Just within two days of celebrating Indpendence Day, something unfortunate happened, and this time with someone whom we honour on the Independence Day, I am talking about our forces.
A jawan literally leaves everything aside and undergoes an extremely rough life just to ensure that you are safe! And a group of people started hitting him? What’s really happening to people? How worse can it get?
On the night of August 17, a scene unfolded that should shake every Indian to the core. At Bhuni Toll Plaza on the Meerut–Karnal highway, Kapil Singh, a 26-year-old Army jawan from the Rajput Regiment, was on his way back to duty in Srinagar. He had just finished his short leave with his family and was racing against time to catch a 5 am flight.
He requested the toll booth staff to let him pass urgently and he showed his Army ID card.
But what happened next deserves beyond just apology!
He got humiliated where he deserved a clear passage, he was pinned to a lamp post and beaten mercilessly!
The group of workers went on with fists, sticks, even bricks. And all this was happening in public view while he was in uniform.
We failed as Indians when an Indian soldier was attacked not by the enemy at the border, but by his own people at a toll plaza!
The video of this incident went viral in no time. It is painful to watch and even more painful to ask ourselves:
How bad can it go?
Here’s a bigger question!
If our jawans can be assaulted in public that too in uniform on the streets, what does it say about our society? If the uniform no longer commands respect, what does it say about our values?
How can we accept something like this?
Can we shrug it off as just another fight? Ofcourse not!
A few arrests can’t silence the outrage. A soldier’s dignity is not negotiable. To accept this is to normalize dishonour!
Are they saving us for this?
Our soldiers see bloodshed, hear bullets, bombs, and face freezing nights, extreme weathers on the borders. They sacrifice their youth, their comfort and time their families for what?
Is this how we treat them? Beaten over a toll dispute? Humiliated for asking to serve on time?
The aftermath saw anger boiling across, people vandalised the toll plaza, police had to be deployed in force.
Investigations are on, six men have been arrested, more will be. But will punishment alone be enough?
This is not about one location, one soldier, or one viral video. This is about the way we, as a nation treat those who wear the uniform. Do we still hold them in the sacred regard they deserve?
Or have we become so desensitized that an Army jawan in uniform has been attacked in public and we scroll past the video like it’s just another piece of content? There’s a list of questions that can be asked!
India must answer. Not with just hashtags or posts. Not with momentary outrage but with a mindset that this will never be tolerated and our Armed Forces should be respected and valued at any cost!