Poem !!! A Soldier Died

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the family,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Natha Singh has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And a pension, meagre & small..

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some Neta,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight to the skin.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honour
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,A SOLDIER DIED YESTERDAY.."

Army In Democracy

What is civilian control of the military?
Armed forces were under the king
Who was usually a soldier himself.
Alexander commanded by virtue of his
Military abilities.
Napoleon was a soldier
Who became Emperor.
Where is “civilian” control?
That is something new.

II
Then came Democracy,
Checks and balances
And Separation of Powers.
People with no military experience
Like Barrack Obama
Who could mobilise votes
Became elected leaders.
In many countries
The Elected Head of State
Is Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The power to declare war lies with the legislature
How to conduct it lies with the government.
Without military experience such a Supreme Commander
Works on the advice of a government.
This power is exercised indirectly through
The inherent powers of the Head of State.
This brings in a bureaucracy
Which should function legally and ethically.

III
In India serious issues come to a
Confrontation
In a ridiculous way.
Government misuses Air India
Does not even pay its pilots
And when they strike
Blames them for a mess it has created.
That is the only way the pilots can get paid.
The arrogance refuses to fade.

IV
There is a mess up about one entry
In a form by a young man
Nearly 40 years ago.
The documents we use to settle such matters
Are clear.
There was an error in that form.
That young man become
The Chief of Army Staff.
He tries to correct it.
But the written word
Even if erroneous
Is sacrosanct.
The bureaucrats who deal with these matters
Are insensitive, arrogant, adamant.
The error will prevail.
The officer is once told
Accept in 24 hours
We are right
Or the promotions of many will be out of sight.
Hobson’s choice.
He accepts
Then the Press goes viral
He is called a liar.

V
The Army Chief
Having exhausted all possible
Remedies
Goes to court.
People are horrified.
How can a serving General go to court
Against the Government?
He should ‘gracefully’ accept the
Erroneous Government decision.
Or he should first have resigned
So that the basic issue becomes
Irrelevant.
This is dignity.

VI
No one asks
How can the Government put up with its
Ridiculous ways
Against all evidence?
Only when cornered and under duress
Will it consider acting properly.
If this is what the Army Chief has to put up with
What is the plight of the more than million soldiers
In the Indian Army?
They face insensitive arrogance
From the bureaucracy every day.
It has now been challenged.
Legally and properly
It is good for our democracy.

VII
There will be twists and turns in this case.
Minor matters will be pontificated upon.
Whatever happens
Institutions are being tarnished
Because a few nameless bureaucrats
Are accountable to no one.
When will that change?

VIII
This is no overstatement or hyperbole.
Look at the ridiculous situation
The Government created
In the appointment of
The Chief Vigilance Commissioner
Not very long ago.
The adamant bureaucracy got away
Embarrassing the Prime Minister
And the entire Government was
Made a laughing stock.
And not for the first time.
It happened over the award of an
Honorary doctorate
To chess great Vishwanathan Anand.
This was embarrassing to the university
Wasn’t it reputation tarnished?
But the babus got away.
We never learn.
We must control the bureaucracy
For the good of the country.

IX
In the warrant of precedence
A Brigadier is equivalent to a
Deputy Commissioner.
One has 30 odd years of service
The other is a youngster in the civil service.
This is a symptom of what is wrong
It is not that we disrespect institutions
It is that we have an unaccountable bureaucracy
That exists only for itself.
And interferes everywhere.
This is Incredible India.

X
That Army Chief has done well
In fighting this issue.
He has shown he is a soldier
Fighting for honour.
Vested interests will criticise him
They may still hound him.
But he has raised his voice
On behalf of a million men
Kudos to the Chief
A true leader of men.

Heaven & Hell

HEAVEN & HELL



Last night while sleeping I died...
or so it seemed,
Then I went to heaven
But only in my dream

Up there my Record Keeper met me
Standing at the Entry Gates,
He said, "I must check your record...
Please stand here and wait."

He turned and said "Your record
Is covered with terrible flaws,
On earth I see you rallied
For every losing cause."

I see that you drank rum,
smoked and killed too,
Fact is, you've done everything
A good person should never do.

We can't have people like you up here....
Throughout your life all you did was hear,
You carried out orders without pausing to think.
You never asked for instructions in ink..

Then he read the last of my record
And his eyes grew moist.
He took my hand gently and said,
"Come in.

'You stood in isolated places and shivered alone
You left your kith, kin, hearth and home
You come from an unresponsive, ungrateful nation
You were denied your rights by every Pay Commission'

He led me up to the Caretaker of Heaven ...
"Take him in and treat him well,
He has served in the Indian Military ...
He's already done his time in Hell. "