A SHORT STORY---- DIWALI OF 1962 !

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rajee kushwaha

Member since 2010

I am a post- graduate in Defence Management from Chennai University (University Of Madras) and trained in Media Communication and Publicity at IIMC (I... More

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DIWALI OF 1962-A SHORT STORY---DIWALI CONTEST!

  by rajee kushwaha in 

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Posted on 22 Oct 2008

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‘DIWALI’ WITH LIVE FIRE WORKS-A 
SHORT STORY!  

    It was around 9.45 AM in the morning. It was a bright 
sunny morning of October 1962. At a height of 17000 feet, 
above mean sea level, one got a splendid view of the 
watershed.The scene from the NITI POST across the watershed 
presented only waves and waves of hills right up to the 
skyline. The soldiers of 9 PUNJAB had just arrived here two 
days back with 100 rounds of ammunition each of .303 rifles.
All their pleas of celebrating DIWALI in the unit were turned
down by the Commanding Officer (CO) as the matter was urgent.
He had already delayed it by three days and just could not 
entertain their plea of occupying the post after the festival
of lights. He had known the urgency.
 Brigadier Dalvi, his commander had given a dead line for
establishment and occupation of an EARLY WARNING FORWARD POST
at NITI on the watershed, some 53 KMs North West of famous 
‘TWANG MONASTERY’ in NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh).This monastery 
is the second largest monastery after LHASA monastery in 
Tibet. It is more than 1000 years old. The surroundings are 
serene and beautiful. 
  An active, Sino-Indian rivalry had begun ever since DALAI 
LAMA escaped to India from TIBET in 1959. The Chinese had 
rejected the MAC MOHAN LINE, an imaginary line running along 
the watershed, which was accepted as the border between India
and China in the Shimla agreement in 1920. Chinese government
had felt that 1920 Shimla pact was thrust upon China by an 
OCCUPATION FORCE (BRITAIN) and it was not an agreement
between two sovereign countries. Therefore,they had resented 
Indian presence  in NEFA in the East and AKSAI CHIN in the
West. Thus they had been nibbling upon the Indian claimed 
territory both in the West and East.  It was to stop this 
nibbling act that BHAG SINGH and his men were sent to 
establish NITI POST—some 150 KMs North West of BOMDILLA. 
They had to foot march the distance through a very rugged 
and fissiparous terrain to reach the place 23 kms ahead of
LUMLA post. These men of 9 PUNJAB had been in the place 
just two days ahead of DIWALI.
   Sure, it was DIWALI, that day. The team of ten men was led 
by Havildar Bhag Singh,actually a Naik but specially promoted
for his volunteering to lead this team, with Lance Naik Kushal
Singh as his second in command. They had all volunteered to do
this task.While they were all brave hearts,their equipment and
the weapons were a joke, as the events later turned out to be.
Who cheated them, we don’t know? Was it the fate? Or was it 
the army? Could it be the nation? 

