Of Stars and Martyrs, Munnabhai vs. Manish Pitambare
Yesterday, I received this truly saddening email about of a brave army officer who laid his life down in an encounter with Hizbul Mujahideen’s most wanted terrorist. Truly saddening…and a disgusting commentary on the media in general.
Please read this, ponder and circulate widely amongst fellow citizens and friends.
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From: Rajeev.Issar
Star versus ‘Star’
On Tuesday (Nov 28th ’06) news swept across all the news channels ‘Sanjay Datt relieved by the court’. ‘Sirf Munna Not a bhai’ ’13 saal ka vanvaas khatam’ ‘alhough found guilty for possession of armory, Sanjay can breathe a sigh of relief as all the TADA charges against him are withdrawn’.
And then many experts like Salman Khan saying ‘He is a good person. We knew he will come out clean’ Mr. Big B, ‘Datt family and our family have relations for years – he’s a good kid. He is like elder brother to Abhishek’. His sister Priya Datt ‘we can sleep well tonight it’s a great relief’.
In another news: Parliament was mad at Indian team for performing badly; Greg chapel said something �..; Bomb scare in Gorakhpoor express; and Shah Rukh Khan replaces Big B in KBC and Sonia asked PM to consider reducing petroleum prices (I wonder who’s the PM anyways that is not the topic so leave it) But most of the emphasis was given on Sanjay Datt’s “phoenix like” comeback from the ashes of terrorist charges.
Surfing through the channels, one news on BBC startled me, it read, Hisbul Mujahidin’s Most wanted terrorist ‘Sohel Faisal’ killed in Anantnag, India. Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process. Four others are injured.
It was past midnight, I started visiting the Indian channels, the ones who are ‘Sabse TEZ’, but Sanjubaba was still ruling. They were telling How Sanjubaba pleaded to the court saying ‘I am the sole bread earner for my family’ ‘I have a daughter who is studying in US – who will look after her’. And then they showed how Sanjubaba was not wearing his lucky blue shirt while he was hearing the verdict. Also how he went to every temple and prayed for last some months. A suspect in Mumbai bomb blasts, convicted under armory act�..was being made into a hero.��
Major Manish H Pitambare got the information from his sources about the terrorists’ whereabouts. Wasting no time he attacked the camp killed the Hisbul Mujahidin’s supremo and in the process lost his life�.. To the bullets fired from an AK47..He has a wife and a daughter (just like Sanjubaba), age – 8 months.
Major Manish never said ‘I have a daughter’ before he took the decision to attack the terrorist hide out on the darkest of nights? �He never thought about having a family and he being the sole bread earner.
No news channel covered this since they were too busy hyping a former drug addict, an actor in real and reel life, a suspect who’s linked to bomb blasts which killed hundreds. Their aim was to show how he defied the TADA charges and they were so successful that his conviction in possession of armory had no meaning. They also concluded that his parents in heaven must be happy and proud of him
Parents of Major Pitambare are still on this earth and they have to live rest of their lives without their beloved son. His daughter won’t ever see her papa again.
Definition of a Star has changed Major� it really has. So Sanjubaba always has a gun in every one of his movies then in real life if he has an AK47 then what’s the big deal we are used to see him with some ammunition without it he’s just a 49 year old hero so he did it for us�..so that we feel normal; Even if one of the bullets from one of such AK47’s took a Real Star’s life..
but sir bole toh .. tension nahi leneka. Aapun ko thoda bura laga. Aapun pure din aapke baarein mein socha. Sach bataun kya aapun dukhi matlab ki senty ho gaya, isliye ye likha.
Sorry major, to my generation there is no greater hero than one who laid his life in the name of this great nation. Hence Sir, I salute you. You are the real Star….
Rajeev Issar
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Shailesh Dhuri has written a moving obituary on Major Pitambare and makes a very important point in his conclusion:�
Secondly, I read reports of shortage of good officers in the Armed Forces. I fear that if a society does not want its brightest young lads to join the Armed Forces and serve the nation, the society will lose its independence, sooner or later. We have repeated this mistake in the past, and we are repeating it again. All the talk of India emerging on a global economic scene can come to a quick halt if our political adversaries are able to weaken our Armed Forces. I fear this is already happening, and we need to reverse the trend.
I want the readers of rediff.com to devote a minute of their life thinking about the brave Army Officer who laid down his life today so that we can live and enjoy our life with our families.
.
Pl. also read More on Munnabhai vs. Manish Pitambare…
Image courtesy: http://amarjawaan.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html
Well, that’s the bad luck of our country that people who walk with media following them are known as heros. Indian public has their eyes blindfolded to the reality and whatever the news channels decide is worth broadcasting is the real news.All Indians know what is happening in the parliament attack case and how soldiers laid their lives to protect the most corrupt people of the country.But none has come to support the families of those martyrs.Instead people and the politicians have come to support the culprits on basis of human rights.It is such a shame that people who do inhuman acts have human rights and the ones who sacrifice their lives to save the humanity have no human rights activists to fight for their families after they are gone.
Yes, Kanchan you are absolutely right. It is painful that we public are handicapped by these so called politicians and other civilians who claimed as human rights activists. General public has an attitude of WHO CARES? I think,time is very near, when we all like minded have to come out and scream.
Sometime I feel to do someting about it. However I too feel I have no solid strategey to reach out.
Kanchan – good comment and a sad commentary on the current state of affairs.
Indian,
We all can do our bit to help – at the very least by creating and raising awareness…and hopefully, there will come a time, as you say, when the voices of all of us like-minded people are finally heard.
Dear Shantanu
Its important that the family of Major Pitambre know that there are people in this country who realize what Major has done for the country and its people that day.They know who the real hero is .Not everyone is mesmarised by celluloid heros.Major Pitambre has shown unparallel courage and determination in a real situation. He may not have made a big headline that day but that does not reduce his bravity.
We should understand, being in news is not the scale of greatness.
Hi,
I came across this topic accidently. I was going through the “Inidan of the year” contest held by NDTV and saw major Manish’s name there. To be frank i didn’t know about this guy and why his name is in the list. So i searched his name on Web and got this link.
After reading the whole blog and the comments under it, i feel people who have money always makes the media run behind them. Media too plays an important role in making people aware. I am sure there are crores of people like me who doesnt know about the Major Manish’s heroics. Real heros are never exposed while the people with power and money stay on focus. If u go and view “Indian of the year” contest, you will find people like Sachin Tendulkar, Amir Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Leander Paes, Kiran Desai etc. are nominated for the award. I believe there will be many Major Manish Pitambare which go unnoticed.
Probably its a responsibility of media to make people aware about the exact situation instead running behind the biggies. Everyone is selfish, so do i. But i want to see the change in the system and i want to change myself to see that change.
Indians are considered to be more people oriented than task oriented which is holding us behind. We need to change our attitude towards this.
Advay
The award should only go to those who really sacrifice for the people of India. All fimi celebrity are filling their pockets and making their future,( we have no problem with that, but the amount of importance given to them is real problem). In no way they have showed any courage to come out and address the real issues India is facing. They all are busy to help their second generation kids to climb the ladder of filmi duniya.
No one is at the fault, neither Govt. nor celebrities. It is ‘we’ people are ignorant and they are taking advantage of this.
I agree with Rajeev, even I was following the news to find out what happened however i was only able to find through Rediff.com.
Indian news channels are more interested in lalu’s buffalo’s and reel heroes then a real life hero.
I absolutely agree with Kanchan, but don’t you think we always pay tributes to soldiers only after they lay down their lives. I think we should do it to the existing soldiers. It is winter now and the temperature at Siachen glacier reaches upto -75 degrees celsius. Our soldiers are braving such harsh weather to protect our borders from pakistan and china.
All of you people reading this either students or office goers,take an initiative and write a letter showing how much we all care for our great warriors fighting for us at Siachen. Get the letter signed by all your fellow students or colleagues. I too am going to do this when my college reopens. Comeone comrades if we can’t do even this much for our brave soldiers,we are all not worthy of living our lives.
VANDE MATARAM & JAI HIND
Well…. lots of people and lots of views. Like Advay I was going through the a contest held by NDTV as “Inidan of the year” and there I saw various name and one of them is Manish Pitambare.As dont know anything about Manish Pitambare,I searched Google and then accidently come across this article But I think this is NONSENSE.Every time u come across such topic issues where someone writing abtsuch things.The Question is “HOW many times we hear that a soldier dies in kashmir in a month?” answer is almost daily then you can figure out how many people will watch if such news aired daily the main thing is that people want something new and this is wat has been provided by INDIAN MEDIA.Now the question arise is this is right? abolutely not and this is where a new alternative media is emerging on the Internet like chatting,Blogs,myspace,orkut,youtube etc.So I think we should not criticize the conventional media.
