MAN'S PROGRESS IS HIS DECLINE !

"Never try to regain your Past, for, the fire will have become ashes", so wrote General Douglas McArthur, in his "REMINISCIENCES". But one can not control emotions, when glimpses from the past flash back at you, as turning points of History of which you might have been an eye - witness of the kind, who, like a helpless husband these days is compelled to watch EKTA KAPOOR'S illogical, unconvincing and irrational K-Serials on the Indian TV Channels. However, she is making waves and History, too. So has been my journey over the last four decades of the stormy sand dunes of times. I may not be the marble of History, nor I may marvel at history but I distinctly recognise the still-surviving but fading footprints of mankind of the lost civilisation of yesteryears, where I Once lived. BELIEVE U ME, I'M NOT GOING TO SERMONISE U ALL.
It was 40 years back, three days after the X-MAS day, in the year 1966(I hardly knew what it meant, then! Now my son has illustrated its real meaning to me!!) that I set sail on a journey which shall now honourably conclude on 15 July in the year 2006. When I embarked upon this journey, it was just 11 months after the historic signing of Tashkent Pact, by Late Lal Bahadur Shastri Of India and Field Marshal Ayub Khan of Pakistan, I had not then heard of TVs, Mobiles, Computers, Record Players, CD / MP3 players and host of other such junks what u call modern gadgets of man's symbols of progress, growth and development. One had, also, rarely seen a Motor Cycle ,a Car ,and a Train or the Aircrafts, the Helicopters, Rockets,and the Spaceships-- the modern means of transportation of the 21st Century Man, who is in a tearing hurry to outdo the GOD . And we have acquired these things at what costs? Chhatrapati Shivaji's words resonate in my ears when he lamented the death of 'Tanaji'. He said," GARH AAYA PAR SINGH GAYA (We have taken the fort but lost the 'TIGER')" And I wonder, whether I should yell out the same sentiments or not. Does it make a difference? No, it doesn't. Who knows Shastri, today? Who knows where Tashkent is? And what was this pact all about? These are forgotten and lost bits of the past which is dead and gone. Yet, these are the landmarks from where I Pick up the threads of my sojourn with 'Olive Green'. And the world shall move on non-concerned and non-disturbed!
1966 is also the year, when, one of the most dynamic leaders of modern India was ushered into the chair of Prime minister ship by the vested interests of a 'syndicate', who later lamented its decision. It was also the year when Post-1947- Punjab was further halved into two to give birth to Haryana--- which later became infamous for the politics of 'AYA RAM AND GAYA RAM'. Exactly three years later, in 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man in the history to set a foot on the moon. 1969 was also the year when Princes of India lost their Privy Purses. Again, in the same year, the Indian National Congress, the harbinger of freedom, was divided into two, i.e. Congress (Indra) and Congress (Syndicate). The split led to a politcal offensive by the 'GODESS INDRA' and in a tizzy 14 banks were nationalised. Supported by her, Mr V V Giri had become the President Of India defeating Mr Sanjiva Reddi, a heavy weight candidate backed up by the powerful syndicate of Congress. This had caused fissures in the great congress party which eventually led to a split.
But who could anticipate these events in 1966? This year was really the turning point in the history of India, for, the face that appeared on the political horizon of India in that year in the shape of 'Madam Indra Gandhi', changed the course of the history of India. It is then, 'REAL-POLITIC' began to overshadow the 'IDEALS OF POLITIICS' and moralities were consigned to the dustbin of socio-politico dustbin of history. Indian poltics, thus, began to become an arena of the 'RICH, UGLY and THE DIRTY'. The corrupt and the criminals had begun to find patrons amongst the politicians.THE TRAGEDY IS TODAY THE ROLES HAVE BEEN REVERSED AND THE POLITICIANS SEEK THE PATRONAGE OF THE CORRUPT AND THE CRIMINALS. The vicious game thus goes on unabated. And some of us, the old-timers, continue to rake up the dust and the ashes to look for some traces of those by-gone values. But too many volcanoes erupted in the last four decades and the year 1966 remains buried deep below, never to rise again.
