction? Did you nab a maniac who went on a shooting spree across town alive? Did this country come to a standstill for 60 hrs? Did 200 odd innocent people die? NONE OF THE ABOVE. The ONLY CATALYST was that their lives came as close as a hair's breadth to being extinguished - again thanks to some brave souls in uniform...

    Topiwalas and Dhotiwalas, - We need action, please take the example of Golda Meir. She had MORE BALLS than all of you who dare call yourselves men put together. In my honest opinion you all are a gutless wonder that never ceases to amaze me in the fact that how the F*@$ on the face of this earth did you manage to get to where you guys are right now and how have you managed to hold on there for so long? I slogged my but out a million times more and may have not got to an iota of where you are at but I have the ability to see clearly and reason with facts which you clearly dont'.

    This is our moment of truth and if these netas can't do a damn they can go and take a flying f*&@ over the moon (for all i care take two) just leave our country for us to defend and safeguard and till then don't meddle. If you can't fix it just GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!

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  8. @ vikram

    gosh, glad to see someone feels even more strongly than i do on this issue!

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  9. Hi... i'm mrinal 4m kerala... major sandeep is my cousin brother... glad to hear that u all r remembering him... that's the only thing that we can do 4 him.. the only thing he expect 4m all of us..

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lemme know what u think...share your thoughts on the post. Comments, critisicm, all is welcome...so let it loose!

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