Stories from the LOC: The little kid and the soldiers!
By: M S Nazki
A story of love, emotions, empathy, joy and unknown bondage which humanity stitches!
-‘Some nights the sky wept stars that quickly floated and disappeared into the darkness before our wishes could meet them’.
-‘There is a great familiarity and similarity of relationships between the soldiers of Security forces and the children if one gets into the interiors of Kashmir valley, Rajouri, Poonch and other places where terror looms large still as the men with assault rifles and pistols (terrorists) move around to spill the blood of the innocents. But this is not a story of bloodshed but is one of a strange relationship between a child and a soldier and it is extremely an emotional and a cute one’!
-‘But before that I will tell the readers about an incident here which happened about 25 years back which my friend now retired after serving the army told me and this one is from the valley where he was once posted in North Kashmir. He talked about a child when we were travelling by train from another hot mattress of insurgency those days i.e. North East, Nagaland to be precise. He was talking about a child Ismail (now must have grown up and doing well) and this is what he told me, ‘he was a soft, cute and extremely loveable looking kid not bothering as to what was happening in his village and all around. We had all the information that the village was frequented by the militants and since those were early days of militancy the people were with the youth who had picked up the gun for creating the menace which definitely later became a blot on Kashmir. But kids are kids and this child like others was a bit different. As we patrolled through the village he used to come, standing in the middle of the road, with arms on the waist clad in a small Firan and a black cap. Oh! He looked awesome when he smiled and almost each member of the patrol had something or the other to give him, especially lollipops which were his favorite! The beaming smile, the exotic facial expressions and the dimples on the cheeks ensured that our day was made. But that morning he was not the same. A bit scared and grim but still had no idea as to why he was like that. He was not standing in the middle of the road but was peeping from the window of the house. We never used to call him, instead he used to come running to us. I knew something was wrong, so I called him and gave him his share of sweets and so did the other soldiers and we left. In the evening the scene had become serious. The information was spot on and it was time for action! Ismail’s seriousness and odd behavior was an indicator as the information was about his village and the guests were not of the cordial type. I had thought about forgiveness more and more…I knew it wasn’t a light that could be switched on in an instant when I sat alone and tried to calm my feelings. A seed had been sown, and I sensed that, just as I had to face a choice about whether to use violence on the night when I stared at my gun.I did think about Ismail before we left. Yes the house was the same where the action was to take place and it did! It was completed with panache but my team’s worry was the child and it was a relief when we saw him in his mother’s arms in the morning! He immediately jumped out of his mother’s lap and ran to us and then smiled. My team’s Junior Commissioned officer had a surprise for him. This time it was a jar full of Lollipops! Ismail was bouncing about with joy not knowing again as to what had happened! I later did ask the JCO Manvinder Singh how did you manage to carry that in your pack the reply was, ‘Sahab I always used to carry it for my elder child whenever I went on leave but now I do not because he was killed by a stray bullet when the terrorist struck his village during Punjab militancy. I was hoping against hope that nothing would happen to Ismail’! It was destined not to but we all were thinking about the same! That is what goes on in the heart of a soldier when action takes place and bullets are exchanged in fierce rapidity. Children are really their concern’!
– ‘In insurgencies the reason why we (soldiers) believe that change is possible is not because we are idealists but because we believe we have made things happen, so other people can or rather should make it as well. If we don’t harness their potential for good, especially that of the children, their societies will continue to reap their capacity for evil. This is what soldiers in the areas I mentioned above i.e. Kashmir Valley, Rajouri and Poonch are trying to prevent (evil from seeping through)) and spreading the message of love through children’!
In the sky there are always answers and explanations for everything: every joy, passion, pain, every suffering, joy, confusion. That is all part of life of the people living in terrorism hit places. But now it seems that the breeze fluttering is that of peace, calm and tranquility though the occasional upheaval leaves a sour taste as the events of the past fortnight have done. But a couple of days back it was back to a joyful day when Eid-il-Milad was celebrated all throughout the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with people wishing each other and exchanging sweets and love. Many great pictures were clicked by lens men from different media groups but this one (with the story) was captured in the camera by an amateur young girl and sent to me in my mail with a request that if possible ‘do publish it brother’! Though to many, the picture would look just another one but we thought there was more to it and thus decided to do a full fledged story with the theme being the kid and the soldier and thus this was what we manufactured!
There was a kid smartly dressed in black Salwar Kameez with the green flag to be put up on the pole in one of the streets of the Rajouri. The occasion was Eid-ul-Milad and this flag means a lot to the Muslims. The soldiers were watching the kid as he tried his best to put it on the pole. Obviously he could have never been able to do that and then he glanced at the soldiers obviously giving the expressions to them to help him hoist it! The soldiers knew what the kid wanted and they walked up to him and then subsequently helped him to put it on the pole! For a kid it was the best thing that could happen on the occasion of Eid a great day for the Muslim brethren. Again for most it would look like just an incident but it wasn’t. A kid’s wish had been fulfilled and he must have gone home to tell his mother that today the soldiers helped him to fly the flag on the auspicious day and the message would have spread in his toddlers friend society in Rajouri! What better thing than making a child smile on a festive occasion! This incident basically made me remember Ismail, the story of whom my friend told me on the train many years ago!
We must strive to be like the moon. The soldiers often repeat this sentence again and again, the adage is served to remind people to always be on their best behavior and to be good to others. They always say that people complain when there is too much sun and it gets unbearably hot, and also when it rains too much or when it is cold. But, no one grumbles when the moon shines. Everyone becomes happy and appreciates the moon in their own special way. Children watch their shadows/silhouettes and play in its light, people gather at the square to tell stories and dance through the night. A lot of happy things happen when the moon shines. These are some of the reasons why we should want to be like the moon. Remember the festival of Eid is all about the moon and the message is of love and brotherhood. This message is embossed in our hearts but there are still some moving about with weapons to tear apart humanity and they have to be stopped! That is exactly what the Indian Army is doing along with the J&K Police and the security forces! The bottom line is that the children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance! So let us give them one!
