What I Saw At The Republic day Parade

I was privileged to receive an invitation to witness Republic Day Parade from Prime Minister's box along with 99 other brilliant minds from across the country selected on account of their academic proficiency. I was humbled and honoured to be a part of perhaps the greatest annual display of our Country and it's vibrancy.
This year, being Gandhiji's 150 birth anniversary , witnessed a tribute being paid to the father of our nation in various tablos by different states.

It is a colourful event, it's the exact place to go to see our armed force's strength which will fill most of the Indians with a  sense of pride; to see an array of colourful dance performances; and of course, the country's diversity in full display. I would recommend the parade to everyone irrespective of their differing political and regional views.

True, what I mentioned above - all of them, are indeed the highlights of the event and rightly so.
But what caught my eyes the most and what stayed in my imagination was something else.
In front of us, in the Prime Minister's box (where only us and some top officials were supposed to be seated), sat two ladies - dressed modestly with their hijabs. Nobody, including me, paid attention to them, until something was announced and they went up the platform where the honourable dignitaries were seated. From the announcement I understood that it was the mother and widow of Lance Naik Wani, a Kashmiri soldier who was awarded Ashok Chakra posthumously for his valour. Everyone stood there in respect. The ladies took the honour. Then it was time for the parade to begin. So everyone went on to see the rest of the parade, enjoyed it and went back happily. There! A happy ending indeed!

But what about those two? When everyone's eyes were fixed on the colours and the objects of the parade, the two ladies came down quietly from platform, their heads hanging in gloom. As I looked at them, all the noise and the colour seemed to go away. Sure, he was honoured, they did remember his fight, but his family? All was lost for them. Even amidst the thundering crowd,they sat quiet and looked like people who had lost it all. If I was watching it from a television, I wouldn't have given a second thought to them. And I don't blame the people for doing so.

But we have to blame whatever it is that has caused this. The leaders who wage wars, who don't mind sacrificing lives for whatever they feel is valuable. I would appeal to all those people to watch the event once more, pause and think of the two ladies and millions of people who are in a similar condition due to wars that have no victors. Let's not drown their pains in our thundering applause. Let's not forget their sacrifice in all our moments of national pride.