Our Hero

[Pandyan]

I didn't see that before. So I'll edit now. However his standing before my eyes and other Hindus wouldn't change even if he had bumped off the terrorist.

[Husky]

Thanks for editing it Pandyan.


<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->However his standing before my eyes and other Hindus wouldn't change even if he had bumped off the terrorist.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Staines wasn't the only one who got burnt then. Apparently his two kids were in there with him as well and lost their lives in the fire too.
So it wasn't just a terrorist who got bumped off.

I don't think Dara - who wanted to save the lives of innocent cows (and who "had been trying to get the State to enforce the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals laws") - would ever have allowed innocent kids to lose theirs. While he was daring and taking serious risks for himself in liberating cows headed for islamic slaughter, he was not a murderer: they couldn't actually pin a single murder on him, for all their trying. Staines' case was the closest they got, and the 'evidence' against Dara on that one was nowhere, even though he is serving a life-sentence anyway. <- He must have been a real thorn in their side for them to try everything to put him away based on nothing that holds up even remotely (they even pushed to get him sentenced to <i>death</i> based on that same nothing). <i>Only</i> because he is Hindu is he serving time for a crime they have no real evidence for his having committed and which he also says he didn't commit.


But here's Rajeev Srinivasan considering who committed it:
http://conversionagenda.blogspot.com/2005/...missionary.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sunday, January 02, 2005
<b>Death of a Missionary</b>
By Rajeev Srinivasan
[...]

The usual suspects, say the pundits: the Hindu extreme right-wing. However, as Sherlock Holmes might say, we have to consider the possible culprits and eliminate the less likely ones. And the possible villains would be the set of all who stood to gain from this ghastly deed.

Eyewitnesses say Stains' attackers conducted an operation with military precision -- obviously pre-meditated -- and then, before they left, they shouted pro-Bajrang Dal slogans. That last, however, is very suspicious. If it were pre-meditated and skilfully executed, why on earth would they leave their visiting card, as it were? Unless it was someone else pretending to be the Bajrang Dal, surely?
(Also note that whatever mob it was, it was also most curiously shouting Dara Singh's name even though he was not present. And it was only this that led to the investigators presuming that Dara was even there at the time.)

Who might that someone be? Who might be motivated? Perhaps someone who wanted to malign the Bajrang Dal

[...]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Rest at link

[Bodhi]

<span style='color:red'>Martyr’s widow turned away from Rashtrapati Bhavan</span>

It takes extraordinary courage to win the Ashok Chakra, the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award.

But that is no guarantee a martyr’s family would get the respect that should accompany the honour.

During the Republic Day ceremony, President Pratibha Patil bestowed Shanti Bohra, 29, with the Ashok Chakra. Shanti and her father-in-law travelled from Jodhpur to receive the award, the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra.

But a few hours later, Havildar Bahadur Singh Bohra’s wife and her two daughters, aged five and three, were turned away from the annual Presidential reception, attended by family members of gallantry award winners.

Shanti’s pleas with Rashtrapati Bhavan staff saying she did not know where to leave her daughters, fell on deaf ears.

Said a Rashtrapati Bhavan official not authorised to speak to the media: “At formal functions like these, children are not allowed. Just those invited by name are allowed for security reasons.”

Had the matter been brought to the notice of officials, it could have been resolved, since it involved a highly decorated soldier’s family, he said.

“Some consideration should have been shown towards the lady. Where was she supposed leave her kids?” asked an outraged army officer.

Bohra, a squad commander of 10 Para (Special Forces), led counter-terrorist operations in Kashmir’s Lawanz area. Last September, he engaged heavily armed terrorists and killed three of them despite several gunshot wounds. His citation reads: “Bohra displayed most conspicuous bravery and made the supreme sacrifice...”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/St...htrapati+Bhavan

<img src='http://newkerala.com/photo-news/images/11_uni_27thjan.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Shanti Bohra, wife of Martyr Havildar Bahadur Singh Bohra receiving the Ashok Chakra award

[Pandyan]

At least give an explanation prior to deleting my post.

Pandyan, your post is under review (not deleted - yet). Status will be posted soon enough.
You are free to discuss it under other threads.
-Admin

[Husky]

http://inhome.rediff.com/news/2000/aug/31rajeev.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Rajeev Srinivasan
<b>Some Mother's Son: Bring on the draft</b>

It is a chilling litany: the lists of people in India's armed forces who are killed every day in the course of counter-insurgency operations. On a random day, five Border Security Force soldiers killed in Nagaland; 11 from the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir; a brigadier and a lieutenant-colonel blown up by a land-mine, also in J&K. And unlike those who perished in the killing fields of Kargil, there is no martyr's welcome when their personal effects make their last journeys to some impoverished village somewhere in the heartland.