I completely agree with ARJUN VISVESWARAN RAM comment. That is what I was thinking from long time. We must appreciate their efforts and commitment they have shown towards our Bharat mata. They are the one who should be highly respected. No one comes above them. Lets do something for them. Mr. SHANTANU, I want to request you lets do some strong work online, on your site in which we all like minded can come together and highlight all that opinions and views that are worth to be carried out.
Presently we all come, write something and go back to our own life. Why not we put seriously what ever we are thinking, writing, desiring to do for our country and their people. I mean the same kind of opinion and views that have been shown for soldiers by Arjun Visveswaran Ram. As we all have strong desires but we all are scattered on different part of the world.
Lets do Something positive that can bring us together in our mission.
My English is not good as I have no great command over it but I am trying. Sorry for that.
Thanks
Friends,
Thanks a lot for all your comments.
See some thoughts in response in this post: “More on Munnabhai vs. Manish Pitambare” http://hindudharma.wordpress.com/2006/12/23/more-munnbhai-manish-pitambare/
Jai Hind.
Wish we all knew about this earlier. It is indeed very very heroic of the Major to do what he did. Just wish it was publicised a bit more, especially in schools, to impressionable minds. Some kind of tribute from the whole nation was definitely missing and that’s too sad. Even flowers consider themselves lucky if they r laid on the body of a brave person !!
Major you will always be remembered.You are a true soldier.My heartiest blessing for your departed soul May Jesus give peace to your eternal soul.God bless you and give courage to your Family to go through this difiicult time.
JAI HIND.
The matter is of sheer shame for the media.
GOOD MORNING TO ALL INDIAN .WELL,I SALUTE TO THIS HERO.AND TO HIS SACRIFICE FOR WE PEOPLEAND FOR OUR NATION.
WELL MATTER IS NOT THAT ITS NOT A PART MEDIA COVERAGE. DAILY MANY SOLDIERs, POLCEMENs LOOSE THEIR LIFE and WE pEOPLE LISTEN THOSE HEART TOUCHING NEWS AND FORGET THEM AFTER SOMETIME.
BEING A HUMAN BEING I JUST WANT FROM THE YOUTH OF INDIA THAT THEY SHOULD CONTINUE THIS FIRE ON THIER OWN PART (atleast if you can do this then you are also hero of country:-
>Save water
>Save electricity
>Educate atleast two poor child
>Respect old people
>Grow trees
AND MOST IMPORTANT ENCOURAGE EVEYONE TO DO ALL THESE THINGs
i am sure these all thing would not cost u much but give life long satisfation
)AND STOP BLAMING OTHER RATHER DO YOUR DUTIES FIRST THEN SAY:———
AND THIS IS REAL SLATUE TO THOSE HEROES
IN LAST IF CANT GIVE YOUR LIFE TO UR COUNTRY THEN ATLEAST GIVE UR TIME TO THIS GREAT NATION
JAI HIND
It was really sad to hear the fact that no channel was really interested in the heroic effort of our major Manish H Pitambare who did a great job for his country killing the Hisbul Mujahidin’s supremo and in that mission lost his life too. There are not many officers like Pitambare left in the indian army which can perform such an act without even thinking of loosing his own life. I salute this man for his act. Media however should give enough coverage to acts like this so that the whole nation can know that there are people like pitambare who can do anything to serve the nation. Even now media can play an important role by realizing the govt. that now it’s their turn to keep his family live pacefully.
MAJOR NEVER FEEL THAT U LOST YOUR LIFE FOR SOME IDIOT INDIANS ACCORDING TO WHOM SANJU IS OF MORE IMPORTANCE ACCORDING TO ME U ARE THE REAL HERO NOT A SO CALLED ONE.
SO I BELIEVE THAT U GAVE UR LIFE TO FIGHT WITH THE HEAD OF HIJBUL MUJJAHIDIN WHO WAS SURELY ATHREAT TO THE COUNTRY SO MAY GOD GIVE UR SOUL PEACE AS U HAVE DONE A LOT OF HARD WORK FOR OUR COUNTRY.
SIR I SALUTE U WITH MY HEART AND GIVE U ALL REGARDS.
JAI HIND
JAI HIND
JAI HIND
It was really sad to hear the fact that no channel was really interested in the heroic effort of our major Manish H Pitambare who did a great job for his country killing the Hisbul Mujahidin’s supremo and in that mission lost his life too.
Presently we all come, write something and go back to our own life. Why not we put seriously what ever we are thinking, writing, desiring to do for our country and their people. I mean the same kind of opinion and views that have been shown for soldiers by Arjun Visveswaran Ram.
All of you people reading this either students or office goers,take an initiative and write a letter showing how much we all care for our great warriors fighting for us at Siachen. Get the letter signed by all your fellow students or colleagues. I too am going to do this when my college reopens. Comeone comrades if we can’t do even this much for our brave soldiers,we are all not worthy of living our lives.
VANDE MATARAM & JAI HIND
The art of soldiering is in dying like a soldier! Maj. Pitambare died like a true soldier and I am sure the entire patriot Indians who know about his martyrdom would be proud of him. Those who have heart which can feel and head which can think, will always respect and regard the soldiers – dead or alive. They will also be the motivators of the society and enthuse the younger generation to take them as their role model.
I really do not think high of the actors like Sanjay Dutt (can’t even call him Sanju Baba as it reflects love for him!) who are self centered, egoist and misfits of the society. I am aghast seeing Priety Zinta asking to send nominations for bravery awards but she will not, nor will the tobacco company sponsoring these wards will suo-moto do some thing to recognize the bravery of Maj. Pitambare. They will not even send their condolence to the bereaved family or sponsor the cost of education for the daughter of Maj. Pitambare even for one year – the amount spent on even one insertion of few seconds in national channels is far more then this.
Maj. Pitambare is my role model as were all other soldiers who laid their lives for Bharat Mata! They are also role model for my children. Even when I left army two decades back, such hero give life new meaning to me and my family. I am sure even one percent of our society take inspiration from the sacrifice of Maj. Pitambare, their will be no dearth of army officers and there not be any false hero like Sanjay Dutt.
Jai Hind!
Unbelievable but expected from our stupid corrupt media.
Sanjay Dutt is a terrorist & deserves to be killed by a brave general like Manish..
Jay Hind
It was really sad to hear the fact that no channel was really interested in the heroic effort of our major Manish H Pitambare who did a great job for his country killing the Hisbul Mujahidin’s supremo and in that mission lost his life too. Some of my friends forwrded this new to me.
The same channels will cover if any of film hero is going to spend a day with our solders and they advertise same, saying before they are going to telecast on the perticalar day. Like that our media is working, they are looking for sponsors for that even, how will sponsor for Manish H Pitambare?
Jai Jawan… Jai Kisan…
But we have left this word, not supporting for both and not considering what they are contributing for the nation. With out them, we are no more here, one is giving bread to us and one is protecting us.
Jai Jawan… Jai Kisan…
Jay Hind….
India’s fixation with film actors leads is a sign of social and cultural immaturity. Only the rise of education levels in the country can lessen this fixation. More importantly, a better educated country might enforce the rule of law and people might start getting convicted for possessing illegal arms despite being rich and famous.
Hi All,
A few comments…
1. Mainsteam media puts out what it thinks the consumer wants, therefore Sanjay
Dutt > Major Manish at an aggeregate level is just an indicator of the kind of
people we are .. at the aggregate level.
2. Googled Major Manish Pitambare and found lots of hits condemming the Sanjay
Dutt > Major Manish in media phenomenon. Good indicator of things changing for
the better i.e. (Sanjay Dutt – Major Manish) is growing smaller.
3. Wounder if Sanju would do a $ for $ challenge ( or Re for $ or any other
ratio) for donating to the National Defense Fund (armed forces welfare fund).
What about other agencies (Police, Paramilitary etc)… fighting not only
terrorism in kashmir but other internal terrorism as well…
Would some Mainstream Media entity organize this? This will give a good indicator of where we really stand. Could make good media story too! Will allow Sanjay to show by action that he is not a criminal but just erred in judgement.
4. Here is the URL to the National defense fund
http://www.indianembassy.org/new/Kargil/Army_Welfare_Fund.html.
I pray for the soul of Major Manish Pitambare. May Almighty bless his soul with eternal peace and also gives courage and strength to the family members to withstand the loss Honourable Major.
Aameen…Aameen…Aameen.
I express my sincere gratitude to Shailesh Dhuri for bringing awareness and enlightenment amongst the citizens of India.
may his soul rest in peace!!!
Its obviously a shame on Indian media.
But I think we can bring this awareness among the others by joining our hands together n forwarding this chain as much as possible.
y arent REAL heroes not given as much importance as REEL heroes????why???
