Time to pay tributes to real heroes
| Date :15-Aug-2019 |
Vijay Phanshikar:
“Nothing should lull an NCC cadet to sleep or slackness”, said Lt. General Bhattacharjea, then the Director General (DG) of the National Cadet Corps. “The cadet must be alert all the time, ready to spring to action at a moment’s notice, and wearing a smile on the face all the time. And mind you, that smile should not be put on in a cosmetic manner; it should emerge from a happy soul. In other words, the cadet should be a happy person,” the dynamic DG said to hundreds of NCC cadets -- boys and girls -- gathered on the Parade Ground under the shadow of the great Sitabuldi Fort a little before the Independence Day.
The nation had just emerged victorious a few months earlier from the 1971 conflict that got to be known famously as Bangladesh War, and a wave of enthusiasm and patriotism was sweeping across the Indian landscape. In that surcharged atmosphere, the words of the General sounded tremendously powerful. Looking at the Sitabuldi Fort that loomed over us, listening to Lt. General Bhattacharjea’s voice that boomed in the ears, my eyes darted time and again to the imposing persona of the Fort hill. For us Nagpurians, the Fort often acted as a signature of military might of the country. We often felt mesmerised by the parades of the soldiers who were stationed at the Fort.
And when we went for our NCC parades on the ground between the Nagpur Mahavidyalaya (now Vasantrao Naik Government Institute of Social Sciences) and the Fort, we felt happy that we shared the same ground with the soldiers -- mostly of the 118 Infantry Battalion. Many stories about the Fort did the rounds in the city’s mental zone all the time. Many stories also were told in homes about how the Bhonsla Army fought a great Battle of Sitabuldi with the British forces. Though the outcome of that battle -- the defeat of the Bhonslas -- made us feel very sad, we did not miss feeling proud that Nagpur was one of the last Princely States that fell to the British. We also consoled ourselves in those days that the Bhonslas did not lose the battle because they were less brave, but because internal factions led to their defeat. Yes, that factionalism in the royal family did make us sad. But the Indian soldiers were brave, we told ourselves. That address of the NCC’s Directror General to the NCC cadets of Nagpur came at a time when the whole nation was basking in the glory of the great victory of the Indian forces led capably by General (subsequently Field Marshal) Sam ‘Bahadur’ Manekshaw. Our minds also felt the warmth of the history that had taken place in those premises 155 years earlier (1817).
“Nothing should lull an NCC cadet to sleep or slackness”, the General’s voiced boomed, making us conscious what the society expected from us. After that pre-Independence parade as part of our preparations for the celebration, most cadets went home with minds charged. The memory of that speech and the parade is still fresh in my mind. However, the thought makes me rather sad that some of us Nagpurians will roam the city streets on their mobikes or open cars on Independence Day waving huge national flags and making loud demonstrations of their patriotism. Why should we make such pompous show of our national sentiments? -- I ask. But this flicker of sadness is doused in a moment once memories of thousands of people who gave their lives for the nation with no idea of having their names inscribed on marble plaques emerge from the depths of the mind. The I tell myself, ‘Come on, this is the time to pay them -- the real heroes -- our tributes!’ They are the ones who we should think of -- and not anybody else.