They become mere statistics, these brave men who gave their lives, often after nasty, brutish and short tenures in these zones of low-intensity conflict. No eulogies in the 'progressive', 'secular' media, even though these men are truly secular, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians, all dying for the country -- it appears bullets are unaware of religion. No tear-jerking stories. I know, and you know, the reason why: they were not 'people like us'.

They were not hip, urban, globalised Indians, products of good schools and universities. They were generally peasants at the soldier level, the sons of farmers from some interior village. They are the poor, those without clout, those who are literally cannon fodder. Nobody misses them. Of course it is true that there are officers who are 'people like us'. But by and large, the Indian armed forces are not the way to money, power and fame, unlike in other countries we could name.

Secondly, the officer corps are now finding it difficult to attract people, so they have taken to advertising for a 'few good men' somewhat plaintively just as their US counterparts do; in this case, emphasising the good life officers lead, with evocative photos of them playing polo, dancing with beautiful women at formal balls and so forth.

There is a third factor -- Indians are notoriously prone to badmouthing their country. There is little pride in being Indian; everyone in the middle classes wishes to escape to the promised lands as soon as possible. This is partly because we all live in a highly artificial neo-Macaulayite environment: Enid Blyton, Biggles, Agatha Christie, Perry Mason, Mills and Boon, Baywatch, Friends, Allie McBeal fill our imaginations, not the palpable reality of India.

There is one way to sort of fix all three of these problems at one go: create a draft, compulsory military service for young men (and perhaps women) after they finish college. I suspect that if socialite evenings in Delhi are taken up with worries about whether their offspring will make it through the day, the Jammu and Kashmir problem and the Northeast problem will be solved in approximately one week. NIMBY, as they say, Not In My Back Yard.

Each of our fat-cat politicians will suddenly have an epiphany that the soldiers who perish with such monotonous regularity are each of them Some Mother's Son, as in the 1996 film about Northern Ireland. Some mother grieves for each sepoy who falls to a hail of terrorist bullets; for each grunt blown up by an improvised explosive device.

The idea of a draft would not be very popular at all, I am sure. What I am proposing is that every 21-year-old who graduates from college be required to participate in active military duty for two years. This is the sort of thing that the Singaporeans do; and the Israelis do. The Americans used to do this in the days of Vietnam.

What I understand from the Israelis and the Singaporeans is that the draft helps them get a new perspective on their nation and what they individually owe to it. Yes, they spend a few years of their youth in the discomfort of the barracks, but what they get in return is invaluable. Discipline. The ability to sacrifice for the greater good of the community. Self-respect. All very important for India too, if only we could inculcate these things in our youth.

Surely, the well-connected will subvert a draft so that their brood are spared the prospect of ending up as hamburger in some remote alleyway. Let us acknowledge this up front and set up a purely economic mechanism. What is the price you wish to pay to avoid military service? What is the value of your child's life? How does $100,000 sound, which you may donate directly to the armed forces to get an exemption? No other ways to get around it, disabilities don't count, nor does conscientious-objector status.

You could send your child abroad for college, to avoid the after-college draft. Well, it will cost the same $100,000 for a four-degree at an Ivy League college in the US. So that is the price you pay, regardless. If you choose to send your child abroad, that is fine; that is another seat open at an IIT or an REC. Maybe the country can choose to sell that seat to a foreigner for $100,000?

This may sound crass and mercenary, bargaining to avoid the possible death of one's child. But then, consider that we are doing this already. We are getting away by 'hiring' the poor to do the dying; but we don't dip into our pockets to pay a 'salary' for them. The draft and the exemption scheme capture the actual 'salary' we the clever middle-class have avoided paying by craftily getting the taxpayer to subsidise it 100 per cent for us.