What the hell the media is doin. But in a way we the people are also responsible for it, because we are more interested in knowing the private life of the pseudo celebrities like film stars while we dont show a percentage of it in knowing the acts of real celebrities lke major pithambre.. salutations to you major, but i’m sure many mnmore people like you will be born in this country and save it for the imminent doom.
Jai Hind
The media is out here to do business and they will choose to publicize what sells. It might be unfortunate or even a disgraceful but is the way the world goes where temporal surge of emotions really do not count…
imagine yourself in the role of deciding the news to be flashed when there are five other competitors involved in a tooth and nail fight, it’s quite natural that all scramble for the same bits of glamour aand portray it with maximum flambouyance.
to go against the crowd and create news out of it calls for real talent and guts. That Major Pitambare’s scrifice went unnoticed speaks volumes of the sheer incapability and mediocrity of the Indian media. Just a bunch of ordinary people fighting a rat race. Hence it does not make any sense in blaming them, for they are just not worth it…
We have reached the nadir in print and electronic media. We are definitely regressing . A large part of India struggles to keep the nation alive and vibrant but it is the small minority of the rich and infamous who get all the accolades.It is a sad commentary on a nation which has time and again produced exemplary humans in the field of relegion science,education,social service,armed forces and similar fields. But the people who get accolades are filmstars,cricketers,politicians and a few select media crazy industrialists.They also serve who only stand and wait.
Betrand Russel once remarked that “We have less desire for the welfare of our friends than for the punishment of our enemies”
We need to start memorials in each of our towns to the great soldiers so that we may inspire our future generations in the right direction.We want our children to grow up as Manishbhai and not Munnabhai.
Well said. I agree with your opinion. Like minded must come together to fulfill such acts.
Once I was watching Indian idol on IBN CNN, they were saying cricketers and actors as they inspires others so they are idols. But my question is, how many Indians become cricketer and actor by just inspiration? Inspiration is something potential and more number of people should imitate them. In entertainment business with due respect to many talented actors, directors and musicians, it is money that is inspiring and ones starts encashing their body and talents. I think 50% of indians are dumb when it is time to think what is fruitful and what is not to the nation.
This is truly a shame on news channels part to not cover this news. This shows that the news channels are not interested in news but they are interested in viewerships and making the big bucks. The whole purpose of news is lost. It is a sorry state of journalism. News of a boy getting stuck in a pit gets live coverage, shilpa shetty wins the Big Brother and the news channel call shilpa’s mother and ask her reaction to this.
Did any news channel atleast telecast the last rites of this great martyr live? Did anyone bother to call the family of this martyr and console them? Rather our channels boast of being the fastest news channels, fast as in what, getting the coverage of mumbai corporation elections, is it the general elections that are important or the corporation elections that are important for a nation. Journalists wake up it is time that you wake up and get some news not gossip. I am sure you do not want the tag “Stardust” the most famous gossip magazine.
Organizations such as Bajarang Dal, Shiv sena should launch agitations to ban films of such tainted hero’s. Instead the suprimo is busy blessing Sanju. He has played key role in getting him released on bail and subsequent aquittal from terorist charges.
People like us can take vow not to see any films starring a terorist. It’s our money which is used to procure AK 47 .
I agree with Sudhir.
But when BD, SS tries anything good for Humanity, they are labelled as anti.Our own people are not understanding anything. If Imam is dictating anything, our govt. endorses. What about that? Bsal thackerey did wrong but it is because of Sunil Dutt. I think so!
Jai hind
Well I read all of the above and feel you are just wasting time, instead do something useful !
I feel everyone has a right to struggle for his freedom and life, what Major Pitambare did …was something awesum …I do salute him !
but again , what Sanju Baba is doing is his right to protect himself from going to jail !
We all know that all our politicians and courts are corrupt ! its just paisa pheko and tamasha dekho ! Talking about Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena …they are selfish parties themselves …we all saw what happened to Shiv Sena …Mr Bal Thakreay is just another Dhithirastra ( from Mahabharat) who for his idiot son is throwing all good people out !
anyways …I consider myself for my countries condition, cos I am not doing anything to improve it … I have no right to speak abt it staying abroad !
so guys ..please dont waste your time, If tomorrow some constable catches you breaking a red signal, you will be the first one to pay him Rs. 50 !!!
Jai hind ! Jai Maharastra !
Dear Mumbaikar,
Thanks for commenting but I have to disagree with you when you compare petty corruption (Rs 50/- for jumping a red traffic light) with national security/ terrorism.
Have you ever wondered why even otherwise law-abiding citizens prefer to pay Rs 50/- to a cop rather than pay their fine in a court? It is because the other option is so time-consuming (I am not even mentioning the cost) that the “preferred” option is always to pay off at the spot and get it over with…In fact, this tendency has been put to good use by cops in several cities where traffic fines can now be dealt with on the spot (which makes the whole system more efficient and takes away any incentive to “cheat”)
You say that “We all know that all our politicians and courts are corrupt” – OK, so can we do something about it? For too long, I have heard that nothing can be done – I dont believe it…something can be done…something must be done…Our worst enemy is indifference and apathy – perhaps you feel it less since you are abroad – but how can you condemn one billion of your fellow countrymen to this dismal state of affairs? – especially when you ae better off than a vast majority of them?
Indians living abroad probably should be the first to stand up and demand the need for change and do something about it.
And please be careful of flippant remarks like “you are wasting your time”…a lot of people on this forum and elsewhere are doing a lot for our society – without ay recognition, rewards or praise….the least we can do is not to condemn or dismiss them.
Dhanyawaad.
I think this is not a new and only story about the “Shahid”. From the very begining of indian independent same things were happened. Those who served their life for country never got anything. India is the country where every part of the government organisation is 100% corrupt. The three most important aspects of civilised society media, judiciary and political parties. In media Shilpa Shetty (Big Boss) is more important story than Tata. They concentrate only on glamour, the things which are least important in india. At present they are promoting Abhishek Bacchan, Salman Khan, Amir Khan, Sanjay Datt, Abu Salem and everybody opposing Narendra Modi. These people never care about the people of India. If will never find the difference between Electronic Media and Print Media.
I think it is better to stop watching News Channel and Reading News paper because all the things are exactly opposite as per my views about certain people.
Dear Shantanu …
I do agree with you over the topics of national security and terrorism has nothing to do abt petty corruption … may be its a bad example .. when we speak about about politicians ..i really feel pity for the guys saying that SS and BD are doing something for humanity …. (check comment #31) …
Also, I never said nothing can be done …. I said I have no right to comment over this corrupt government cos I cannot do anything for it. Being abraod we are always looked upon for financial help …”NRI’s should help NGO’s” and yes, I do help as much as its their in my capacity …but I am not sure whether the money reach the right person !
Talking about National Security, I have lost my first cousin Lt Sachin Mirajkar , fighting in Kashmir, I know how much is the pain involved behind, We all say that those were the Martyrs … they shld be remembered …etc …but beleive me after 6-8 months people forget about it and they move on …
so when I say “Dont waste your time..” I stand by it, cos I feel just by writing to this forum our responsibility is not over … we cannot feel satisfied that by expressing our views we did a big thing for the country ! I feel we need more of action …
Thanks,
Indian to “Mee Mumbaikar”,
I agree with you “Mee Mumbaikar” that BD and SS are not effcient organization. I am the commentator of#31. You cannot trash other’s views only because it is not agreeing with yours, and you assuming we are not doing our responsibilities like you without finding what I am doing. May be in the past you may have gone through that kind of slot who did nothing and just talking and you are assuming everone same. Second thing my statement is not harming anyone personally. By the way each human goes through different experience in their life time so their views and opinions also tends to be different. And I also think sometime pen is mightier than sword.
I have same views as yours but I was talking on different issues relating to BD and SS. I didnot wanted to go through long stories so I put it in short way in comment #31.
India has been ripped apart due to Mullha and Islam teaching in madrassas. They have gone to the extent of Blasting train and places. Again only those will speak up who have lost their beloved, not all, others (who havn’t lost their beloved)will poise themselves as secular. India has a record of living peacfully with many cultures. Can we imagine what average Hindu can do against this kind of violence? I am assuming we are safe in India because of such organization who is working on fear bases( no doubt may be by hook or crook) Muslims fear RSS, BD and SS. Have you ever heard speech and views of Imam of Jama Masjid of Delhi? When we are posing with this kind of danger, even ineffecient org like RSS, BD and SS is sweeter to us.
I have seen 18 years of boy, only son of single mother(street cleaner of municipal)in Gujarat got murdered. Why? because he used the shortest way by going through muslims street on cycle to join his friend playing cricket. What kind of revenge was it? And communal riot started, hindus too got violent? Who to blame?
