'Stop pressuring the govt, signing petitions for a soldier's return'

When this reporter met Squadron Leader (Retd) Parvez Rustom Jamasji, 76, at his Dadar Parsi Colony home, he had just switched off the television following news about the India-Pakistan developments. Feisty Jamasji, who walks with a stick due to the injuries he sustained as a helicopter pilot while conducting heli-borne operations during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, warmed up to his current 'mission' of becoming the medium for a message to his countrymen as India and Pakistan stands on the precipice.

As the sunbeams streamed into the living room bouncing off the gallantry medals on his shirt, and the campaign trophies in the room, Jamasji said when asked about the current fraught climate, "We are at war. We have to stop being in denial of the fact that we have been at war for the past 30 years. When a nation loses five of its soldiers on an average and is left with five widows almost every day, then, plain and simple, it is at war." When asked about the capture of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, the crack-chopper pilot said, "Every country has Prisoners of War.

This may sound anodyne but we cannot back out now. Civilians must desist from emotional blackmail while trying to bring back a captured soldier. Stop pressuring the government, signing petitions for his return. This means we are giving leverage to the enemy to use the captured person as a bargaining chip. He should be back today, but even if he had not been released early, we as responsible civilians in a war, should not pressure a government." Jamasji further said, "India needs to strike with full force now, otherwise, we go back to a situation where our men continue to die everyday in some so-called 'skirmish' or 'firefight' and we continue to make widows. These widows will one day start questioning that if we are not at war, then why did my husband die anyway?"

He continued, "While people say that the Kashmir crisis may have de-escalated, we need to step back from giving rock throwers in Kashmir a free hand. You tie the Army's hands by saying that they should not retaliate. We have a defeatist attitude as a nation." While he did not comment directly on the political polarisation as a result of the Pulwama fallout, he said, "Those who say this is foolish must remember — never cut off the nation's nose, simply to spite the current political dispensation."

Our next big concern, he said, is that, "War widows must live with their heads high. Corporate houses are stepping in to help, and fundraising is on, but the government must ensure that they live with dignity and pride. The families of the fallen men are not supposed to live on charity. The nation has to give them what is their rightful due," Jamasji, who earned the moniker of 'The Tiger of the Assam sector', concluded by saying, "Support your soldiers in the right way. I may walk with a stick, but I am ready to go to the war zone right now. I am retired but I am never tired to fight for India."

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