Armed forces should be always ready for threats: Netaji's grandniece

The Indian armed forces should be in a state of constant preparedness, specially in the wake of recent terror attack on an army camp in Uri, Jayanti Bose Rakshit, the grandniece of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, has said.

Speaking at a function organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce here on Thursday evening, she said had Bose been alive, he would certainly have liked the Indian armed forces to be "up and about for any threats" to the nation.

Rakshit also said that it was a deeply flawed yet popular view that the armed forces and the police were the only ones responsible for the safety and security of the nation.

"The world seems to get more dangerous place to live in with each passing day and powers inimical to safety and interests of India are playing lethal games to harm us," she said, adding greater vigil was required at the moment.

Speaking at the event, which was organised to pay tribute to the martyred Indian soldiers and to debate on the security situation in the country and at the borders, actor Sushant Singh said people should introspect whether they were worthy of being protected by our soldiers at all.

"We should think in alls seriousness on why should these great soldiers lay their lives for us, a society which is cruel and corrupt" he said while pointing out how women were being stabbed in public and girls molested out in open as people turn their backs on such serious matters. I actually feel that we are not worth all this safety and protection when we don't value our soldiers and policemen," he said.

He also exhorted the people to go and make a small but serious and honest start to ensure that they become the change rather than seeking and waiting for change. The problem with India, he said, was that everyone was fighting their own battles and there is no unanimity amongst us on issues facing the nation.

"I try not to be part of the rot, tell my chartered accountant not to fudge figures and evade tax," he said, while adding in the same breath that he knew that all this would result in failure.

Retired army officers also spoke on the occasion.

Major General Rajinder Singh of the Bihar regiment, which lost 15 men in the Uri attack narrated his experiences on the border and said most Kasmiri's were kind- hearted, well-meaning people who had small "khawishein" (aspirations).

Brigadier Raj Dev Singh said in the changed times, an army job was no more considered honourable and that people think a job of a peon at the RTo office was much better (because of the money that can be made from bribes). Seeking respect for soldiers, he informed the gathering that he had lost his 32-year-old son who served the Indian Army.

Sadly, he noted the Indian Army had become a last priority for young men and women as they seek more cash-rich and cushioned jobs.

Gaurav Prakash, chairperson of the PHD Young Business Leaders Forum said the time had come for a sustained pursuit of terrorists who come and attack India from across the border.

--IANS

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