************************************************************

   On this fateful day, Lance Naik Kushal Singh was deeply 
engrossed in his memories of last few days. He was married 
just 10 days back when he got the recall letter to rejoin 
duty at the earliest. It was just seven days before DIWALI 
that he had left his home to join the unit. He had hardly 
seen the face of his wife but the glimpses were stuck in his 
brain.It was around 10 AM when a high-pitched voice 
screaming out of a loud speaker shook him out of his
memories. 
   It said, “HAM HINDI-CHINI BHAI- BHAI—YEH JAGAH 
HAMAARA—TUM YAHAN SE CHALE JAYO—NAHI HAM TUMKO MAAR 
DEGA (WE,INDIANS and CHINESE, ARE BROTHERS. This is our
territory. You better vacate this land,otherwise we will 
kill you.)”
  Havildar Bhag Singh shouted, “SAALE ‘HARAAMI’ ‘KUTTO’
AAYO---AA JAYO AJJ ASIN BHI DIWALI MANAANI HAI. BADA MAZAA
AAYEGA ASLI PATAAKHE CHALAWANGE TE ASLI GOLI CHALEGI.”
(You bastards! You Dogs!! COME, WE HAVE TO CELEBERATE OUR 
‘DIWALI’, TODAY. IT WILL BE A GREAT FUN, AS REAL CRACKERS 
WILL BE BURST AND WE WILL HAVE ‘LIVE’ FIRE WORKS)”
 Every half an hour Chinese repeated their same announcements 
And every time Bhag Singh and his men sang out in a chorus, 
“AA JAYO ‘SAALIYO’, ASSIN BHI AJJ APNI DIWALI MANAANI HAI.
(COME, YOU BASTARDS! WE, TOO, HAVE TO CELEBRATE OUR DIWALI.) 
  Then, after every round the Section Commander,Havildar Bhag 
Singh, would tell his men,“VEKHIYA, KINNHE KHUSH-KISMAT HAI 
ASSIN, KI RABB NE SAANU KINNHA CHANGA MAUKA DITTA HAI ASLI 
DIWALI MANAUN DA. INHA SAALIYAAN NU BHUNN KE RAKH DEVANGE,JE 
AAYE. (SEE, HOW LUCKY WE ARE TO GET THIS REAL GOOD OPPRTUNITY 
FROM THE GOD TO CELEBRATE TRUE DIWALI,TODAY. WE WILL ROAST 
THESE BASTARDS, IF THEY COME.)
  This process continued till 5 PM when it had got dark. As 
they had been here only for 2-3 days, Havildar Bhag Singh had 
not got their regular maintenance rations from the unit. They 
were self contained for 96 hours. They did not have proper 
clothing for the high altitude weather or any medicines for 
high altitude sickness. It was extremely chilly at night. 
Most of the men were down with cold and cough. Some had 
breathing problems.The worst point was that they had moved to
this height before any acclimatization. Despite all this they 
had their morale very high.
  Generally, in the mountaineering parlance if you go above 
9000 feet one has to acclimatize at every addition of 3000 
feet. In those days there was no such concept.Every one 
thought that PUNJABIS were a TOUGH and STURDY lot and they 
didn’t need such silly formalities. This was the main reason 
when BRIGADIER DALVI selected 9 PUNJAB to not only STALL the 
Chinese spread on the watershed in NEFA but also use them 
later to EVICT them as ordered by his Corps Commander, 
Lt General BM Kaul—a special Nehru appointee to evict the 
Chinese. 
  BM Kaul was an officer from the ARMY SUPPLY CORPS(ASC)who 
knew more about concluding contracts for supplies in the army 
than ‘combat soldiering’ or tactics and strategy. So,like a 
‘post office’ he had passed on the ‘NEHRUVIAN-KRISHNA MENON’ 
orders to his subordinates to ‘EVICT THE CHINESE’. No one 
knew the ground realities other than the men like Havildar
Bhag Singh and Lance Naik Kushal Singh who were all charged 
up despite these handicaps. Consequently, this section of 
Havildar BHAG SINGH was dispatched post haste without any 
real back up and proper equipment clothing.These men were 
chosen as real sacrificial goats because when they needed the 
much promised help, it never came. The false gods had failed 
their men.

***********************************************************

   At about 1915 hours, Sepoy Partap Singh complained of
breathlessness. Havildar Bhag Singh asked him to take two 
large pegs of rum and relax. He did but did not improve. By 
about 2053 hours he had stopped breathing. His pulse had 
stopped.He was dead.Havildar Bhag Singh and Lance Naik Kushal 
Singh had just moved his body to one side of the tent,when 
Sepoy Nirmal Singh reported some noise some three hundred
meters away. It was moon lit night and Havildar Bhag Singh 
was sure it were the Chinese. He shouted to his men, 
“AA GAYE NE KUTTE---SAARE APNE TRENCHES VICH JAYO---FIRE 
MERE KEHNE TE KARNA.(THE DOGS HAVE COME. EVERYONE MOVE TO 
HIS TRENCH. FIRE ON MY ORDERS.)”        


