Apathy Towards Soldiers

In very recent past, the media was abuzz with news of 18 soldiers massacred and 11 injured in a gruesome attack by terrorists in NE.  The soldiers incidentally were going on leave and possibly were expecting to meet their kith and kin in a couple of days time.  While these soldiers missed the meeting, the families did oblige them albeit with a heavy heart.  The media went berserk while covering this incident and in finding faults with the armed forces.

What followed within a week was an attack on two terrorist groups in Myanmar by Indian Army causing destruction of both camps and inflicting serious casualties to these groups.  The media found it unworthy but went berserk to relate it to future action against Pakistan.  The media also went berserk in highlighting some comments by politicians, which were possibly given as a response to some questions that the correspondents may have asked.

However, on 16 Jun 2015, many of the ex soldiers, who obviously were soldiers themselves in past (and would have made many sacrifices, known or unknown to the rest of the nation as soldiers), were forced to agitate against an insensitive nation to make their rightful demand of OROP. 

Did they?  Did not see anything on media? Was Vasundhara Raje involved in OROP agitation? or Sushma Swaraj? or Lalit Modi?  Naah...they couldn't have been.  Then what happened?

Finally, I got to see this...

Old soldiers, in the final leg of their life, had indeed assembled for agitation.

 

 They took out their blood....

....and signed supporting the cause....

....some media was present....and the veteran soldiers were honored???...that they made that effort...

...but unfortunately, there were no lathi charge, no politician visiting and the veterans remained worthy of still being a soldier as demonstrated by the discipline they displayed.  However, the sum total of whatever conspired there, was not worthy of a headline....???????  Media personnel chose to remain by-standers.   

 

I wonder, what would have happen if the veteran soldiers had chosen to remain by-standers, when they needed to do their job.

THANKS A LOT to the thankless.  INDEED SHAMEFUL......and I am really ashamed today.

PS.  I took the liberty to use the photographs posted at https://www.facebook.com/cdr.ahuja/posts/10153289326116049 by Cdr Sharan Ahuja.  I seek forgiveness from him.