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."
Ram Navami stone pelting: Why for us Gujaratis, this violence feels like déjà vu
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Ram Navami processions getting attacked in parts of India are more like
déjà vu moment for Gujaratis (image courtesy: indianexpress.com)
Have
we all become complacent after experiencing 20 years of peace? Or have
we forgotten the history and are condemned to repeat it.
Those who forget the history are condemned to repeat it.
When someone talks about communal riots in Gujarat, they always talk
about 2002 riots that took place after a train compartment carrying
Hindu pilgrims from Ayodhya was set on fire in Godhra killing 60 people.
But for those of us who have lived in this great state for generations,
communal violence was so frequent that the post 2002 peace now appears
like a silence before the storm.
Recently, on the occasion of Ram Navami, at least two incidents of
violence were reported from Gujarat where stones were pelted on the
procession of Shri Ram. The stones were pelted largely from mosques
after the shobha yatra passed through ‘Muslim Area’ as noted by the
‘liberal journalists’ in India. Remember, India is secular but some pockets in the are ‘Muslim Areas’ where perhaps just existence of a Hindu could be ‘provocative’.
For those who live outside Gujarat, they would draw a parallel
between these incidences in Himmatnagar and Khambhat and other such
incidences that happened across India on the same evening. But for
average Gujaratis, especially those who live in the metros of Gujarat
like Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat this was a déjà vu moment for us.
