RAJ DALUJA
Jammu: Abraham Lincoln had described democracy as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proven the maxim right during his two terms of governance in immense measure.
On Friday, India again showcased the nation’s commitment to humanitarian efforts on the international stage and exemplified its will and determination to meet the crisis like situations the world over. MARCOS, Indian Navy’s marine commandos boarded a Liberia-flagged vessel MV Lila Norfolk in Arabian Seas, hijacked by the Somalian pirates, and rescued its crew of 21, including 15 Indians after carrying out sanitization operations.
This did not draw the attention of the Indian opposition that remains on front-foot to belittle Indian efforts in crisis management, like the one in Uttarakhand recently. Soon after the rescue of 41 workers, trapped in a collapsed tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarakhand for 17 days, the Indian opposition went on ‘naming and shaming mode’ to undermine the Herculean effort of multiple agencies, with a sinister motivation of naming and discrediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav jumped the line, saying “What credit does Modi deserve? People from across the country as well as abroad had to be roped in”. Though no attempt was made to credit the Prime Minister for the rescue mission by anyone in the government yet the opposition went on spilling venom. Why do they do so? By doing this they berate India’s capacity to face a crisis, like the nation did during Covid Pandemic, Ukraine War etc. Instead of thumping the backs of compatriots and armed forces in undertaking rescue missions, they tend to be Jaichands.
For centuries Jaichand is used as synonymous to a traitor in common parlance. Indian history might have different versions about the ‘most maligned’ king but generations have grown remembering Jaichnd as a traitor, who betrayed Hindus and the Sanatana cause by siding with aggressor Muhammad Ghori. Aggressors have come and gone but Jaichand is frequently referred to when some of the leaders in the Indian political landscape hammer Hindu, Hinduism and Hindutva. This is the class, which in their hate for Hindu protagonists, do not hesitate to undermine or berate their own country. Of late, the number of Jaichands has alarmingly grown manifold.
In the first week of May 2022, amid the Russia-Ukraine war, the Indian government successfully launched Operation Ganga to evacuate Indians through a series of sorties under the supervision of senior ministers, who were camping in the war zone and the adjoining countries. The rescue became possible only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The successful foreign policy and the influence of Narendra Modi was so predominant that Pakistani and Turkish students, carrying Tricolour, were also able to move out of the war-zone.
Earlier, in May 2020, more than 15,000 compatriots including some foreigners were repatriated from 12 countries across the world and brought back to India during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic that had wrapped the smoke screen on humanity. Such a gigantic effort involving air force and naval ships under Operation Samudra Setu on the directives of the Prime Minister reflected India’s concern for its citizens. Ironically, a few weeks earlier, Pakistan had refused to airlift and evacuate its citizens from Wuhan, the epicenter of coronavirus in China.
Soon after coming to power in 2014, Prime Minister Modi gave a guarantee to the people of India that wherever they get stranded, the government will rescue them. His government walked the talk and launched Operation Raahat in 2015, involving Indian Armed Forces, to evacuate 4,748 Indian citizens and 1,962 foreign nations from strife-torn Yemen. This followed a series of operations, the immediate one on April 26, 2015 to rescue people struck in the devastating earthquake in Nepal under Operation Maitri. In 2016, Indian and other foreign nationals were evacuated from South Sudan under Operation Sankat Mochan while Indian nationals and foreigners were evacuated under Operation Devi Shakti in 2021 from Afghanistan after the collapse of the Islamic Republic by the Taliban. Again, under Operation Dost in 2023 a search and rescue operation was led by the Indian government to assist Syria and Turkey following the 2023 earthquake to provide relief material and undertake rescue. Under Operation Kaveri, thousands of citizens stranded in conflict hit Sudan were repatriated safely back to India on April 24, 2023.
Under Prime Minister Modi, India has indeed undertaken numerous successful rescue operations, reflecting the nation’s commitment to the safety and well-being of its citizens, as also extending assistance to others globally.
Still, If Jaichands scream and cry hoarse let them!
