Tale of Indian Army officers: Those who make us proud and those who don't

In January last year, 11-year-old Alka stood bravely in front of the corpse of her father Colonel MN Rai who was martyred while protecting the nation in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. The world saw Alka's valour on television as she raised a Gorkha war cry while paying last respects to her father.

Ironically, Colonel Rai was killed in a gunbattle just a day after he had received the Yudh Seva Medal on Republic Day for his soldiering heroics. Colonel Rai's tragic death brought a premature end to the life and career of a decorated soldier who would have only got better with time.

The officer's wife Priyanka is now doubly responsible for raising her three children Alka, Richa (8) and Aditya (6) in the absence of her martyred husband.

By the end of the year in November, another brave Indian soldier had been martyred in Kashmir. Colonel Santosh Y Mahadik lost his life while battling anti-national elements in Kupwara. The deceased officer left behind two children Kartiki (11) and Swaraj (5).

Terrorism is bleeding India. It is bleeding our brave soldiers many of whom departed even before their hair had started turning grey. But this shouldn't be seen as a mark of weakness of our soldiers. For quite some time now, India has not seen a major terror strike resulting in the death of hundreds of civilians as happened during the 1993 Mumbai blasts and 26/11. Much of the credit for this goes to Indian soldiers who have to be commended for managing to protect their country even at the cost of their lives.

But the curse of terrorism has returned to haunt India yet again over the course of the New Year weekend. Barely a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore, terrorists attacked an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab. The Indian Consulate in Afghanistan also came under attack late on January 3 night. The twin attacks cannot be a mere coincidence but they hint at a larger strategy of derailing the Indo-Pak peace process.

Though the terrorists succeeded in engaging our security forces for long in an operation which has lasted for over 48 hours now but the Indian forces surely gave them a befitting reply by neutralising one terrorist after another. However, seven Indian brave hearts lost their lives while securing the IAF base in Pathankot from terrorists.

These included Subedar Major Fateh Singh, a 51-year-old officer who was a recipient of a gold and silver medal at the 1995 Commonwealth Shooting Championship in New Delhi. Union minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore offered his condolence on the death of Fateh Singh by tweeting, "Deepest regards for ace shooter Fateh Singh. Glory for India during his lifetime and pride in death."

Corporal Gursewak Singh who had got married to 26-year-old Jaspreet Kaur only a month ago on November 18 was also martyred.

So was Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar who is survived by his wife Dr KG Radhika and a two-year old daughter.

Col MN Rai, Col Santosh Y Mahadik, Lt Col Niranjan Kumar, Subedar Major Fateh Singh, Corporal Gursewak Singh and many others have died while on the line of duty. They have made India proud. It is now the responsibility of the Central and state governments to repay the debt of these soldiers by looking after their family members. The young children of these martyrs should never feel the absence of their father nor should the wives, parents or relatives of these gentlemen ever be made to run from pillar to post in the quest for compensation. Nothing can ease the pain of the family members but the government should necessarily do its bit and not limit itself to made-for-media relief announcements.

Contrary to the actions of men like the ones martyred at Pathankot, there are several uniformed personnel who've brought us nothing but shame. The Indian Express reported that a 14-year-old girl had been gang raped by army jawans onboard the Howrah-Amritsar Express last week. The victim, a school going child, has alleged that she was forced to consume liquor and raped six times.

What kind of monstrous men are these? When our jawans were busy laying down their lives fighting terrorists, some of their colleagues were indulging in the demonic act of dishonouring a young girl. The two incidents are separated just by a matter of few days. There can be no tolerance for such actions. India salutes those soldiers who died for her. India takes pride in those soldiers who protect her. But India will not be a mute spectator to rapist soldiers.

Indeed, it is a moment of sorrow for the families of Lt Col Niranjan Kumar and Corporal Gursewak Singh. But it is also a devastating moment for the girl who was raped by security personnel. Let it be known that the media shouldn't merely be a cheerleader of the jawans but also castigate them when they go wrong.

Many might feel that in this moment of sorrow when the nation is battling terrorists, one shouldn't raise doubts concerning the integrity of the security forces. But the reason why it is important is because a national newspaper reported the response to a terror strike on the first page but buried the story concerning the gangrape of a girl by jawans in a single column that too on the left hand bottom of Page 6.

At times even sacrifices of jawans are left uncovered. This writer remembers that an Army officer once pointed out to him how an officer's death wasn't given prominence in a national newspaper. It is definitely a matter of regret that a martyr's sacrifice was not duly reported. The writer acknowledges that the media should ensure balance in reportage. Wittingly or unwittingly, the media should neither blank out the stories of valour and sacrifice nor ignore or underplay the cases of abuse and intimidation.