This was the year, when I, a 16-17 year old innocent child from a dusty hamlet of 200 houses, called Balachaur, then part of Hoshiarpur District of Punjab, first time got into a train named Amritsar-Dadar Express, at Ambala Cantt on 28 December 1966, to move on to finer pastures of National Defence Academy (NDA), located in the serene environments of Khadakvasla, near Pune in Maharashtra. Do you believe this was not only the first time I was boarding the train all alone, but this was also the first time I was moving out of the geographical confines of River Sutlej which flows some 4-5 Kms south of Balachaur.This is one of the five rivers which goes to make the name PUNJAB. What would you say if I tell you that I had just learnt to write English language alphabets in my 6th class? No, jokes, it was so. My introduction to this language was in the year 1963 and by end of 1966, I had made it to one of the elitist institutes of India of those days, where people not only spoke and wrote in English but also ate, slept, dreamt and behaved English. How did I make it to NDA is not relevant but what is relevant is that I survived there for three and a half years with honour, dignity and self respect amongst the most well-bred and most snobbish kids of those times. End result was: My innocence was gone and Arrogance was in. Don't you know man is known by the company he keeps?
Journey, thereafter, was full of aggressive postures, and adamant attitude. Because of this I had got an attitudinal disorder which to this day stinks in me. In fact, I never wanted to join Armed forces because I had an inclination to become an engineer. To be very frank, I had an option to go to West Germany in Jan 1967 on Govt Scholarship to do a five year course in Aeronautical Engineering. But I was over ruled by my father because NDA was glamour personified in those days and armed forces were the darling of every Indian, then. You know the gallantry tales of 'Keeler Brothers' of IAF ; Hav Abdul Hammed of Bhikhi-Pind fame ; Colonel AB Tara pore of 17 HORSE and Major Asha Ram Tyagi of the 'Battle of DOGRAI' in the 1965 war, still haunted the simple village folk and army officers were nothing less than GODS. So, my fate was sealed for ever to become an obedient soldier in the service of 'GREAT MOTHER INDIA', whom no one cares today. She lies prostrate today, crying in pain for help but all her worthy sons look the other way, as her not- so- worthy- sons molest and sacrilege her modesty to make some personal gains. And while this happens right in front of our eyes, we, of the old genre and of the great moralistic flavour, the so called grand protector of her honour, clench our fists in helplessness, as an only thing old men can do.
I reckon three and a half years at NDA transformed me into an overly confident, arrogantly haughty (which later became my undoing?) and a lethargic young man who slept while the world moved on. I became a smoker, here, which I hated doing as a school-child,when some of my classmates had started as a fashion. In fact, I used to moralise them on its ill-effects. While most of them had left smoking by the time we reached the age of19-20, I got thickly addicted to it. Whenever I went on leave to my place, all of them used to mock at me to say : DEEPAK TALE ANDHERA( THE LAMP SITS ON DARKNESS). It took me 33 long years to ged rid of this dirty addiction. After four and a half years of training at NDA/ IMA I got commissioned as a young officer on 13 June 1971. This year was another milestone in the history of India. A new nation was created. East Pakistan had parted company with JINNAH'S DREAM LAND FOR THE MUSLIMS and renamed herself as BANGLA DESH. The theory of two nations of MA Jinnah had gone awry. It proved beyond doubts that religion was not the binding force though it could rally people around momentarily. This lesson of history had been ignored by the exponents of the 'Great Divide of 1947'. And even today some people continue to forget this everywhere in the world.
35 years of commissioned service has totally transformed me into a man who can write a book on lessons of life for each year and also narrate as to how we have traversed this journey from a nation surviving on PL-480 in the sixth decade of 20th Century to an IT Giant of 21st Century. That is about one of the positives of our march forward but the greatest negative is our broken emotional ties which bound us as one people. Let me put it this way to you: MAN'S PROGRESS IS HIS DECLINE. YOU GROW IN AGE AND BECOME ONE OF THE GREATEST ACHIEVERS BUT YOU HAVE ALSO LOST TIME TO STAY ON THIS EARTH TO SEE THE FRUITS OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS. So, Pluses add up to equal minuses put together. In the end, it is a ZERO SUM GAME.
40 Years back, I was an energetic, enthusiastic and a day dreamer who in his innocent ways thought that the world could be yours for the asking, if you worked hard, remained focused and determined to realise your goals. 40 Years? Too long a period to do a rational stock taking now. But I have done it. I find myself at the edge of a conclusion, which says, ENJOY LIFE NOW, FOR THE WORLD WILL BE TOTALLY CHANGED TOMORROW, WHICH MAY NOT BE OF YOUR TASTE.
Resolve, today, to do some good to yourself to increase the positives in your credit account of zero-sum game of life.While doing so, make a determined effort to save this earth for the unborn generations of tomorrow from the devilish minds of today. You have a mission to carry out, get going.
RAJINDER SINGH
DIRECTOR, STEM