By Col Satish Singh Lalotra (Retd)
‘You have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world’—Soldier’s diary.
Diwali (also spelled as Divali or Deepwali), the festival of lights, is one of the major hallmarks of Hindu religion celebrated equally by Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, of course marking their own religious milestones coinciding with the festival of lights. The 5 day festival marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year and occurs during the final three days of the ‘Dark half’ of the lunar month ‘Ashvina’ and the first two days of the light half of the month of ‘Kartika’ in the Vikram calendar. It occurs in late October or November of the Gregorian calendar. The entire diaspora of the Hindu race spread from Gibraltar to Japan and from Madagascar to Oslo go into a rapturous overdrive of celebrations on this occasion. Can the armed forces of India be aloof from such momentous celebrations?
A period beginning from 6 till 11 November, starting from Dhanteras and ending with Bhai Dooj will be the hallmark of this year’s Diwali celebrations. The whole country will be in a joyous mood with friends and family on such an occasion. But spare a thought for the soldier who kept vigil on the borders, on the LOC, on Siachen and in Ladakh. He did not go home. He was not with his family. He was vigilant on the borders in this terrible cold so that the nation could snuggle for a peaceful sleep after due celebrations as demanded by the occasion. Since the Armed Forces are the essential glue made from multifarious classes of troops, a festival like Diwali is one such religious cum joyous occasion that further obliterates the diversity of class, composition, race, language, etc., as found in these forces. It is as if this festival has transcended beyond the confines of above mentioned fissures that divide a nation.
The absolute power to meld such fissures of diversity in the armed forces by the festival of Diwali shows that it has seeped deep into the sinew of Indians putting them on a pedestal that is the envy of many countries of this world. The three wings of the armed forces stretching from the parched lands of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan to the unforgiving heights of Siachen Glacier to the leech infested jungles of Arunachal Pradesh have found their own level of celebrations to ring this festival of lights in its true fashion.
In fact the prelude to Diwali begins about 20 days before when, on the Dusshera day, a special ‘Shastra puja’ is performed by the unit with a massive display of its arms and ammunition, vehicles, instruments and the like invoking the might of Goddess Durga as ‘Power Incarnate’ and ‘Slayer of Demons’ of the world. In some units of pure class composition particularly the ‘Gurkhas’ and ‘Marathas’, even animal sacrifice is resorted to. In a typical peace area with the families of troops too residing alongside the same station the festivities usually revolve with activities involving a unit Mandir parade invoking the blessings of various Gods and Goddesses, a ‘Barakhana’ or a Diwali mela arranged at a centrally located place with active participation of all ranks and their families showcasing their individual and collective talents. The Diwali mela may involve a cracker show as also stalls in all their finery, showcasing eatables from the various sub units put on display made by the families of the troops or the delicacies outsourced from the local market. An enthusiastic unit or body of troops may put up a glittering fashion show or dance competition adding that extra sheen to the festival of lights.
If the unit happens to be deployed in an operational area away from the families it doesn’t take away the buoyancy and spring from the feet of all ranks in ringing in this festival of lights in its true sense. In fact, all and sundry in order to remove the void created in their lives due to exigencies of service, go hammer and tongs in celebrating this ‘festival of festivals’. Since it denotes the victory of good over evil, and spreading of light amidst the gloom of darkness cast by the ‘Amavasva’, many a times as a mark of morale boosting the unit resorts to firing from its weapons on to the enemy deployed in front of its location in an operational area to help gain morale and also material ascendency over the arch enemy. Many may not be aware that, even in the Buddhist religion, the festival of lights also holds an equal importance. It is said that on this day Emperor ‘Ashoka’ was converted to Buddhism disenchanted by his own deeds perpetrated in the battle of Kalinga. As mentioned in previous paragraphs, armed forces are the microcosm of a bigger entity, i.e., a nation, since they resemble the country with all the diversities of language, culture, ethnicities, all rolled into one big force to reckon with.
Keeping the above ethos of multiculturalist foundation of our armed forces, the present PM Narendra Modi since 2014 has been at the forefront of heralding the festival of lights with the ‘Sentinels of our frontiers’ (the armed forces) of the country signaling to each citizen of India that it is these uniformed men and women who tirelessly guard our 15000 kms of national boundaries from external depredations enabling us to celebrate Diwali in our homes peacefully.
Pulling himself out of the confines of the national capital the Prime Minister has been on the trot traversing areas like Longewala, Siachen Glacier, Kupwara, etc., interacting with the forward most troops deployed over there to bring a little cheer in the lives of these men and women on the occasion of Diwali. Men bearing the profession of arms serve with the concept of ‘unlimited liability’ that has no second takes while undertaking their professional duties. It is these little gestures that act as mitigating factors towards reducing this ‘unlimited liability’ of a soldier though it may be in a small way. Any expenditure or effort towards accomplishment of the above is the premium to be paid for the national insurance of its security.
During the depression of the 1930s, when there was a cut in defence budget, General Douglas MacArthur, Chief of the US army, went to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to dissuade him from making cuts in the defence budget. The president was unconvinced. As a parting shot, General MacArthur said, “Mr President with enemy bayonet piercing his abdomen and he spits out his last curse, I do not want the bane to be MacArthur but Roosevelt. It is said that the US president changed his mind and opened up the purse strings for US armed forces. The detractors of our prime minister downplaying his outreach to the troops during such festivities in terms of the expenditure incurred as well as time spent would do well to remember the prophetic words of the US General as stated above. Towards this end when we light our homes in brightness this year, it would be appropriate to reflect on what it takes for us to celebrate not just our Diwali, but our freedom, our rambunctious democracy, our civil rights and ironically our right to be uncivil. Our uniformed brothers and sisters have proven their worth on every occasion the nation has needed them. This Diwali might be a good time for the rest of us to start deserving them.
(The writer is a retired army officer.)