Being economically rational beings, the urban middle classes will react. There are two ways out: either cough up the full social cost that bad political decisions impose; or reduce the risk of mayhem to their brood by reducing the risk of terrorism. If they choose the latter, we will see a steely resolve by the nation to stand up and break the back of state-sponsored terrorism. It is no longer theoretical.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Above article found via:
http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2009/02/us-...ary-aliens.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>us to h1-bs (and other temporary aliens): come die for us</b>
feb 14th, 2009

in an eeerie echo of what we do in india to the children of not-people-like-us. we buy them to die for us. see my old column on the topic: http://inhome.rediff.com/news/2000/aug/31rajeev.htm and there is a good movie of the same name.

the us is now saying to h1-bs (among other legal temporary residents) -- go die in iraq or afghanistan for us and we'll give you citizenship.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/us/15i...ml?_r=1&em
Posted by nizhal yoddha at 2/15/2009 10:59:00 PM 1 comments <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

Got this in email

http://www.rediff.com/ishare/video/News-an...-nothing/637449

[Guest]

Life turned upside down in a split second
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Captain Amitendra Kumar Singh, a National Security Guard commando, was inside the Oberoi Hotel, fighting the terrorists on November 27. He was positioned in front of the room where the terrorists were holed up, and was firing at them, hoping to injure them.

It was only when he felt a sharp punch in the eye that he knew he had been hit by a grenade. The last thing he remembers is being carried down the fire exit by fellow NSG commandos and being put in an ambulance.

When he was flown out of Delhi along with his fellow officers to battle the terrorists in Mumbai, Captain Singh had never dreamt that this would be his last operation as a serving officer. Placing his life in danger to rescue innocent civilians was part of his job profile, but never had this young man imagined his career would be cut short so soon, and that his life would be turned upside down in a split second.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[Guest]

<b>Must watch -</b>
<b>What should we do with Terrorists - Vineet Chauhan.AVI</b>
http://www.youtube.com/user/shubhammangla#...2/0/cRmxzPWP6wA

<b>What should we do with pakistan - Vineet Chauhan 2.AVI</b>
http://www.youtube.com/user/shubhammangla#...2/2/FyAQNNvaYmw

<b>What should we do with Pakistan - 1</b>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFQDqmafy1U&NR=1

<b>What should we do with Pakistan - 2</b>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOIrihFC0...re=related



<b>Map of India in 2012</b>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD1umNhbqNs&feature=fvw

[Guest]

came in email..

Dear Friends.

A Maratha Light Infantry Battalion guarded our border well by

exercising admirable vigil at Gurez(J&K) over the week end, killing 12

Militants who were being pushed in clandestinely by Pakistan. Mind

you, it was just 9 militants who created chaos in Mumbai on 26/11 that

brought great damage to the Nation and shook us. Hundreds of Crores

have been spent by state and Central Govts and corporates who suffered

or who intent to limit future risks, on various measures after 26/11.

But deeply painful is the fact that Lt Navdeep Singh, from Hoshiarpur

a young officer just commissioned from Officer's Training Academy in

March this year had to risk his life to kill maximum militants and

finally had to sacrifice his own life for us, leading his small little

team courageously from the front. Opening fire at the militants early

would have resulted in many escaping into Pakistan after the first

shot is heard. He allowed them to come very close controlling his fire

with utter disregard for his life to kill maximum militants.

The saving he has done to the Nation in terms of lives, property and

fear of the unknown is not quantifiable.

I did not see any report in Times of India(one with widest

circulation) today on the Army Operation. It carried a small piece on

the side yesterday when the operation was still on. But was delighted

to receive a young girl's passion penned down. She is Sarvar Bali a

young budding journalist. Probably her article is unpublished yet.

Please let this reach every patriotic Indian and let us all salute Lt

Navdeep Singh while his mortal remains must still be in transit to his

village in Hoshiarpur(HP).

Jai Hind

Col CN Suresh, Veteran

Bangalore

The article follows:

LIEUTENANT DID YOU DIE IN VAIN?





I learnt about your demise from the ticker tape on one of the news

channels, last evening. It was a big encounter and a very fierce one

at that. A feeling of deep saddness enveloped me as I reflected on

your youth which had been sacrificed in Gurez Sector,in the line of

duty. What does your death mean?



By now your mortal body would be lying embalmed at the Base Hospital

and will be flown out of Srinagar later in the day,on its final

journey to the cremation ground in your native town or village.



You were too young to die,far too young! For whom and for what did you

die then? This question haunted me last night and I will attempt to

answer you.



You were probably from a village or a small town of India. You were

perhaps the son of an army officer or JCO, or from an urban or rural

civilian background. You could not be from one of the big cities where

iron has entered the soul of our youth and where the only driving

motivator is quest for money in the surreal environment of the

corporate world.



Why did you join the army? Ofcourse to get a job. But than that is

over simpliying the question. You were possibly motivated by the

traditions in your family and clan,you were probably enthused by the

sight of your elder brothers,uncles or other men from your community

in uniform,you were perhaps enchanted by the cantonement life where

you may have spent your growing years.



