Behind every soldier is a group of silent soldiers who silently sign a pact to dedicate their whole life to the country.
These silent soldiers are none other than their parents, siblings, children and most importantly, their wives.
But do we really care about these silent soldiers? Do we even care about the soldiers, who sacrifice their lives for us?
Where is our Josh? Is that just reserved for a Bollywood movie and not for a Real HERO?
If these questions bother you, then you must be asking the questions that the family of Martyr Samir Abrol is asking?
On Feb 1st, when Garima Abrol, wife of Squadron Leader Samir Abrol, came to know about his sudden death, her grief and sorrow had no bounds.
Samir along with Squadron Leader Siddharth Negi was killed after the Mirage 2000 aircraft that they were test-flying crashed at the HAL Airport in Bengaluru.
As per the officials, though the pilots made a bid to eject, they were caught in the flames as the plane crashed with a huge explosion.
For many of us, it might be just an unfortunate incident, but for the family of Samir, it is like a catastrophe that destroyed his whole family and left them with a lifetime of pain, sorrow and grief.
Like many of our corrupt politicians and bureaucratic officials, you can either choose to turn a blind eye to the agony of this family. Or, you can choose to join them in this battle to find answers to the questions.
We hope this heart moving the Facebook post from Garima might help you in deciding what you should do:
I am Garima Abrol…..I am the wife of Martyr Squadron Leader Samir Abrol….whose tears are still not dry…It still hasn’t sunk in that you are gone. No one has the answer to my questions. Why YOU?
My husband was a proud Indian and I loved sending him off to serve the nation with a morning cup of tea and a head held high.
Every soldier’s wife’s biggest fear in life is when her husband would be called to the front line and serve in an active war. I too had this fear. Many a time I woke up crying after having one such bad dream…But Samir would hold me, console me and tell me…that is the ultimate purpose of his job…to be able to serve our nation when the call comes…He wanted me to be brave, as that’s what he was, a brave soldier, a patriot to the core.
Such is the job of a soldier…it does not bring you fame…no one cries when you leave but the family…It does not make you a celebrity…the media covers it for a day and drops it just like they have done for the pilots who have met the same untimely fate before Samir…Then everyone forgets about it.
How many more of these pilots have to give up their life to shake you up and make you realise there is something really wrong in the system?
A pilot is not made in a day, it takes a decade of training for their souls to get molded for the job…How many fighters have to give up their life for you to wake up?
I do not want any other sister of the Armed Force family to suffer the pain that I am going through. Words can’t describe how painful it is out here alone without my better half, my BATMAN.
I need answers…
Whilst its just another story and incident for some, I will keep fighting for the cause that took you away from me.
It’s not only Samir’s wife who is fighting for answers but also another silent soldier, his brother.
After the sudden death of Samir, his brother shared a heart-touching poem to show his agony and grief:
And as he fell from the sky onto the ground,
With broken bones; all but a black box was found.
His ejection was safe but parachute caught fire,
Shattered the family and all that he desired
Never had he breathed so heavy, as for the last time,
While the bureaucracy enjoyed its corrupt cheese and wine.
We give our warriors outdated machines to fight,
They still deliver it with all their prowess and might.
Once again a martyr was killed,
As he fell from the sky onto the ground.
Unforgiving is a job of a test pilot
Someone has to risk it to show others the light
Do you know Garima is not the only one who lost her husband?
Recently, a petition was filed in the SC over the “alarming increase” in the crash of aircraft and helicopters of the Indian Armed Forces (IAF).
The petitioner has referred to a recent media report which said that IAF has lost over 35 aircraft and helicopters in crashes since 2015-16 in which 45 lives have been lost. And, since 2011, 80 soldiers have died in over 75 such accidents.
The PIL, filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, asked the committee to fix responsibilities of erring officials and others for the lapses leading to such incidents and also to suggest measures to ensure that it does not occur again in future.
It is strange how quickly we forget the contribution of our real heroes.
Though they protect our families, we hardly stand with their families for seeking justice. It’s not the first time that these questions are being asked by the family of Samir. It was asked before as well.
Do you remember Rang De Basanti’s famous dialogue:
Zindagi Jeene Ke Do Hi Tarike Hote Hai… Ek Jo Ho Raha Hai Hone Do, Bardaasht Karte Jao… Ya Phir Zimmedari Uthao Usse Badalneki…
So, what’s your Tarika?
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