The Book ‘India’s Most Fearless’ is written by journalists Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh.
Not many of us realize it, but India has been in a constant state of war since Independence.These conflicts range from Kashmir,North East and the Naxalite regions.
That we are able to carry on with our lives peacefully is because our soldiers,sailors and air warriors are on a constant state of mission alert.
The Book brings into stark relief the courage, fearlessness and patriotism of our men in uniform.
It covers 14 true stories of military exploits and some of them such as the surgical strikes in Pakistan,Myanmar etc gave me goose-bumps.
The Indian Army has the highest incidence of officer mortalities…the heroic exploits in the book makes us understand why.
As one reads the stories,I am stuck how truly pan-Indian our armed forces are-they are brave hearts from every part of the country-Mumbai, Haryana, Chennai, Arunachal Pradesh etc
Every soldier comes from a family who loves him dearly and does not wish to see him in harm’s way. And yet for the sake of duty,country and honor,they know it is inevitable
The Book does a fine job of bringing out these emotions…found some of the pages heart wrenching.
For instance, the words of the wife of Late Havildar Dada on receiving the Ashok Chakra from President Pranab Mukherjee:
“Dil mein toh ro rahi thi, par sabko apne aansoo kaise dikhati?Aakhir mai Dada ki wife hoon, aur Dada ki wajah se wahan hoon jahan hoon”
Another incident which shows the remarkable grit and courage of the families of armed forces is the incident of one of India’s finest pilots-Vikas Puri.
He was not doing fine at the NDA academy and his instructor wrote to Puri’s father advising that Puri is not suitable to be a pilot.
Puri’s father replied furiously:
Girte hain shahsawaar hi maidan-e-jung mein
Woh tifl kya girenge jo ghutnon ke bal chale?
It is only those on the horse will fall on the battle-field
How will they fall those who crawl on their knees?
My son has dreamt to become an airforce pilot and you are taking away his dream.
You can kick him,kill him, but I want to see him as an air force pilot.
Vikas Puri not only became one of India’s finest helicopter pilots but was also decorated with the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry.
Not only do I strongly recommend this book,but I also commend this book to your kids.They ought to know about the sacrifices made by our armed forces.
