Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Times of India : KABUL: As the security scenario in Afghanistan continues to
deteriorate, Sikhs -- a community that was already in a dire situation
before the collapse of the government -- practically have to make a
choice between options of "converting to Sunni Islam or run away" from Afghanistan, said a report.
The
community, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, has been
ruined and devastated by years of emigration and death, driven by both
systemic discrimination and an uptick in fanatical religious violence in
Afghanistan, International Forum For Rights and Security (IFFRAS) said.
The larger numbers of Sikhs live in Kabul while some in the provinces of Ghazni and Nangarhar. On
October 5, 15 to 20 terrorists entered Gurdwara (Sikh temple) and tied
up the guards. The attack happened in the Kart-e-Parwan District of
Kabul. Sikhs in Afghanistan often experience such attacks and violence
in the country.
There were many anti-Sikh violent attacks in Afghanistan. Last
year in June an Afghan Sikh leader was kidnapped, reportedly by
'terrorists'. No further details about the case were disclosed by the
sources. Another Sikh man was kidnapped and killed in Kabul in March
2019. Later, Afghanistan's police had arrested two suspects. While in
Kandahar, another, some unknown gunmen had shot another Sikh man.
Sikhs
have been living in Afghanistan for centuries but for decades even the
Afghan government has failed to provide Sikhs adequate housing or
reinstate their homes, which has been illegally occupied by their
powerful neighbours or warlords during the 1990s. After the recent
massacre of the Sikhs by the Taliban in a Gurdwara in Kabul on March 26, 2020, most Afghan Sikhs were leaving for India, said IFFRAS.
Further,
the forum highlighted that as the people of the Sikh community don't
fall under the mainstream Sunni sect of Islam, they are either meant to
be forcefully converted as Sunni Muslims or killed. The Taliban
'government' will never allow diversity to thrive in the Afghan state
and society.
The strictest form of Islamic code with tribal customs will
result in the annihilation of all the minority sects of Afghanistan,
including Sikhs.