Whenever RSS, BD and Ss does something they are branded as anti_national. There is no reasons to blame BD and SS and to brand it as anti-national.(this is what i meant in my comment # 31)
I was endorsing BD ands SS on that line. We too have love for Muslims but we cannot afford to take away our son and sisters. But again I assume they dont want our love. Many cases of girls abduction on pretext of love marriages. Parents never went to police stations due to fear of ill reputation and were declared as missing. One such case is very close to my family. One Narendra Modi is saving the lives of many. We are ready to bear more Narendra Modi if our life is safe. All this issues doesnot bothers everyone only to some who have gone through it. It was shiv sena and Bajrang dal who helped us during riots to sleep safe night.
Please dont take it negative. I too respect muslims but again all muslims are not good. In todays news somewhere I read one muslim extremist got hanged in china. The reason given is he was spliting china on the bases of terrorism. To keep the humanity intact, first we have to fight the evil ideology. May be BD and SS are not fighting for the humanity but indirectly we (atleast handfull of people in my community)have been always helped by them during danger.
Jai Hind
Dear Indian,
Where are you taking this blog to ? It started with Press covering filmstars and ignoring the real “Heros” and now its ended with Hindu Muslim riots ?
I am sorry if my words have thrashed your views, I never intend to do so.
Also, I read your reply regarding Muslim community in India and I am sorry but I really dont agree with you at all.
Do you really feel that the riots and blasts are done by Muslim terrorists ? I feel it has more of a political hand in doing so ! Com’on friend, we all know who is behind all that ….our great political leaders !!!!!
I am a hindu and I love my religion, but again I dont hate any other religions … I have no objections in hearing the “Azaan” every morning, nor I have any problems with the “Aarti” !
Yes, But someone talking against my country, may be its in India or here in America, I cant tolerate that ! but again here I do have Pakistani friends and I just dont hate them bcos they are from Pakistan !
Anyways , let me apologise to Shantanu, cos its bcos of me his Blog has gone off-topic !!
I AM REALLY SORRY SHANTANU !
In the end I just want to tell you Mr. Indian, that bein a muslim does not mean that he is a terrorist, the way there are muslim terrorsits there are also many hindu or christen people who are harmful for our country ! We should be aware of them too …
Regards,
to Mee Mumbaikar
I too have grown up in the area where ajaan wakes up us in the morning. I too have pakistani immigrants as well as Indian muslims where i am living and they are my friends too. That doesn’t change the facts.
I don’t have the opinions of yours that all the time political leaders are to be blaimed. Sorry Mumbaikar i dont want to engage with you in arguments.
BTW Mee Mumbaikar
I was refrering to comment #30. in my comment for #31
Sudhir Mahale Says:
February 8th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Organizations such as Bajarang Dal, Shiv sena should launch agitations to ban films of such tainted hero’s. Instead the suprimo is busy blessing Sanju. He has played key role in getting him released on bail and subsequent aquittal from terorist charges.
People like us can take vow not to see any films starring a terorist. It’s our money which is used to procure AK 47 .
Mee Mumbaikar
BTW I was refrering to comment #30. in my comment #31.
Please i don’t want any further arguments. You are entitled to live with your views and opinions.
Dear Mumbaikar and Indian,
Both of you raise valid points…and this shows to me that there is a need for a good debate on this issue.
While no one will condemn the enire Muslim community as being all terrorists, there is no doubt that a violent interepretation of Islam does exist (and is far more salient than in case of other religions).
Mumbaikar, you ask if Muslim terrorists are behind riots and blasts? I am not sure about riots (probably not) but am sure about blasts (yes, there is a political motive but politicians can only guide and incite not execute a plan – they need others for it)
We are all (in our own ways) working for a stronger, better and prosperous “Bharat”…and disagreements are healthy when we are searching for a way…
And this blog is meant for promoting dialogue, so Mumbaikar – please dont apologise…you have done nothing wrong…my blog does cover a VERY WIDE range of topics (- see the categopry list!) – so almost nothing is off-topic – if argued well and if it relates to India!
Thanks Shantanu,
I appreciates your openness. Mere discussion or opinion doesnot makes anyone non-secular or hate. Though many like me who are out of the country from long time, our heart is Indian and remains to be Indian.
Jai Hind
Dear Fellow-Indians (Mere Pyaare Bharatvasiyon … a la Indira Gandhi),
I have just come across this blog, and let me tell you, it has been a pleasure to know all of you through the net. Like all of you, I am a patriotic Indian too, and salute Major Manish for his act of valour. May India spawn many more heroes like him.
Sanjay Dutt is guilty as charged. I feel, however, that by equating his errors with those of well-entrenched terrorists, you are unnecessarily handing more fame to Dutt.
Peace Be Upon you all.
If Sanju thinks he is a Hero i am sure it wont take much time to realise that he is nothing but a ZERO!!!!
Pranams To Manish Pitambare.
He has become immortal.
JAI BHARATH.
do we really care? i think we should inform our views to all the present TV channels.(mail them of what we think everytime they show such non-events) We should ensure we get to see what we want to see and not by some nitwit who has suddenly become the know-all, seen-all newseditor of these News Channel.
Hi Santosh,
I agree with you. Wonerful idea.
Jai Hind
Good idea Santosh – A bit of proactive effort might go a long way in correcting these distortions.
There is still some hope.
Do the TV channels really care for our letter ? I may have signed 100’s such online petitions till now (latest being “No Reservations in IIM/IIT)… never seen anything happening ??
I may sound lil pessimist , but I feel these TV channels will show stuff which sells ….and I am sure Sanju Baba movies sell more than a documentary on Major Pitambare … Just compare the Box Office collection of the movie “Lage Raho MunnaBhai” with “Bose – The Forgotton Hero” … I am not blamming the TV channels but blamming the audience for this !
Mumbaikar – you have a valid point and I share your sense of pessimism.
Like you , I have (mentally) given up on the mainstream media giving a damn about what people should really know about.
At one level, it is futile to blame them – as you say, they will print what sells.
It is unfortunate that the topics and issues that we talk about, discuss, write and think – still lack a wider audience.
However, to give up hope is easy….and we must resist the temptation…someday, things will change – till then, we got to do what we can and keep up our spirits….there is a momentum building and once it gets to a tipping point, change will happen.
Well its all about MONEY and Power my friends…… That poor Major is neither Hero (film Actor) nor any Politician so how come any one expecting him on TV…..
And its Just one Major died … Channels persons
Unfortunately News Channels are like an Enterprise and They are doing Business … They have started evaluating PROFIT and LOSS … they are more interested in making us SMS to XYZ number so that they can earn more… Some boy fell down …. U SMS ur thoughts…Ganguly in Team SMS …. Sehwag out SMS…
In Sabse Tej there was one Braking News “New Family Member in Shahruk’s Family “ … I thought Goury got pregnant or some thing …but it was a doggy…….. do u believe it… Shahruk’s son bought a new doggy and this is what showing in a news channel….
I stopped watching this channel ….
Major I salute you May your sole rest in peace !!!
It is still a pity that in a Country like India, Media hasnt realized the Priority of things which needs to be covered first. You tend to hear more on Celebrities and Other silly people, what they did what they wore what function they attended rather than giving prominence to the issues to be addressed and the things that need to be made aware of to the nation. It is really disgusting on the Media’s part. I accidently got to know about this when I received a Fwd message from one of my friends and followed up on this in Google to get this blog and more information.
Being sensible and matured citizens of the society we need to take appropriate steps.
I feel bad about myself when I realize the news sites which I follow do not provide the information which should be at the top priority. Shame to all the Indian News channels.
May the almight give all the Strength and Will to the Major’s family to come out of this situation and loss.
Jai Hind
Hmm..
So you all are trying to find out what is morally correct , what is right and blah…blah…blah.
Instead of filling up the blog here, have any one of you, tried to send a bouqet to Major’s family. Have you mourned his death. Try to be more realistic.
Do we really deserve such sacrifices. We are born, breed and enjoying life in metros. Find it interesting to learn about movies, cuisines, vacations, income tax, best male to date and blah..blah..blah.
The underlying morale of Major’s death is to do our duty rightfuly. There are a million men and women who laid down their lives to give us this freedom. We have misused it.
Its so easy to fillup these blogs, orkut scraps but do anyone really act on these situations. You are so concerned about ourselves, our families, our affairs..GODddd when do we all wake up and stand untied.
Remember, the duties and sacrifices are not commericial ala Munnabhai. Why you need to spend time reading about his shirt, wife and kids. Are we not the culprits for this pathetic situation.
When you are just throwing away a newspaper into bin the very next day why you need to blame them for magnifying what they feel is commercial news.
