My dad, my grand-dad, two of my dad's cousins, my mama- Faujis (Army/Navy).
The first question that people ask me on knowing this is- "Why didnt you join the Army?".
The answer I give to most people is : "I didn't want to (back then after 12th), because it didn't pay you well. Now, they wouldnt take me.(Rather, I wouldn't qualify)'
The answer, I now feel, is much deeper than this.
In the past few years I've realised how correct that decision of mine was.
The answer in my mind actually is "It's not worth it.'.
1. It starts with the Kargil War. The first WAR that my 'generation' witnessed. We've always known that people mint loads of money through defence deals. Our defence minister didnt lose an opportunity there. Coffins were imported at $2500 per piece from the United States, a report later also showing that these were substandard.Coffins!! They save you and you earn through their death.
2. It was another few years back. Soldiers killing their OCs, JCOs and fellow soldiers. The reasons-many of them were not granted leave for the past two years. Many were fed up of the weird areas that they'd been living in. And of-course the conditions at places where a city-boy would have died within a few hours. ( You would not get a spoon of dal-chawal in Barmer without the crunchy sand in it. You wouldnt shit for days in Leh, as you know you wouldnt be able to wash you *** clean with the icy water.). This, mind you, is not a fault of the Indian Army. Its the requirement of the nation. Its the K-word. You NEED your men to be posted there.
3. The 6th pay commission is out. Government services are a happy lot. A group of 80-100 old men sitting near Rajpath and protesting. Some do not have legs, some without arms. These are ex-servicemen who have been awarded medals for bravery in different wars. Almost all above 65 years of age. A nation which can have politicians decide their own pay, cannot provide men who have given their everything for the nation some due respect? Its more DISGUSTING than shameful.
4. The Kargil war happened in 1999. Families of officers/jawans who died in the war were promised petrol pumps/land for farming/money etc. 11 years have passed since then. You'd still find many families(parents specially), who have not received anything. Then there are cases, in which the wives of newly married officers/jawans have run away with all that was granted (as it goes out to the wife), leaving the old parents without a bread winner.
The Indian Army is awesome. It still survives due to the ideals/principles built into each one of the individuals. Of course there are a few rotten apples. But if you wont ever get what you deserve, there's no point in pursuing it.('Karm kar, fal ki iccha mat kar' is not exactly what I believe in). And even if you do, its not just an individual who'd suffer, its the entire family. My friends would say "system badalna padta hai, khud nahi badalta!". But, for which one of these people would you want to change the system? People come out on the streets when an Arushi in Noida dies. Yes, they do come out when a soldier dies too. But is they question ever asked: "WHY did he die?". Do they support his family now? Do they kill George Fernandes? Did anyone stand up for the ex-servicemen?
Patriotism? Accepted. But a nation is made up of people. People who become silent a month after any incident. I might someday die for the great nation, or somehow for the great Indian Army, but never for the common man, never for the government, never for the Gandhi 'topis'.
Good one bro. I fell in a similar category when I was in 12th. Had different reasons not to go to Mysore even when I received a 2nd reminder for the SSB. But, somewhere I am glad I didn't go. I would have been a different man if I'd have gone. Not sure if the difference would have been cherished as much though.
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