The point 303 rifles of his section opened up and they had 
pot shots on the leading Chinese soldiers.The DIWALI 
CELEBERATIONS had begun."It is going to be a unique DIWALIof 
the year 1962" So, Bhag Singh had thought. 
  “Hold your fire”, he had shouted after five minutes. 
“Report ammunition expenditure”, he had repeated in the 
same breath.He soon realized each one had fired some 15-20 
rounds of ammunition. He knew he had to preserve his 
ammunition for the final assault by the Chinese.  There was 
pin drop silence on the enemy side. Twenty minutes later,
some Chinese were seen on the left flank. He ordered fire. 
Again, some 15-20 rounds per man had been expended. 
  Exactly half an hour later, a third column of Chinese 
appeared on the right hand side. They were supported by 
mortar fire. The mortar shells were landing on the post. It 
was a stronger column and the firing continued intermittently
for 15-20 minutes.Some Chinese had almost come on to the 
post.And in their bid to evict them, Santokh Singh,Suchitar 
Singh and Vinod Kumar had lost their lives. Thus, by 2200
hours,they had lost four men and expended some 60-65 rounds
each. Sepoy Neki Ram was badly sick. He had high fever and 
lying like a dead body. Therefore, they were only five 
effective men. But, still, they held on to the fort. 
  There was total silence between 2200 hours and 0200 hours 
in the night. They kept waiting for the final assault.
Havildar Bhag Singh was determined to fight till the last
man last round. He suddenly thought of something else. At 
about 0130 hours he collected other colleagues and told 
them,“Those of you, who want to save their lives, can leave 
now. I will stay and fight. But in case all of you stay with
me then, we must decide about one man,who should escape when 
only two fighting men are left”.Everyone refused to desert 
him. They said in a chorus, “ASSIN ITHE HI RAHANGE. ASSI 
MARANGE TE JIVANGE IKATTHE. ASSIN EH HI KASAM KHAADDHI SI.
(We will hang on.We will live and die together. This is the 
vow we had taken together.)”  
  But Bhag Singh had made his decision. He said to Lance Naik 
Kushal Singh, “Tera nawan nawan viyah hoyaa hai. Tu bhajenga. 
Tainu saadi khatir jaana hi pavega---Nahi duniya nun kaun 
dasega ki assin 1962 di diwali kis tarah manaayi si. Mauka 
milya taan saade ‘baal-vachyan’ nun mil ke kahani sunanaa.
(You are newly married. You have to get away from here--Also,
otherwise who will tell the rest of the world as to HOW DID 
WE CELEBRATE THE DIWALI IN THE YEAR 1962? If you get an 
opportunity you also must tell this storyto our children.)” 
Lance Naik Kushal Singh protested but he was over ruled by 
four others.
   Exactly at 0210 hours, a fresh Chinese attack began from 
the front. It was a major force.Havildar Bhag Singh shouted 
at Lance Naik Kushal Singh, “Kushal, Mitra, huNH tu Chale ja.
(Kushal, my friend! Now you leave.)” Kushal resisted but he 
was not listened to by the other four. Sepoy Neki Ram who was 
lying sick with high temperature, murmured to Lance Naik, 
“Kushal, Je Tu nahi gay ate main apne aap nu GOLI MAAR 
LEVANGA. Meri rifle mainu de devo, USTAAD JI. (Kushal, if you
don’t go I will shoot myself. Give my rifle to me,Sir”        
  The assault by the Chinese had begun. There was rapid 
mortar fire. Reluctantly Kushal Singh ran down the slopes 
and he was running for two hours, till he hit ‘Zimithang’ 
village.It was almost 4.15 AM in the morning. He saw shadowy
figures roaming near the village gate. He got suspicious. As 
he got closer he realized they were Chinese soldiers. He ran 
back and climbed on to the hill. As he was climbing along a
stiff gradient, he slipped and fell down some 40 feet. He 
had become unconscious.