If you all really feel pinched about this, then take a vow to fight for our country, to protect its tradition, uphold its morals and values.
If you really realised the sacrifice made by major at Anantnag, then go now and place a boquet at an army office. Give them your support.
I am very sure, holi will be celebrated with lot more festivity.
Wake Up India.
AmarendrA,
Thank you for your comment. I suspect your emotions are more out of frustration and anger than cynicism.
I also feel it is unfair to generalise that none of us have done anything beyond writing a few words on this blog..
There are many readers here who are committed to the cause of our country in their own different ways….please do not discourage them.
I completely agree with you that “The underlying morale of Major’s death is to do our duty rightfuly” – at the same time, one cannot ignore the demands of day-to-day life.
I am fortunate than most of our fellow countrymen in that my stomach is full, I have a bed to sleep in and enough time to write this blog.
There are many others who do not have this luxury – and yet they try in their own little ways to do what they can – by spending 2 minutes on this site, 5 on another, a comment here and a comment there…
small things do make a difference…if enough of us get involved…
I support you in your thoughts for our country, its tradition, morals and values….and like you wonder when my beloved country will wake up?
But we need people like you – DON’T GIVE UP.
AmarendraA,
I am really happy to read your reply ! and I appretiate your concern towards the “Sleeping People of India” … We reall needed someone like you to wake us up !!!!
But before I write my views and express my frustration I always ask myself some questions :
a. Have I myself done anything for this country ?
b. Have I myself mourn or send bouquets to the martyrs ?
c. Have I not thought about my affairs , my family and myself?
d. Have I done anything for my country and fellowmen ?
e. Do I dont enjoy watching movies and other media’s of entertainment and forget about the people who are fighting for our country ?
We all know what are the answers to these questions !
India is just 60 years independant country and to add to it the population is booming up ! Being frustrated about its condition now is useless cos every change happens over a period of time ! Give it some time , things will change, We Indians have lots of potential within us its just we need to realize how we can use it for our country !
I cant say much about this article. But one thing is for shore. INDIAN army men die freequently in the border ,there will be no notice of them.But if some army personals die in any other country,that will come i n a flash news.
First the media has to change. And i will salute for the jawan who die d on the day and his heroism.
and the next thing we have to change…….
Hi friends,
All of you who have written in this blog have felt infuriated and ashamed of what the news channels have done to a true soldier. But this is not the first time they have done it and certainly not the last time. They will keep bringing disgrace to us until we bring a stop to this. the news channels in India have learned from the western media what sells and what not and they are singing the same tunes.
Its time to wake up people. We are not going to gain out of writing here. Millions of us feel the same way but still nothing happens because we only think, but dont act. Its time to act. I have written to AajTak, Zee news and Star news and asked for an explanation and condemned them for what they have done. Lets all raise our voice against all the injustice being done. lets do something about it. I urge you all to spread the word and let as many people know as you can. Contact the officials, the people who make the laws, the people who are governing us and every damn person in New Delhi to let them know how things like this are happening. JAI HIND.
Gudmorning India,
It might be late to comment on the postings above , but the subject leaves no options but to express my views. The media houses have become more of a masala channel than what they are supposed to be. Like many of you, I have been mailing to news channels and news dailies, but all in vain. And its actualy us who are responsible for the irresposible nature of the media. This mail must have definitely hit the news biggies, but they cannot stake their viewership and sponserships. unless we don’t change ourselves and stop investing in these big media houses nothing much z gonna change. Let them suffer losses and realize that they have some social responsibilities that are to be catered first. Leave aajtak, ndtv etc. n switch to BBC and DD news….
Sushmit,
Dont be too sure of the BBC. Read this:
http://hindudharma.wordpress.com/2007/02/19/bbcs-objectivity/
Agreed. The major did his duty. That is what he is supposed to do when confronted with such situation. I have read about many of my colleagues who were from “The Army Public school”, and have sacrificed their lives in the KARGIL war. So they are the chosen ones and they DARE to do so. Why compare them with “Fake” Heros, or bother about NEWS channels publicity.
Long Live.
very nice blog
This is ridiculous … this major manish did what he had to do … sanjay dutt had nothing to with that … too insignificant to be compared ….
anyway what i find funny is all of you guys talk about the media being bad .. but u know they show what people want to watch … i agree media is loosing its objectivity but they dont really have a choice .. do you think if you guys had not come across this blog that u wud have even stopped for a miunte to think about this .. “this is what i call nationalistic spasm” and that is what this is .. most of you will forget abt like a dream …
i have a question for you all, how many of you know why the kashmir problem aros in the first place .. how many of u know what happeneing with Kashmiri Pundit migrants still living in tents in Jammu after so many years .. has anyone ever bothered to take note of that .. I dont mean to berate anyone of you but by nothing will happen by just talking .. I live with a guy from pakistan here in the US. a very good friend of mine .. we often have discussions and it amazes me how much he knows about what happening in his country. what is happening in kashmir. even living in the US he hasn’t lost the touch with his country. My indian friends here dont even know who the defense minister of india is.
I dont generally write blogs, dont know why i wrote this one . I feel its a lost cause. If you want to change something dont just write blogs .. live an honest life… thats how u can make a difference to India and to the rest of the world.
Don’t we read books to acquire degrees? How come one can have knowledge of scientific formulas and theories if they were not written in the books? Dont we read letters written by our beloved or parents? Dont we read newspaper everyday? Just simply living honest life is sufficient? Just knowing everything is enough? Don’t you think writing is one kind of creativity and only some are best at it? Do you think People are foolish to give away bookers awards and declaring many awards for writers and authors? How come one of your friend living in US and has knowledge about what happening in his country? just by sitting and visulasing or by reading magazines and newspaper? Who knows the information your friends is sharing is real truth or just the game of his/her brain?
One shouldnot assume, people around them are fool. Everone knows their Job. Honesty is-don’t discourage anyone from doing thier job. No job is little. Atleast people living in US must know this.
Sorry if my comments hurts anyone but I can’t tolerate if work done by someone is being discouraged.
Manav: Thanks for your comment. I agree broadly with what you say.
However, you mention, “I dont generally write blogs, dont know why i wrote this one . I feel its a lost cause. If you want to change something dont just write blogs .. live an honest life… thats how u can make a difference to India and to the rest of the world.”
.
I think living an honest life is certainly a start – but it is not enough…we also need to be more aware or what is going on in India (history/current affairs etc) and the next step is political and social activism…otherwise, as you say…its a lost cause
Indian: Thank you for your encouragement.
Manav – It is not wise to extrapolate one Pakistani’s knowledge on Kashmir, on a whole nation [sic].
I live in New York and know scores of Indians who are very well aware of the Kashmir Imbroglio, including the plight of the indigenous population – Pandits; [who, by the by, can thank your friend for their deplorable condition.] Indeed, many a time, at campus organized Indo-Pak events, dozens of [passionate] Indians turn up and make some very insightful points on your firend’s country’s [sic] intrasigence.
To the rest of you – I would like to point out that media apathy is not solely an Indian preserve; Liberal [Lefty] Media outlets here in the USofA are criminally negligent in highlighting the heroism of their young Men and Women who are sacrificing their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The irony is that these Lefty assholes in India and America are free to do as they please only because of the brave soldiers who man the front line. Be it in Kashmir or Iraq.
In my book those brave Soldiers are akin to God.
[wih a big smile] to Anuj: i had typed a long long essay to answer one of the coments, but as i was about to post it , i came across urs. and i deleted it to start again.hope this doesnt happen again.
to others:
I think I did not mention it earlier, but i do it now. I am not saying my friend is right or wrong. All i am saying is that he knows what problems there are and what’s happening there. I am not questioning anyone else’s knowledge abt these issues, m just saying, what is the percentage that knows about such issues. I have even met indians who didnot even know that there was a KP problem at all.
I dont hate my friend, myself being a kashmiri pundit. He did not displace me. If he thinks a certain way, that does not make him my enemy. we both have a right to our own convictions and beliefs. Who is wrong and who is right depends on the way your rationale works.
All i am saying is be true to atleast what you believe in. Discussing the death of an army officer in action and then comparing it with some actor wont do anything. It probably that poor guys bad luck that he got acquitted on the same day as this officer died. I am not saying its useless, but obviously there is a bigger cause for discussion, the one that he died for.
People here in the US are not nationalists, atleast not in the sense u mean it. they make thongs and bikinis out of their national flag for chrissake . imagine the plight of the person that would do this in india( probably killed by shiv sena or incarcerated by now). Mandira bedi’s wearing the national flag as a saari, and people making a big deal out of it is not nationalism( atleast not in my opinion).
