A Brush with Bravery

Suhas Kadlaskar

Stories of wars including Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971 were an integral part of my growing years. Tales of valour and martyrdom fascinated me. Similarly, leaders from that period influenced me majorly. For instance, Lal Bahadur Shastri who famously said ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’, and Indira Gandhi, who motivated the Indian armed forces to win the Indo-Pak war of 1971, thereby creating a new nation, Bangladesh, were huge inspirations.

As a youngster, I used to devour the newspaper for stories of the ongoing war. Even today, whenever I come across stories of martyrdom of our jawans, I am moved. Not surprisingly, the sacrifices of our brave soldiers who fought valiantly during the Kargil War of 1999 and those who continue to fight at the Line of Control (LC), instill a sense of patriotism in us all. And when one experiences a soldier’s bravery from close quarters, it leaves one with an entirely different perspective on life. I had such an experience during a trip to Leh.

The day we landed in Srinagar, there was curfew in the city due to an agitation against an earlier army action against militants. We could see armed soldiers every 50 metres on the road with army vehicles patrolling the city. Unable to visit Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, we had to leave the town and head straight for Leh. On our way towards Sonamarg on NH1, we were surprised to see soldiers with loaded guns standing at almost every 200-300m. At every turn of the mountainous road, we could see a group of two or three soldiers diligently keeping an eye on the road. This, I learnt was the road opening drill to ward off threats of militant attacks on convoys. It was quite an experience to see the soldiers standing in strict vigil. I tried to imagine the hardships they face performing their duties and the constant shadow of death over them.

Kargil War Memorial

As we drove on, I was puzzled by the numerous military bunkers overlooking the roads when there was no war going on. Later, I got to know that th