Riti Kanwar Solanki
Sophia Senior Secondary School, Bikaner, Rajasthan

Spring came, flowers bloomed, autumn came, leaves shed, I took birth and grew up, but a soldier, a father, a husband and a son didn’t come. Who is a soldier? Is he some government employee who is paid for doing his job? How is he different from others? What makes him so unique? Winston Churchill said, ‘A country without soldiers is like god without angels.’  

A soldier is not the one who works for money, but he is the only one who works for the country, whose profession risks are not losing a job but losing a life. He is the one because of whom we live in our homes safely even in this pandemic time. In spite his family scared and worried for him he stands at the border protecting the nation like a shield; he is the one who hides his fear, worries and lots of emotions behind a proud smile. And he is also the one who becomes an example of sacrifice and patriotism. A soldier is never on holiday; he has to work in festive, pandemic, joys, sorrows, ups and downs, and yet his chest stretches with pride and blood still flushes up whenever he listens to the national anthem; whenever he listens to stories of bravery of our freedom fighters. He is the one who takes part in wars but does that mean that we as a nation can rage wars against others around any time?

 War- mother of all rivalries, the cauldron of emotions, insecurities, jealousies and power play, which, over the years we have learnt is never a solution to anything. India, being a powerful nation, has the real power to win any war with its never-ending troop of soldiers filled with ideals of patriotism and sacrifice. So, the real question is-                                           

‘Is the war required?’

No, our idols who even gave away their lives for the country, never taught us to raise hands for war but peace and harmony. So, practically there is no purpose of action except for exhibiting or showing off the weapon power to other countries. A country’s prosperity is measured by the number of healthy soldiers in the country but, the arising tensions between India and China creates a threat to country’s health by staking soldiers and citizens life.

‘The tragedy of a war is that it uses the man’s best to do man’s worst.’ said Leo Tolstoy. Our soldiers and their family members sacrifice the worldly pleasures for protection of the nation by doing what we (the nation) want from them but do we know what they want? No. A soldier is that epitome of the peace, which has to use violence to bring about change; a soldier doesn’t support the power that takes place in the name of war. He puts forward mother India in front of his biological mother, he chooses millions of sons/daughters of the nation to his child, and he is also the one who keeps alive the husbands of many wives even though his wife becomes a widow.

We as citizens can’t do much for them but give them the respect and love they deserve; appreciate them for their sacrifice and motivation and tell them that they aren’t alone yet the whole country stands with him. Even I want to thank and enjoy all the soldiers whom I can never repay what they have done for us because –

‘Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it

It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.’

We are all stuck in this world pandemic, our country has already faced enough loss and is pushed five years back, but this war might take us ten years behind. Let us together protect the ones who protect us cause when we realize the importance of peace that is when we can move towards our nation’s recovery purposes and take India to greater and greater heights of success.

Spring came, flowers bloomed, autumn came, leaves shed, I took birth and grew up, but a soldier, a father, a husband, and a son didn’t come. Who is a soldier? Is he some government employee who is paid for doing his job? How is he different from others? What makes him so unique? Winston Churchill said, ‘A country without soldiers is like god without angels.’ 

A soldier is not the one who works for money, but actually, he is the only one who works for the country, whose profession risks are not losing a job but losing a life. He is the one because of whom we live in our homes safely even in this pandemic time. Despite his family scared and worried for him, he stands at the border protecting the nation like a shield; he is the one who hides his fear, worries, and lots of emotions behind a proud smile. And he is also the one who becomes an example of sacrifice and patriotism. A soldier is never on holiday; he has to work in festive, pandemic, joys, sorrows, ups and downs, and yet his chest stretches with pride and blood still flushes up whenever he listens to the national anthem; whenever he listens to stories of bravery of our freedom fighters. He is the one who takes part in wars but does that mean that we as a nation can rage wars against others around any time?

War- mother of all rivalries, the cauldron of emotions, insecurities, jealousies, and power play, which we have learned over the years is never a solution to anything. Being a mighty nation, India has the real power to win any war with its never-ending troop of soldiers filled with patriotism and sacrifice ideals. So, the real question is-                                          

‘Is the war required?’

No, our idols who even gave away their lives for the country never taught us to raise hands for war but peace and harmony. So, practically there is no purpose of war except for exhibiting or showing off the weapon power to other countries. A country’s prosperity is measured by the no. of healthy soldiers in the country. Still, India and China’s rising tensions create a threat to the country’s health by staking soldiers and citizens’ lives.

‘The tragedy of a war is that it uses the man’s best to do man’s worst.’ said Leo Tolstoy. Our soldiers and their family members sacrifice worldly pleasures for the nation’s protection by doing what we (the nation) want from them but do we know what they want? No. A soldier is that epitome of peace who has to use violence to bring about change; a soldier doesn’t support the violence that takes place in name of war. He puts forward his mother, India, in front of his biological mother. He chooses millions of sons/daughters of the nation for his child. He is also the one who keeps alive the husbands of many wives even though his wife becomes a widow.

We as citizens can’t do much for them but give them the respect and love they deserve; appreciate them for their sacrifice and motivation, and tell them that they aren’t alone, yet the whole country stands with him. Even I want to thank and appreciate all the soldiers whom I can never repay what they have done for us because –

‘Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it.

It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.’

We are all stuck in this world pandemic, our country has already faced enough loss and is pushed five years back, but this war might take us ten years behind. Let us together protect the ones who protect us cause when we realize the importance of peace. That is when we can move towards our nation’s recovery purposes and take India to greater and greater heights of success.