A Soldier's Truth

He lay there, blood spewing from the numerous wounds, unable to move any muscle, wishing for his brothers to come and take him home but then the fear of spending the rest of his life in a vegetative state made him wish for death instead. He'd lay in the middle of the battle helplessly watching bullets leave its shell trying to find its mark on the other side.

His memories went back to the days when he decided to join the army - It was early 2019 when a suicide bomber had killed 37+ CRPF personnel among whom was his brother - Sanju. The news of Sanju's martyrdom was a shock to the family and to add to this grief he had announced that he -Manju - would join the army to avenge Sanju. And so after completing his bachelors degree that year Manju had enrolled for military services.

The suicide bombing by a terrorist organisation had deteriorated the peace talks between the political leaders of India and Pakistan. India blamed Pakistan for giving refuge to the terrorists, while Pakistan had bluntly refuted such allegations. The diplomatic aggressiveness had taken to war like situation when one of the officer in the Indian army in a fit of rage had fired across the border killing a Pakistani personnel. One thing led to another and in a matter of months the 2 countries had declared war on one another.

The rate at which the situation escalated to war had put every individual who had enrolled for the armed forces on the battlegrounds. Manju and his likes were at the border with little to no formal training in organised battle.

For the past 2 years Manju had managed to stay alive at battle while he watched his brothers-in-arms go home wrapped in the Indian Tricolor. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - was true for Manju. Along with surviving, he had managed to climb the ranks.

Both the countries had issued numerous threats over the course of 2 years to turn to nuclear as each one gained more land in certain region but lost some to the other side. Fueled by revenge, Manju's motive was to influence members to resort to nuclear warheads to annihilate Pakistan. Heroism at battle was his best bet to get attention of his senior commanding officers and he had succeeded until now. Heading the vanguard, Manju had managed to gain land but an ambush by the enemy had put Manju in the current situation while rest of his troop was trying hard to hold ground.

Pakistan army was moving ahead and Manju lay there praying for not to get captured. And after many hours his prayers seemed to have been answered as the Pakistan army began retreating. Among all the retreating soldiers he saw a single soldier rushing to the front. He saw a reflection of himself from moments ago in that soldier. Manju saw the end of this soldier as he collapsed to the ground when a bullet from the Indian side made a mark right between his eyes. Lying there Manju could clearly see the face of this fallen enemy. Though blood trickled down from in-between those eyes he could see a proud smile permanently marked on that lifeless face.

This was the moment of realization for Manju. The soldiers on the other side were fighting for their loved ones as he was fighting for his. All his feeling for revenge wiped away as he realized that whatever be the outcome of this war the enemy had already won. The enemy weren't people of Pakistan but the few miser souls hiding on the other side who had managed to start this war. When the war started the real enemy was forgotten and countless innocents from both the sides had to forsake their lives. Terrorism had finally won when vengeance turned to war. It is only a matter of time, when either side would deploy the nukes and lay waste to the entire Indian sub-continent.

The truth that Manju learned in his helpless state went home with him wrapped in the Indian tricolor.

PS: Ask for vengeance not war.

PPS: This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.