How i look at nationalism is, how many times have we gone out and helped a poor man, or may be how many out of us have even not tried to bribe our way out, when caught crossing a red light. Please dont answer me. Just think about it.
You dont have to be a reactionary to be a nationalist. Interestingly, the only time we have nationalist blood fowing thru our veins is when there is something concerning pakistan. Other than that everyone hates india.
I would again emphasize media shows what people want to see, well in the case of the US what the government wants people to know. Think about this, a movie like border or LOC makes millions, just because people hate pakistan and want to see it loose, on the contrary a movie like “haraaron Khwaishein aisi ” goes unnoticed, again , please dont answer me, think about it. Talk about objective journalism and this may come as a surprise, Al Jazeera channel of middleast had the guts to telecast the interview of an ex-muslim woman who was talking all bad things about islam being in an islamic country. (I hope that woman is still alive.)
and yes lets come to books. I completly agree books are the best way to gain knowledge, but what kind of books. There is a book today that is causing most of the turmoil in the world. Again am not saying its right or wrong. My job is not to judge. I am just bringing the facts out.
finally just a question to everyone on this blog, how many of you have ever read “My experiments with truth” by mahatma gandhi.
nothing personal, Manav
Fu#$ Mahatma Gandhi.
Manav – Sorry for the above comment. I reacted.
However, I do have a few queries about “Mahatama” Gandhi.
1) What experiments with truth was he conducting when he slept naked in between two teenage girls, in order to test his libido control.
2) What experiments with truth was he conducting when he was spewing racial hatres agains the South African Blacks?
3) What experiments with truth was he conducting, when the apostle of non-violence and an avowed opponent of the death penalty refused to intervene on behalf of India’s greates son – Bhagat Singh.
4) What experiments with truth was the asshole conducting when he urged Indian soldiers to fight on behalf the fucking British in the second world war. Non violence..my ass.
p.s. i , too, am a Kashmiri Pandit from Rainawari, who was forced from Kashmir in 1991.
Wonder what the “Mahatma” would have said of our plight…
Manav: You seem to broadly agree with what I said before viz. “we…need to be more aware or what is going on in India (history/current affairs etc) and the next step is political and social activism…” so I will leave it at that.
Anuj: Some strong words there but I am letting them stand because they do make points that are valid and raise questions that need to be answered.
Thank you both for contributing to this discussion and I hope to see more of you both on this blog.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
I just have to say Anuj please check the facts before you make a point. Dont go believing everything you read on the internet. Its become more or less a fashion in the new generation to attribute all that went wrong to Ghandhi, While as others have been coined as heroes.
Ghandhi was a great leader. He made some mistakes, but then who hasnt.[but definitely not the ones that you ‘re talking about.]
Think about this “Bose” who most people like you think was the real hero. If bose had succeeded in doing what he intended to do. India would probably would have never attained freedom , and would have instead become a Nazi state. Gandhi pushed india into the first world war, but not into the second. even the first one was not without a reason.
Hope you have read about the quit india movement at the time of world war II and non cooperation movement after world war I. Please read about them. They wil really help clear you views about Gandhi.
Rest everything you talk about is not even worth talking about.
Shantanu: Yes I do agree with you, we should know more about the history and current affairs. I think its the flaw in our education system. Our history books are neither intensive nor objective. Which is very important. I personally got to know most of the freedom struggle by self reading. coming from the ICSE background i never really got the indepth knowledge of the Indian struggle for freedom. They concentrated more on world history and the cold war. Am not sure how good the CBSE or the state boards are.
Manav: Thanks for coming back.
Speculations are dangerous when it comes to discussing history…and almost any “history” that you read is by definition subjective – since it is an interpretation of facts (or to be more accurate – recorded or observed empirical evidence).
So it is very hard to argue what Netaji Bose might have done or achieved just like it is hard to discuss what Mahatma Gandhi would have done had he been alive for another decade after independence.
About the “history” that is taught in schools in India, the less said the better..suffice to say that it suffers from several biases and shortcomings…I have always maintained that the more viewpoints one reads on specific evnets and personalities, the closer one gets to the the truth.
In that sense, what I would really like is to have the chance to read about pre-Independence history from the eyes of British, Pakistani, Indian “moderate” and Indian “nationalist” historians…Somewhere between all of them is where the truth probably lies.
What do you think?
B Shantanu – My sincerest apologies for using unbecoming language. It won’t happen again.
Manav- You don’t know me, so please do not make assumptions about where I learn my history from.
Of all the queries I posited, you have answered only one – Whether he urged Indians to die on behalf of their colonizers in the First or Second great war. An irrelevant distinction in the context of our discussion.
Anyhow, we are going off tangent here. The original thrust of this post by Shantanu was the double standards and misplaced priorities of the Indian [angrezi] media.
A stark and tragic truism, which should disgust every caring Indian.
p.s. to accuse that it is “fashionable” to critique gandhi and his protege, nehru is an argument straight out of the thapar – habib manifesto.
Its a sorry state for the entire country, …
Anuj: i am not making assumptions about you. I hardly know you.
And yes it does make a lot of difference whether he persuaded Indians to go to war in the first or the second world war, because the British govt had made some promises if indian soldiers faught the first world war. It was for those promises he persuaded indians to fight. When after the first world war these promises were not fulfilled, he shook the british roots with the non- cooperation movement.
Anyway, the reason i did not find it important to answer the rest of your queries was because they are actually very insignificant (not to mention speculations). Its very easy to sling dirt on a name as great as gandhi. If you (and by you i dont mean only you anuj) go down in history of the independence struggle. You will find Gandhi was an ardent pacifist. He withdrew from the non-cooperation movement after the chaura chauri incident happened, how then can you say he would have stood by bhagat singh, he had no hand in bhagat singh’s hanging, he only chose to stay silent. I am not saying bhagat singh was wrong, am just trying to say that gandhi stood by his principles. And yes please give me an authentic source where you’ve read that gandhi used to sleep with naked teenage girls,( please dont quote khushwant singh), or he spewed racial hatered in africa.
Don’t compare Nehru with Gandhi, they were worlds apart.
Again I did not talk about gandhi to digress from the point of discussion. [ refer to coment # 66]. It was just out of curiosity since all that talk about nationalism.
My utmost respect to Bhagat Singh-Britishers carried out plan of hanging secretly. They themselves selected date and time without publishing to people of India. They knew if people will come to know about it there would have been strong possibilities of agitation from all over India or it could not have been possible to hang Bhagat sing and his friends.
Gandhijis “Satyana Prayugo” that is called ” My experiment with the truths” in English. Gandhiji Strongly believed in action and reaction. We repay for bad action taken by us through speech, listening and seeing.
And that was the reason there are three monkies closing eyes, ears and mouth. And he was admant to controll the use of senses. He is mentioning indirectly to use our senses wisely.
I strongly believe in what he said- ” ISHWAR AYE SATYA NATHI, SATYA AYEJ ISHWAR CHE” that is ” God is not truth, thruth is God.
Jai Hind
i totally agree with anuj … gandhi was just a selfish leader ….when the non cooperation movement was ai its peak ….he withdrew it …who knows ..the chouri choura incident might have been a british design ….and gandhi was too happy to play mr nice guy for england . he was great comfort to them ..i read this as a quote from some viceroy , i dont rem his name “gandi is a great comfort for us.” and he let bhagat singh die through inaction ,hiding behind his principles…and i dont think it was gandhis doing that britishers left us …their resources had been weakened after WW2 and india , being a vast country demanded a lot to be controlled …so they decided to quit ….and gandhi also divided the country by insisting nehru to be made PM when there were a lot other deserving candidates…just because nehru had been his loyal kid all the years …what do u hav to say about that ??
If any Film actors get married, its a big news for medias ( Some channels show even life history of them starting from childhood)Because of this we will encourage/remember/like them, but never give importance to many Souldiers like Manish Pitambare who loose their life and soon we forget them
ex – Aish wounded her hand while shooting is a big news in papers and many TV channels….
Remember film actors just plays the role of a souldiers
oops in the few days that i have been away we have had quite a few interesting exchanges.
i patiently read the messages which have been posted.
what stood out was the cracker of statement by Anuj – Non Violence my foot.
I truely agree. Gandhi ruined India and Hindu cause more than anyone else.
NON VIOLENCE MY FOOT.
world over people love to hate Bush but they fear him cos he is man enuf to crush terrorists where ever they are holed up like rats.
If India had a George Bush as its head instead of queens like man(?)mohan singh …..
terrorists listen to only one language…….the language of violence. they listen only when you crush them.
Im with you Anuj even if others might differ from your views.
P.S.
I am not a kashmiri pandit and i have not been forced out of my native place but still i feel Anujs anguish.