*********************************************************   
  Months,days and years passed.It was winter of 1987. Indian 
army had adopted ‘forward posture’ on the Chinese border as 
part of the 'DISUASIVE STRATEGY' of General Sundarji,then 
Chief of army staff.Army had employed some porters from 
Zimithang village. Tholma Apang,some 49 years old person, was 
also one of the porters. One day while carrying water 
jerricane on his back, Tholma slipped and fell unconscious. 
When he regained his consciousness, he was totally shaken. He 
came back home and told his wife and children that he would
go out for some days to Bomdilla.His mission was entirely 
different.

****************************************************** 

  When Tholma Apang reached Jalandhar Cantt, he got down from
the train. He realized how different Punjab was from 
Arunachal Pradesh. He caught the bus for Village Balachaur 
of Hoshiarpur district---the village of lance Naik Kushal 
Singh of 9 PUNJAB. He straight away went to the house of 
Bishan Singh—father of Kushal. When he reached he was told 
that Sh.Bishan Singh had died some years back. He enquired 
about Kushal’s wife. But Raj Bahadur’s wife (Kushal’s 
youngest brother) told him that she had gone away to her 
parents,after a few years. But some villagers told him that 
she was thrown out by Raj Bahadur to grab the property. She 
was living penniless in her parental village.  He went to her
village "Thane" in "Kharar" Tehsil of "Ropar" district of 
Punjab. He was late by two days. She had committed suicide 
as her brother had also thrown her out of the house. Tholma 
Apang was disappointed and wanted to return to his village 
in Zimithang. 

  But before doing so, he went to the house of Havildar Bhag
Singh in Nakodar. After introducing himself as THOLMA APANG, 
who had known Havildar Bhag Singh as a porter at Niti Post in 
1962, he started narrating the story of valour of Havildar 
Bhag Singh to his family.He was oblivious of the fact that 
an old man was keenly listening to his story. As he finished 
the story,of the DIWALI CELEBRATIONS of 1962,an old man of 60 
years came in front of him. The old man said, “Kushal, you 
have taken 25 years to come and narrate this story.” 

        Tholma Apang was stunned. He looked up; he found Havildar Bhag Singh in front of him. There were tears in Kushal's eyes. He narrated his story—how he had fell unconscious ---how he had lost his memory and how he was saved by a villager of Zimithang---whose name he had adopted along with his wife and children after real Tholma had died some years back. He also told him as to how he had regained his memory a few months back. Havildar Bhag Singh told him that all four of them were taken as prisoners. Neki ram was killed by the Chinese because he could not walk. They were tortured for months. Other three too, had died while in captivity and were given extreme physical torture. Somehow, Bhag Singh survived. Finally, he returned to India in 1963 after months of Chinese captivity.

  Bhag Singh had retired as an Honorary Captain in 1975.Bhag 
Singh advised Kushal to go back to his village–Balachaur and 
claim his property to sort out his youngest brother who had 
maltreated his WIFE, though of only few days. Kushal said
something and moved out of Bhag Singh’s house. He did not go 
anywhere—neither to Balachaur nor to Zimithang. No one knows 
where did he disappear? Bhag Singh tried to find him out but 
he could not.Thereafter, Bhag Singh never celebrated any 
DIWALI. He is over 81 today and it has been 21 years; No 
lamps are lighted on DIWALI day in the house of BHAG SINGH.

Diwalicontest

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear v-s gopalji,

   thanks for the kind visit and wonderful observations. 1962 was a very bad year in india's military history. unfortunately, we did not learn any lesson from it. in 1962 one bm kaul put us to disgrace---but army, today, is overflowing with his clan. the down slide had begun post 1971---when fake heros were created in india on the incompetence of paki generals. 

    i feel the victory in 1971 was a providential gift and not as a result of any brilliant generalship. it culminated into 1999---when kargil sprang into action. thereafter, our army has become a conglomeration of traders and self seekers. this is why you find so many cases of un military like actions of army officers today.    i will certainly like to read your poem and make my observations. thanks for the visit.

