I was anguished beyond words as the fleeting news of something which I had been following for the past few days flashed on my television screen towards the end of the 8 PM prime time bulletin dominated primarily by the antics of the political class. It was about one of the young and brave test pilots of the Indian Air Force, Sqn. Leader Abrol, who was martyred in a tragic air crash when his Mirage 2000 failed to take off from the HAL airfield in Bangalore. I would have skipped the short coverage which showed our beloved, but sometimes voluble, Raksha Mantri consoling the young brave-heart’s wife in his house located in the outskirts of Delhi, had the news channel not zeroed onto a tweet featuring a short poem penned by the proud and courageous, but definitely heartbroken wife of the brave officer- the two had been married only for three years.
The gutsy lady, fondly remembering her late husband, laments the corruption which ails our system and makes our outstanding officers risk their life in handling what she describes as flying coffins. I could feel her pain, her angst and sense of loss- as also our collective thanklessness.
While all this was going on in my mind and causing turmoil, I recollected the 2006 cult classic ‘Rang De Basanti’ , directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, and which dealt with a similar issue. Whether cinema is a mirror to the society or society is a mirror for cinema will always remain debatable, but one thing is for sure-the issue of defense procurement or up-gradation was, and still remains an opaque thing , at least for an average Indian like me, whose only peek into this highly sensitized field remains whatever little is available in the public domain.
People sitting on the other side of the fence will argue that chances of these types of mishaps occurring in the future cannot be eliminated, and those who have enrolled to join the defense services are fully aware of the risks entailed, but then, it has to be ensured that each one of us, at some point, has to go through this anxiety and risk. That can happen only if military service of three years is made mandatory after school- without any relaxation. For politicians’ children or those whose decisions directly impact others’ lives, this period should be further enhanced by one year.
At least then the country will realize the futility of following the tamasha of celebrity destination weddings which go on and on and on or the birth of a child to a single parent in Bollywood with messages of congratulations choking the internet as if it is going to be Armageddon and focus on something which is better. Till then let us all stand up and observe a one minute silence, a genuine remembrance- and not a superficial lip service-for the young Squadron Leaders Abrol and Negi.
Musings of a Delhi Boy 