Indian leaders have consistently failed its masses. ( Congress, BJP, COMMUNISTS all included)
Anuj, Pravin, Manav, Indian, Iluvemy country, Raghavendra and Energy: Thanks for keeping the comments rolling in.
We are approaching the 100-comments milestone on this post and I am hoping to write a follow-up at that point.
Until then, do forward the link https://satyameva-jayate.org/2006/12/09/munnabhai-vs-manish-pitambare/
…and let us make fellow Indians aware of the rot that is seeping in mainstream media.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
SIR, MAY UR SOUL REST IN PEACE, AND I PRAY GOD PROTECT & HELP YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS.
I SALUTE U WITH MY HEART.
JAI HIND…
1. Though I have received this email on Major Pitambare Vs Munnabhai several times this is my 1st visit to a blog on the subject. It would be helpful if u can provide the contact details of Major’s family on the blog.
2. WRT – Anuj, Manav and others – please refer to the documents under the section “India and Pakistan” in the site http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/nic/
# Kashmir: Letter from Pakistan’s Ambassador to Belgium to Baroness Nicholson, Member, European Parliament. (pdf)
# Map of Kashmir in 1909 ; Reply from Baroness Nicholson, MEP, to Pakistan’s Ambassador ; Accession of Jammu and Kashmir – Maharaja Hari Singh’s letter to Lord Mountbatten, 1947. (pdf)
Share your views and comments.
3. Anuj – do u blog?
4. Gandhi — lot of conflicting views on the man. Will it serve any purpose knowing the truth ? or is it more an intellectual fantasy ?
Bottom-line: can we change history or provide information to the people in power to make decisions on our behalf ?
5. and finally for Shantanu .. You blog archive is really huge. Good source for parallel thoughts. Continue…
Hi Shantanu
do u have a blog on the “Partitition of India” ? If yes, lets take discussion on point #2 of my comment there. If not, please start one.
Kaal Cha,
Thank you for your comments. I will have a look at the links and respond in some more detail next week.
Thanks.
Stumbled upon your blog while searching for the great Major Pitambare..I got a forward today from my friend about the “Star vs Star” and thought of searching more..
Thanks to Shantanu for writing and starting this kind of blog.
As mentioned in post 8, I would like to know if someone can provide the address/ details, regarding where / how we can send letters to our Soldiers.
Can we plan to do some or all of the following?:
1) This might be already done since the story is several months old :
Start calling the Indian News channel office and expressing our displeasure about the incident and requesting them to give importance to such issues moving forward..
Initially this might look like not effective but if more and more people start calling and expressing their displeasure…it would help in some or the other way..
If this option looks feasible to everyone then I would request Shantanu to put up a page with details of the phone numbers etc and a message for the users to call etc ( I can help in searching and getting the phone numbers).
Infact, we can take this to the next level and can also call our so called elected representatives..
There was similar campaign for “Protesting the amendment of RTI act” of which i was a part, and we were calling up all the MP’s and Indian Consulate in USA.
Although a drop in the ocean but it did worked as the GOI finally decided to postpone the propose amendment.
2) Prepare and have rotating exhibition of matyrs like Major Pitambare in different schools …
3) Couple of months back, in of the AMC theatre in San Jose they showed a 3 min film on US army before the start of the movie..It was so inspiring and so patriotic.. My wife immediately asked me “why dont we have such thing in India”….
Any idea whether such clips are shown in India ? We can plan some thing like that…and follow up with the Indian Multiplex owners..
I am ready to contribute monetarily as well as time wise… for the above tasks + any other tasks others might have…
JAI HIND
People who have money always makes the media run behind them & media run behind these stupid celebrities to add more masala for their respective news channel…….but they dont have time to flash the news of REAL HERO like Major Manish Pitambare, media should be made aware which news to give importance, as it is a shame for us since this Army Major’s death news was given by a foreign TV channel
Its we who honor MAJOR who laid his life for great nation. WE ALL INDIANS SALUTE YOU.
All: I am truly humbled by the response this post has generated and credit must go to Rajiv Isser who wrote this moving piece.
I have taken note of the various comments (thanks Makwana for your ideas) and I will try and respond over the weekend.
Major Pitambare’s ultimate sacrifice – and of hundreds of others like him – who die so that we can live – should not be forgotten just because a few channels did not consider it “newsworthy”.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
Dear Patriots,
It is a very sad state of affairs that we have to see when our brave soldiers lay down their precious lives for our country and us. There is no respite for them, all they have is to keep fighting in one of the most adverse conditions without any basic facilities.
when a soldier dies he is given a medal on a National day and completely forgotten after that. When a civilian dies in a bomb blast he is simply compensated with a lakh of rupees which is also not given at the right time.
I really pray for that day when a politician is killed in an attack and we as responsible citizens of India should get together and collect a rupee from all and give it to his family for their future.
The kind of terror that we see in our country is not carried out by external agencies operationg from across the border but it has been carried out by a few who sit inside the Parliament. They are there because of us and the food that they eat is also given by us. why are we paying such heavy taxes and for who? They have made a total mockery of our freedom, before independence we were ruled by the British and after independence we are being ruled by our own selfish people who only know how to please themselves.
Makhwana has proposed some great ideas, but who’s to bell the cat? i.e. one should take this a step forward and implement the ideas.
Being an army officer’s daughter, I remember feeling the same frustration during the IPKF operation. There was absolutely no regard for the lives of soldiers and army officers. The deep sadness and helplessness that death brings was only felt within the army communities. It’s like when someone dies in your family. The only ones really affected are the family members. This is different though isn’t it? These army personnel are giving their lives for us literally!! Can we not at least acknowledge this greatest of sacrifices?
I was recently in India and could not believe the changes. It felt very surreal. The divide between the have and have nots has grown even more. Somewhere along the way we seem to have lost our values. Rather than paying homage to the icons themselves (Maj Manish Pitambare) we are worshipping their representatives (screen idols like Sanjay Dutt).
Can we think of some names for the Lead India contest and propose them along with a signature campaign?
Shrikant and Sharon: Thanks for your comments.
I cannot agree more.
The sacrifices that our soldiers make are well beyond anything that we can contemplate in the midst of our comfortable lives…and yet, we have little time for them and even less time for their memories…
This is not just sad…it is tragic.
Sharon: You also mention the point about the growing divide between “haves” and “have nots”. I had commented on it before:
https://satyameva-jayate.org/2006/12/23/india-vs-bharat/
But as Shrikant has pointed out, this is symptomatic of the systemic failure within our political system – in particular the dismal quality of our leadership – which gives little reason for hope.
Sharon: You also mention the Lead India campaign. I was thinking of writing a post on it…but the whole thing has degenerated into a farce…You cannot bring about change by asking people to SMS their votes and sending one person to USA to study governance.
If the ToI was serious about change, they might have started by exposing one corrupt leader every week – regardless of party affiliations…but maybe thats asking too much from an “established newspaper” like the Times of India.
I was chanel surfing cable the other night and came across an interesting Hindi movie–Page 3″. I caught the movie half-way through but from what I gather, it appears to provide a behind the scenes look at high-society life in India. A remark made by one journalist to another more naive peer stands out. He advises her to work from within the system in order to change it.
With that background, I really do like the idea Shantanu suggested namely of “exposing one corrupt leader”. I rather doubt any established paper will do the needful. That being the case, do you think we can start a blog on “India’s Top 10 Most Corrupt Politicians”!!
Sharon and Shantanu,
Not sure if starting a blog on exposing India’s most corrupt politicians would be of any help. There are many cases already registered against so many of them. Our media does their bit of value add 🙂 with the help of sting operations.
But has anyone ever heard of any charges proving against them? Justice is delayed and denied both in most cases.
Interestingly, there are a lot of innovative ways that individuals have come out with to fight corruption in our country. They may be worth looking at as they are more action-oriented.
More at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A_municipality_that_officially_takes_bribes/articleshow/2357186.cms
And, another one here:
Shame the corrupt with Rs. 0!
Sharon: Here is a starting point: “How to earn Rs 50 crores in 5 years”
https://satyameva-jayate.org/2007/07/23/how-to-earn-rs-50-crore/
I did envisage this being a series…unfortunately have not yet got around to writing the second part
***
Pragya: Very Interesting. I will have a proper read and comment later…perhaps it is time to move all the corruption-related comments to a *new* post.
Pragya: Makes for some interesting reading:
Kudos to the Muncipal Commissioner of Ghaziabad for his rather novel approach to dealing with corruption! Certainly seems to be one way of trying to amend the system whilst working from within.
Shantanu, starting a separate post on “corruption” sounds good.
Does anyone ever think twice before bribing? or is it just a part of life for almost all of us now a days. I had to bribe someone recently and it made me feel nervous and awful!