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V-S-Gopal

posted a response

4 yrs ago

hi rajee, 
i re-read this today, slowly and carefully, prompted by my own poem on soldiers posted this morning.fantastic presentation!!! 
bm kaul of supply corps!!!!! punjabis on himalayan heights! what well-conceived defence of india!!! sad reading indeed! 

the readability of this blog is badly vitiated. the lines are broken everywhere.can you kindly re-print this here with edit? 
regards, 
cheers!!!! 
vs gopal

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear kasturigangaji,

    i am so pleased to read your views that my happiness knows no bounds. you have really extolled me very high. i do not think i deserve all this praise. all the same i am grateful to you for these words. regards. rajee.

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kasturiranga

posted a response

4 yrs ago

suprabahatam
after going through the pangs and the hardship gone through by our war heroes sometimes a thought comes to me where we are heading for? let us pray for the peace for the entire world i.e " vasudeva kutumbakam" let the diwali give us strength to face the challenges ahead with the spirit of love and peace.
hat's off to your vivid description,after meeting khuswahaji i forget myabsence of parents and grandparents who are no more now,to tell and lead me in the right way.

regs
kasturiranga

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear rama rao ji,

   i am so very grateful to you for your wonderful observations. i am just 11 years behind you. i know the mystery about 1962 will continue to puzzle the people as it has been wrapped under govt's cover-up. 

   i look forward to your memoirs of the 1965 and 1971 wars--if you could throw some light on this. i have a feeling that in the wake of victory in 1971, we had swept a lot of professional sins under the carpet. i saw the 71 war as a green horn --we could have done better.

   thanks for liking the story and the twists in it.

   regards. rajee

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Rama Rao Garimella

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear rajee,

i was in service since '59 and heard all the tales of the mistakes of the troika of nehru-menon-kaul. i also met and interacted with army officers who were taken as pows by the chinese and tortured and brainwashed by them.

ur story reopened the wounds we suffered in the armed forces all because of the callousness of the three mentioned above. why nehru believed and so did menon that india was a peace loving nation and did not need the armed forces at all. how wrong they proved to be. we fought 4 wars in 60 years and r still fighting a proxy war for 20years..

i must provide another useful tidbit to ur story. the iaf was raring to go and attack the advancing waves of the chinese soldiers. after careful consideration it was ruled out. there was no way the chines airforce could have countered them. this decission was later accepted as a blunder.

so many books were written on this debacle and they all made interesting reading.

incidentally the official investigation and report of this debacle called handerson- brooks report or something like that still remains a classified document and is yet to be published as it would be very damaging to the party and politicians in power at that time.

people of this generation do not know the trials and tribulations that the indian army had been through all these years. few coas like gen krishna rao, kariappa, manekshaw had put the civilians and the ias guys in their place and told them where to get off!

fortunately for me i was in the navy and we saw limited action. i saw action in goa, 65, & 71 wars. but the action in the navy is of a different nature.

good that ur story is an eye opener to many youngsters of this generation.

have a happy diwali.

ramarao.

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear ashu,

   i recoprocate. very very happy diwali to you and your entire family.

   may the year be very very prosperous for you.

   regards. rajee.

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ashualec

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear uncle, 
wishing you a happy diwali and a prosperous new year

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear gopal krishanan ji,

   thank you very much. it is a very tragic but a true story--which will move every one with a passionate heart.

 thanks for the visit and the kind words. regards. rajee.

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Gopalkrishanan

posted a response

4 yrs ago

i am moved

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear nanua,

 thanks a lot for the kind visit and appreciating it. i am grateful for the same. regards. rajee.