As your body comes home, you will not get the adulations from the

Government which a soldier's body gets in the USA. Your name will not

be read out in any obituary reference in Parliament,as is done in the

UK for all soldiers who fall in combat in the line of duty.Your name

will not be etched on any national memorial because we do not have

one! Symbolically you will become the unknown soldier for the Nation,

for whom the flame burns at India Gate, but your name will not be

etched there.The names engraved on that monument are of the soldiers

who died fighting for the British Indian Army and not those who have

made the supreme sacrifice for independent India! Can it get more

ironic?



But do not despair Lieutenant. Your comrades will do you proud! The

seniormost officer will lead the homage that your brother officers

will pay you before you leave the Valley of Kashmir one last time.

Your unit representatives will escort your body home. You will be

carried to the funeral pier draped in the flag for which you died

fighting.The darkened and tearful eyes of your grief-stricken mother

and the stoic figure of your father, benumbed by the enormity of this

tragedy, will move even the most cynical.



I do not know Lieutenant at what stage of the encounter you fell,

mortally wounded. But the fact that you were there on the lonely vigil

across the Line of Control in Gurez, is enough to vouch for your

valour. Your unit and formation commanders will see to it that you get

the gallantry award which you so richly deserve. In due time your

father or your mother will be presented the medal and parchment of

your gallantry,which will be framed and find the pride of place in

your home.Time will dull the bitterness of this tragic parting, which

right now is the only feeling that engulfs your parents and siblings,

in its enormity.



Lieutenant you were lucky. You did not live long enough to get married

and leave behind a grieving widow. You did not live long enough to

have children. For when they would have come of age you would have

seen in them a cynicism towards the army for which you died. You will

not see a young son who thinks his father is a hero and wants to

follow his footsteps in joining the army only to be harshly disuaded

by his mother (or even father!) from following a profession which

ranks so low for the youth of our country. You were lucky not to serve

long enough to see the army getting belittled . You did not live long

enough to see the utter indifference and even disdain for the army.

Like you a large number of valiant soldiers laid down their lives on

the rocky heights of Kargil,fighting against self-imposed odds. Today

it is not even felt fit to publicly commemorate the anniversary of

that stupendous military victory,won by blood and gore,in a befitting

manner.



But do not despair Lieutenant. Your name will be etched for posterity

in the annals of your Unit and your Regiment. A silver trophy with

your name inscribed on it,will grace the centre table of the unit

mess.You will also find your name in the unit Quarter Guard,where

annual homage will also be paid to you.The war memorials at the

Formation HQ where you served and at your Regimental Centre will

proudly display your name for eternity.If you joined the Army through

the NDA, your name will be written in the Hut of Remembrance through

which each cadet will pass,paying homage before his Passing Out

Parade.



There will be an obituary reference to you from your comrades in the

papers, which will be flipped over by most but which will be read in

detail by people who have a connect with those who wear or wore the

uniform.



As your parents head into the evening of their life,memories of your

valour will be their most precious possession. When ever your mother

will think of you her eyes will mist over but there will be more stars

in them than you ever wore on your shoulders.Your father may speak

quietly about you but no one will miss the swell of pride in his

chest. For your siblings you will always remain the real hero,and for

that matter even for your community and village. A school or a road

may well be named after you and you will become a part of the local

folk-lore.



You died Lieutenant, because when the test came, you decided that you

could not let down your family,your clan and your comrades, who always

expected you,without ever saying so, to do your duty.You, Lieutanant,

have done more than your duty and made your memory their hallowed

possesion.



LIEUTENANT YOU DID NOT DIE IN VAIN!







- Sarvar Bali

[Capt Manoj Singh]

[quote name='Viren' date='26 August 2011 - 02:16 PM' timestamp='1314367726' post='112600']

came in email..

Dear Friends.

A Maratha Light Infantry Battalion guarded our border well by

exercising admirable vigil at Gurez(J&K) over the week end, killing 12

Militants who were being pushed in clandestinely by Pakistan. Mind

you, it was just 9 militants who created chaos in Mumbai on 26/11 that

brought great damage to the Nation and shook us. Hundreds of Crores

have been spent by state and Central Govts and corporates who suffered

or who intent to limit future risks, on various measures after 26/11.



[/quote]

Were they armed to similar extent of 26/11? I would imagine that a lot of human trafficking would also go on at the border, could it have been one of them? Or, were they loaded with explosive materials to cause havoc?