I agree with you all that media was busy with publicising the wrong kind of news and promoting the wrong guy.
But it is all too easy to blame media for this.
Are we also not responsible? Are we really interested in stories that lies beneath the surface? Are we interested in knowing how our armymen are doing? Just try out a simple search on Indian army on google and find how many blogs are there. I believe two fingers will be enough to count all of them. And then try blogs on movie stars. God help you if you try to count all of them.
The point I am trying to make is ‘media promotes only those kind of news and persons that their audience are interested in’. My point is We as a society have become very insensitive to our armies and taking our security for granted as lonfg as someone else is doing it.
Another Point about the authenticity of Indian media: Is it an instance of old american style media management leading to a trial? A la O J Simpson trial..
Sharon and Pragya: Hope you had a chance to look at the promised post on Corruption.
I look forward to your thoughts on that.
***
@ Kaushik: I agree with you – the blame is not entirely outside us…
There is a dire need to raise awareness about such issues and I hope this blog and others like this helps.
Do have a look at the final para of my post which includes this conclusion by Shailesh Dhuri:
“Secondly, I read reports of shortage of good officers in the Armed Forces.
I fear that if a society does not want its brightest young lads to join the Armed Forces and serve the nation, the society will lose its independence, sooner or later. We have repeated this mistake in the past, and we are repeating it again.
All the talk of India emerging on a global economic scene can come to a quick halt if our political adversaries are able to weaken our Armed Forces. I fear this is already happening, and we need to reverse the trend.”
In my view, it is this that is most worrying.
My tributes to Major Manish… Perhaps i can not give anything else for him or his family except two drops of tears…. I m proud of him and several other armed force people who keep putting their lives on stack so that we can be safe and independent….
It is of utmost shame if we say that all we can do is shed tears. We will only be degrading the real heroes (Major Manish H Pitambare’s) actions of bravery by doing so.
Wake up! There is something better we can do. The least we can do is to make people aware by atleast passing on this message to as many as we can. Awareness after all drives people’s conscience. And that is what is required to make India (each one of us) take a positive step towards a notable change.
Amit and Yamini: Thanks for your comments.
We are reaching the 100-comment milestone on this post – which is very significant and gives me reason to hope that all is not lost…
Yamini: You said it very well:
“The least we can do is to make people aware by atleast passing on this message to as many as we can. Awareness after all drives people’s conscience. And that is what is required to make India (each one of us) take a positive step towards a notable change.”
Thank you.
Did any of you commenting on this e-mail story at least try to look at the credibility of the story. I googled this soldier’s name and the only hits are from websites talking about this e-mail. I also googled the so called most wanted terrorist’s name – again all the hits from this e-mail and nothing from a credible news media. The author mentions hearing it on BBC. I went to the BBC website and searched for the soldier and the terrorist name in the archives – NOTHING!
MORAL: Do not trust fake e-mails that come your way, no matter how thought-provoking or emotional they seem! Maybe Sanjay’s story is trivial, but at least it is real.
@ Priya: Thanks for your comment although it saddened me.
You accused others of not bothering to check the credibility of the story. Yet, you fell into the same trap…
If you had read the whole post, you would have noticed a link towards the end to an obituary in rediff. Obviously you missed it. (Here it is in case you want to check it:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/28obit.htm
I hope you dont think that someone will write an obituary for a fictitious person.
In any case, here is the main news item:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/28hizb.htm
and finally, the author of the post (Rajeev Issar) never said that he heard the Major’s name on BBC – only a mention of the Major (“Indian Major leading the operation lost his life in the process”).
I hope this puts your doubts at rest and I hope you can join me in saluting this great soldier who laid down his life so that we may live ours.
Jai Hind, Jai Bharat.
P.S. I am not sure if you are aware that BBC’s credibility is at rock bottom following a spate of scandals in UK (inclduing rigged competitions and fake reporting).
See also: http://retributions.nationalinterest.in/beebs-blooper
Had a chance to revisit the Blog after posting my comment at serial 18.
It is sad that not even single response is from gentlemen from the armed forces. Or may be they chose to hide their ranks so as to remain anonymous. But soldiers without their ranks prefixed with their names are non-entity like!
I had the fortune to serve Mother India while serving in Indian Army and it made me the man that I am today. There are many professions offering better remunerations and better recognition or both, but none as glorious as serving in the armed forces. There will be a generation to appreciate it only when war brakes out. What Kargil did to media in short spell is only a trailer. Whole Nation’s character and attitude undergoes a change after a war. Israel is living example. People change – Barkha Dutt is an example. Her journalism (quality & contents) have changed totally and differently. The attitude and aptitude changes with war – young officers of Kargil vintage are testimonies of this phenomenon.
There can never be a comparison of orange with an apple. Sanjay Dutt is a rotten apple at the best!
– Capt S B Tyagi, FISM, CSC
When I was planning to revisit your Blog for remembrance and paying my homage to Maj. Manish Pitambare, more pressing and compelling reason diverted my attention! At some other time, at some other place another NSG operation was taking place!! It was Mumbai which was taken hostage by few terrorists. It needed 60 hours and more then 800 security personnel to free the hostages, neutralize the terrorists and free Mumbai to once again resume life at normal place. However this operation took another serious toll, irreplaceable for the Army and most especially to the family members in the form of martyrdom of Maj. Sandip Unnikrishnan. He was not from Maharashtra and it really doesn’t matter that he was an Indian for outsiders are not welcome in the state which is exclusively God’s creation for Marathi Manoos, so is the thinking of nephew-and-uncle duo who try to terrorize Mumbai albeit differently.
Those talking bravely about removing ‘North Indians’ from their Land had lapsed in tongue tormenting paralysis and are yet to speak even a single word condemning the terrorist attacks and about their plans to remove the terrorists from their Land. There were already two ‘Senas†in Mumbai specially trained to bully and tormenting the innocents and vandalizing the public and private property. Surely these ‘Senas†could have handled the ‘terror situation’ in Mumbai without the help of ‘outsiders’ for this would otherwise sully the ‘Asmita’ (self dignity) of ‘Marathi Manoos’! Why was it not done remains a mystery! In fact other mystery is what were the ‘Senapatis’ doing at the time of crisis if not hiding in some bunkers?
Capt S B Tyagi, FISM, CSC
I have always been an admirer of all the great patriots who gave their lives, or are living and helping the nation in their own way.
They never needed fame, money or recognition for what they are doing. They just contribute their bit to make India better.
I have quite a few relatives from my family in different forces. I have seen my dad wear a large bullet wound from an aircraft when he fought in 1971.
My tribute to these patriots is by doing my bit. Sponsor education, food, shelter for children who are deprived. Keep environment clean and green. Take any and every action small or big to make India better. I know I am just a speckle of dirt and cannot at all be seen with any of the great patriots, but I feel better at heart by doing my bit.
My salute to all the great patriots. India needs more of you!
I recd the msg on whatsapp yesterday on Maj. Manish Pitambare. I checked the web
for further details and got to know that this incident happened in 2006. Nothing
has changed till date. I am looking forward for some kind of people’s movement
My request to like minded people to come together and start this movement.
Dear Friends,
Stop blaming media in my opinion general public is responsible for such blind following of STUPID NEWS round the clock, we should switch of the TV or change the channel to something else when we know that the news served to us is not sensible, I have seen many people watching PAID programs of NIRMAL BABA AND RAM RAHIM ETC – why if we stop watching these stupid programs channel will give us quality news, infact DOORDARSHAN gives more relevant news than private channels minting money from commercial advts. lets pledge we will boycott news channels showing stupid contents. JAI HIND.
GUYZ NOW LET’S NOT MAKE HIS SOUL FEEL THAT HE HAS BECOME A MATTER OF DISCUSSION OR CONTROVERSY.. BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY HE WOULD HAVE ALSO NOT WANTING TO REMEMBERED LIKE THAT… NOW WHAT IS DONE IS DONE… EITHER BY MEDIA OR BY OUR SICK FIXATION MENTALITY…WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO CHANGE IN THIS PRESENT SCENARIO… AS LONG AS COMMERCIALIZATION RULES IN HEARTS AND HEADS..
LET’S JUST COME FORWARD AND PAY TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT MARTYR… WHO HAS DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO MAKE US SECURE AND SAFE… GOD BLESS THE SOUL AND FAMILY, HOPEFULLY THE WAY HE HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE NATION WE ALSO PAY BACK MUCH MORE THAN THAT TO HIS FAMILY AS SUPPORT…
ALL SALUTES TO THE HERO OF THE NATION… YOU WILL ALWAYS BE THERE IN OUR HEARTS… YOU ARE OUT OF SIGHT BUT NEVER BE OUT OF MIND…