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nanua

posted a response

4 yrs ago

rajee: it is really something. very good. 
regards 
nanua singh

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear bhavna,

  thanks a lot for liking this story. i know , youngsters like you will not like such sad stuff. but these are some realities of life which ought not to be overlooked. 

  anyway thanks for recommending it. wish you could put down some observations.

  regards. rajee.

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear sampath ji,

 thanks a lot for such wonderful opinion. yea, at the execution level--there is virtually no corruption. only those parts of the army which are constantly in touch with civil they get influenced. it begins with the officer cadre and then trickles down. but it can not be denied that it is there. thanks for the support.

     regards. rajee.

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear dr arun,

   thank you. it is not the profession but the individual and his environments and the circumstances which make him corrupt. 

   afterall it is the ripple effect of the society on all profession---some very close to it are badly affected---those organs which had been insulated and kept away are less affected. but each organ is affected. 

   regards. rajee.

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DSampath

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear rajee, 
my anlysis of degree of corruption in armed forces is that it is very low..at the action level(field level) 
at the beaureucratic and corporate level it is there..

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Dr Arun Mehra

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear rajee, 
in my profession also, i.e. medicine, it is expected that a doctor be a saint. it does not matter that, when he has to get his own work done, he is often asked for a bribe. we have innumerable examples of such, and other similar, situations. the frustration is tremendous. despite such odds, the huge majority of doctors are sincere in their work. (those who bring a bad name to the entire fraternity, through their misdeeds, are just a microscopic minority.) so, i can empathise with you. 
regards, 
arun

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

thanks dear sekhar. it is in connection with their non-accountability and non -shouldering of responsibilities. why no one asks home secretary to resign if there is a failure of security--why finance secretary is not sacked for the market crash---come to think of it they are more responsible for the chaos---when hammer falls it is a poiltician or the executing force but not these damn remote controls who have all the power.

   regards. rajee.

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dmrsekhar

posted a response

4 yrs ago

chuck out ias cadre to save the nation--if you want to save it.

i agree.

dmr sekhar.

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rajee kushwaha

posted a response

4 yrs ago

dear lakshyami ji,

 first of all it is my pleasure to welcome you on my page. i am really grateful to you. please do come in future too. i will feel obliged.

   sir, i am grateful to you for such deep respect and love for soldiers. it is because of such great persons like you that morale of the soldiers never comes down. he knows despite all the ills of our polity--there is a majority who will back him up. you are a soldier's strenth, sir. i salute you.

  i am really grateful to you for expressing such sentiments. a soldier expects only this and he wants only this. he wants to be given due recognition for the most difficult job --he is doing. he risks his life to make others sleep peacefully. 

    the nation ought to ask itself--if it is too much for such sacrificial jobs. today, you want a soldier every where---from your elections--to removal of dead bodies in a catastrophe---to a child stuck in a borewell. then, if he asks for due respect, izzat and honour---is it too much? why should that be denied?    dear sir, there are far too many kushal type stories that army carries in its womb. listen to these stories and lessen soldier's burden lest he blasts with emotional overload.

      general douglas mac arthur of the us army had said to his president in 1933 that the expenditure on the pay & allowances of armed forces is the premium a nation ought to pay----i support his views.

     the quality of security and protection will be directly proportional to the premium the nation pays. more you pay--more secure you would be; less you pay, less secure you would be.

        if you deny him all this--then do not cry that he was also corrupt---you are forcing him to do so----- economically,he has to keep pace with his other counter parts in the society.

       he has not come from heavens that you expect him to behave like a saint while everything around him is flourishing on corruption-pay him adequately to prevent this temptation.

       i do not deny there is a corruption in the armed forces but he is an element of our society. there is a difference in corruption. while soldiers might do to make both ends meet in this era of rising standards and glamourous lifestyles----the corruption in the other organs of society is to create wealth for it to last for seven generation. while one is a struggle for survival in the wake of deliberate denials of dues--in case of other it is an outright commercial activity     regards. rajee.

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