OUR UNSUNG HEROES

OUR UNSUNG HEROES

Every year on October 6^th , Egypt celebrates its armed forces day marking its moral victory over Israel in the 1973 war. For a country carried one of the oldest civilizations in the world, this day will also be remembered as the day in which their most dynamic President Anwar-el-Sadat, who had been a leader in the whole Middle Eastern region at that time, was brutally assassinated. He was witnessing a spectacular parade organized at the capital city of Cairo on that day in 1981 to commemorate the country’s surprise attack on Israel which eventually marked the beginning of October War.

 Among those thousands gathered to witness the parade, no one, in their wildest dreams would have imagined that they are going to witness the most horrifying episode they have ever experienced before. As Mirage jet fighters looped and swerved in a spectacular aerobic display spraying colorful vapor over the procession below, a few soldiers riding in a truck towing artillery equipment had separated away from the marching column and strode towards the reviewing stand. Everyone believed the soldiers were conducting a pre-planned drill to greet their president. But what happened next was something unimaginable. As everyone frozen in shock, one among the soldiers threw a grenade to the stand while others opened indiscriminate fire at the president’s entourage. Several died. The badly injured president was evacuated to a nearby military hospital where he was pronounced death later on.

The whole world stood stunned as Egypt fell into a state of deep grieving.  

Can you just imagine a similar scene occurring at the majestic Rajpath when the world’s largest democratic country would be celebrating its Republic day and its President, the Prime Minister, a foreign head of state as President’s Chief guest along with several other cabinet ministers and distinguished dignitaries witnessing the kaleidoscopic images of India’s rich cultural diversity and its military might unfolds before them?. Can you just imagine a couple of gun totting miscreants sneak inside the sprawling India gate and open indiscriminate firing on those several thousand people who gather along the eight kilometer long majestic Rajpath, nation’s imperial boulevard,  to witness with their own eyes the incredible live moments of the magnificent parade?  I’am sure, many of you have actually started thinking about it just now as to how catastrophic of unforeseen magnitude it would be in a country like India. Nevertheless there are few agencies in our country, constantly working round the clock, several months before the event to ensure that the celebrations are conducted without the slightest glitch or mishap.

Those who show up to witness the final full dress rehearsal of the Republic day parade every year on January 24, may see   among them a few officials and organizers of the Republic day celebrations who are there to carefully locate any slip-ups that have to be rectified asap before the final parade on January 26^th. With them, you may also see, wearing dark suits, ear pieces and goggles, a few serious looking men standing unobtrusive, unnoticed and non-interfering but watching everywhere and everything meticulously all at once.  Spread around, blended with the public in normal dresses, will be several others from the same breed, merging with the ambiance, observing and imprinting the minutest details of every single movement within their brain and exploring what is unnoticed by others. They are the officers from the elite Special Protection Group, the National Security Guard, the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing, the Delhi police and other Para-Military and Defense organizations. They are doing a job in which the risk of failure is enormous. Nevertheless they stuck with their single agenda that the nation’s pride moments should not be marred by any single untoward incident which will bring a bad name to their beloved motherland.

With just a few days left before the nation celebrates its 65^th Republic day, which coincidentally falls on a Sunday, millions of Indians and others all around the world would be eagerly waiting to watch it on their television sets while sitting in the comfort of their homes. But for those several thousand people who will gather along the parade route in New Delhi to witness the magnificent procession which showcases India’s military might and its cultural diversity, it will remain cherished in their heart for a long long time. And once the procession culminates at the historic Red Fort and everyone gets back to their houses, I wonder does anyone will really be bothered to stop and think as to who and what makes it possible for them to view this spectacle without any fear for their lives. They may not even aware, while they watch in wonder those Sukhois  and Jaguars flying wing to wing breaking through the blue skylines barely few thousand feet over their head, few standing right there beside them are least bothered about all those paraphernalia but watching something else.  More than 25000 of them, with their eyes probing for any awkward movements and with their index finger firmly glued to the trigger guard of their automatic weapon, will be standing everywhere in extreme alertness to ensure that every single countrymen who turned up to see the parade shall leave the place safely, carrying beautiful memories of a spectacular  carnival.  

And that is not all. When the synchronized military and police columns march proudly to the lilting tunes of bands through the Raj path, there will be helicopters of the mighty Indian Air Force hovering over the Delhi skylines incessantly.  Mobile hit teams and Anti-Aircraft guns will be keeping their radars ready to detect any potential air intrusion. Sharp shooters and snipers will be keeping a hawk eye vigil from the sky scrapers of Delhi. Everywhere along the lines advancing into the city you will see some uniformed men strapping a few extra magazines of ammunition to his pouch, stopping vehicles at random and check anyone who could have clone an identity card or might tailgate behind a speeding VVIP vehicle entering into the security cordon with a bonnet full of explosives. As a person who had, for almost eleven years, associated with the protection of the country’s Prime Minister and his family members as a Close Protection Team officer in the elite Special Protection Group, I can say with conviction that behind the glitz of all the paraphernalia of the parade, there are many officers and men who are working tirelessly behind the curtain thereby turning the national capital into a city under siege.

By now, the entire security apparatus in Delhi would be rushing through the final touches to make the event safe and secure.  Headquarters of the IB, R&AW and Delhi Police would be buzzing day and night with activities ranging from collection, corroboration and dissemination of large number of intelligence reports on likely threats from the various terrorist organisations operating elsewhere in India and abroad. Those inputs are to be disseminated to different agencies on need to know basis. Several discussions and meetings are then conducted among the officers to see whether any additional security arrangements are called for at any particular place.

They are in fact the unsung heroes who are specially assigned a job that nobody wants to do particularly when the going gets tough. They are the ones who burn their midnight oil, never care for their own comforts and yet simply do their job and leave quietly for an hour of sleep before getting assigned for yet another important mission. Their family members have no guarantee that their loved ones will come back home alive or wrapped in the national flag. Yet, Irony is that, our countrymen never spend much time thinking about the sacrifices of those armed force members and for many of them, it may even hurt their ego admitting that they are indeed the real brave hearts protecting the country. They think these soldiers are expendable and quite often forget to even mourn their death.  Their values are often realized only when incidents like Mumbai catastrophe or Parliament attack are discussed in the media.

Unfortunate isn’t?

Finally let me have an appeal to all our country men. We must never forget the solemn duty our soldiers fulfill for our nation. Remember our security personnel once in a while and show a gesture that you care for them. My attempt is not to sway public opinion or attain sympathy for the security men  but to simply state that their contributions as members of Indian armed forces will never be forgotten. Isn’t that just one special thing you can do for the country and its saviors during this year’s republic day celebrations.....?...Wish You All A Very Happy Republic Day....

P.S:- The "Parent Circle" magazine, in their special Republic Day edition has published the edited version of this article. Thank you Parent Circle and its editorial board for publishing this.....