The dastardly act of terrorism in Pulwama has shocked all of us beyond words. We lost our valiant Jawans of the CRPF in a suicide attack. A lot of analyses will be done, rightly so that these kinds of incidents can be prevented in the future. But we need to remember what the IRA said after a failed assassination bid on Margaret Thatcher, the then UK PM.

“Today we were unlucky but remember we only have to be lucky once”

Of course, our brave jawans of the Central Armed Police Forces, the police and the army do not believe in luck. They are professionally trained, competent to face any internal and external threat to the security of our nation. That is the reason that another BSF jawan takes over a post immediately after it has been shelled and even after his buddy is killed. Any person who dons the uniform knows that death constantly plays a game, it can come in any form. A mortar fire from a hostile neighbor, a landmine blast cause by IEDs deployed by Naxals or while saving a drowning citizen.

Death does not bother about the ranks on your shoulders, it can kill an ADG Hemant Karkare in the 26/11 attacks or constable Gurnam Singh in cross border shelling in Jammu. When you put on the uniform, you know what you have signed for. Death is just a professional hazard.

A lot of suggestions, including the cry to go for all out war with our adversaries, are being made. Wars are not fought in drawing rooms or TV studios. We lose men, not in 40s but in thousands and the nations bleed during a war.

The government will do everything in its might to go after the perpetrators and punish them. It can be a surgical strike, it can be a counterintelligence offensive. Please bear in mind, some problems take time but ultimately they are resolved. Be it terrorism in Punjab or Naxalism in Telangana. For bringing things back on track, a lot of sacrifices are made.

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears are shed.

The CRPF has said that “We will not forget, We will not forgive” here is our chance to show that we will not forget the supreme sacrifices of our jawans of the Pulwama encounter.

It is absolutely heartening to see millions of Indians showing tremendous support to our jawans of the Central Armed  Police Forces. The spontaneous Response of people from all walks of life has reinvigorated the morale of all jawans and officers. The Web Portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bharatkeveer.gov.in has got a huge response, with almost 2000 hits per second! The response to the Pulwama encounter has been unprecedented. All the messages related to contributing to the families of the martyrs are being shared on Whatsapp and other social media. The response has been so humongous that the web portal goes down intermittently. The MHA team is working tirelessly to keep the web portal updated to cater such voluminous traffic. If one wishes, he or she can also draw cheques in favour of Bharat Ke Veer . The Honourable PM and the HM are personally monitoring the entire process. I have seen the pain in their eyes.

Quite a few people have been talking of providing gas agencies, education to the children of the martyrs. These are all very welcome suggestions.  The citizens of India have contributed to Bharatkeveer around 45 crores since its launch on April 9, 2017. In the last two days you have contributed Rs 6 crores and it’s still going strong. Let us join in this noble mission and be worthy of the sacrifices of our jawans.

But what is most important is to show respect to the officers and jawans of our uniformed forces, the CAPFs, the police. The tremendous solidarity shown to the Pulwama martyrs is what a jawan needs. He now knows that every Indian is standing by his family, even in his absence.

Your respect and support is what makes a BSF jawan say

“Aakhri Goli, Aakhri Dam tak ladoonga”.

Jai Hind.