{"id":3653,"date":"2013-10-24T09:43:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-24T04:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/?p=3653"},"modified":"2013-10-24T10:49:11","modified_gmt":"2013-10-24T05:19:11","slug":"sleep-in-peace-we-are-at-borders-nation-must-revaluate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/?p=3653","title":{"rendered":"Sleep in Peace , We Are At Borders – Nation Must Revaluate : \u0938\u0947\u0928\u093e \u0915\u094b \u0936\u0941\u0926\u094d\u0930 \u0928\u093f\u0939\u093f\u0924 \u0938\u094d\u0935\u093e\u0930\u094d\u0925 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u093f\u090f \u092c\u0926\u0928\u093e\u092e \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0935\u093e\u0932\u0947 \u092c\u093e\u092c\u0941\u0913\u0902 \u0915\u094b \u0938\u092e\u0930\u094d\u092a\u093f\u0924"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Soldiers<\/a>Taken from e mail of Sri A Bhagra<\/p>\n

Subject: FW: \u00a0Sleep in Peace; We are on the Borders<\/b><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\u00a0
> AN ARTICLE I READ TODAY………..SWELLS MY HEART WITH PRIDE

> Sleep in Peace; We are on the Borders
>
> I am an officer posted on the line of control. Yesterday was Sunday,
> and also Dussehra. Got to know it only from the newspapers that are
> spread before me- a day late by the time they reach my post. The nice
> part is that I receive a whole bundle after they have been pored over
> in the headquarters.

> We went out on an ambush last night. There was information that an
> infiltration attempt could be made through our area. I have been
> receiving the same information daily since the last six months.
> Hopefully we will have a fire fight tonight.
\u00a0
> Seven of us slipped out of our post, 300 m from the line of control,
> after last light. A half hour walk and we deployed in two groups. The
> weather gods were not happy (maybe because I didn\u2019t know Navratras had
> begun). Light rain and mist descended and visibility was down to three
> metres. We try and peer through the white haze till the eyes hurt. I
> hear a soft snore on my left and give a hard nudge. Tomorrow, over a
> hot cup of tea after we return to the post, we will laugh and tease
> him.

> It\u2019s midnight, cold and miserable. I flex my index finger to make sure
> it slips into the trigger guard in time to shoot the terrorist who
> might suddenly appear three steps from me. Suddenly, the chatter of
> machine guns jolts us out of complacency. It is followed by the soft
> \u2018thump, thump\u2019 of mortars ejecting their bombs. I am glad for the
> distraction, as the whole ambush is now fully alert.
>
>
>
>
> We wait for the mortar bombs to fall. Shit\u2026 they seem to be falling on
> my post. There are mixed feelings running through me. I am safe, but
> what about my soldiers on the post. The firing grows in intensity-
> rocket launchers and mortars open up from our side. It\u2019s frustrating
> because we can\u2019t see anything. I briefly think of returning to the
> post but have a job to do tonight, and there are good soldiers back on
> the post.

> We return in the morning and thankfully all is well. One splinter
> injury-flesh wound only, and a living shelter damaged. We all sit
> around a breakfast of hot puris and bhindis, exchanging anecdotes,
> feeling proud about how we weathered one more day on the line of
> control.

> A three hour nap and the first newspaper is spread before me.
>\u00a0 \u201cDropping guard at the LOC\u201d is the headline of a Mail Today article.
> It says \u2018Indian troops have been sitting ducks\u2019 in the August incident
> and that the foiling of infiltration attempt in Keran \u2018has been taken
> with a pinch of salt\u2019. Harinder Baweja in Hindustan Times says that
> the Army has been \u2018found wanting\u2019. Tribune wanted to know \u2018how porous
> is the security system\u2019 on the LoC. Asian Age informs me that \u2018Army is
> under attack from the MoD\u2019. I always thought those attacking us were
> across the LoC. Should I now look over my shoulder?

> A large number of journalists are now questioning our tactics along
> the Line of Control. It is easy to pass judgment when sitting in
> air-conditioned offices and speaking on the telephone to
> \u2018well-informed sources\u2019 who have an equally comfortable chair. It is
> also unfortunate that some of our retired officers have also jumped on
> the media bandwagon to slam our \u2018defensive mindset\u2019 and \u2018lapses\u2019. Did
> no soldiers die when they were commanders? Has the army suddenly
> forgotten its ethos because some of our officers have retired?

> Let me not quote facts and figures because I have no access to them.
> My senior officers tell me that the security situation in J&K is
> improving. Violence, infiltration levels, civilian causalities are
> down, and there is less fear on the faces of people. I believe my
> seniors because I see it everyday.
\u00a0
> Can I do more? Maybe I can eke a little more out of my aching muscles
> and sleep filled eyes. Will it help? I don\u2019t think so, because the
> newspapers will not cover what I do, but look for the one who does
> not. I just hope I am not one of their victims.
\u00a0
> I am an Indian Army officer- proud and confident. I know what I have
> to do. No other profession in the world demands that you lay down your
> life in the defence of people you do not even know. If you question my
> commitment, please be prepared to wear the Uniform and man the LoC in
> my place.
\u00a0
> P.S. Can\u2019t avoid the last dig at the media. Read Sebastian Junger \u2018War\u2019.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0




<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taken from e mail of Sri A Bhagra Subject: FW: \u00a0Sleep in Peace; We are… more »<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3653"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3659,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653\/revisions\/3659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}