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सैनिक का उत्तर- A Soldier's Response




"It is true that the intellect by itself is no virtue....An intellectual person can be a good man but he may easily be a rogue. Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high-souled persons, ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity or it may easily be a gang of crooks.."
                            - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

The problem of too much of intellectualism is that it runs a serious danger of turning narcissistic and base. A strong intellect without a sense of morality will make worse of human beings for they can explain, define and defend basest of their actions and thoughts. Dr. Partha Chatterjee, Professor at Columbia University, has suddenly become a known face all across India by scathing criticism he has heaped on the Chief of Indian Army General Bipin Rawat. He has compared the Army Chief with British General Dyer. It is difficult to understand how the context of Major Gogoi using a Stone-pelter (who also made Shawls) to avoid needless bloodshed to compare General Rawat with General Dyer, who shot dead over 300 citizens in cold blood. General Dyer had also placed a condition for Indians to crawl in a patch of street of around 200 feet, but that is another matter. A good writing is meant to provoke and unfortunately some writers would even a lie to provoke to avoid hard effort of getting down to the ground. Our intellectual world sadly, is at a loss since we do not have Hemingways to go to the front to write about war. A soldier is bound by discipline and cannot reply to crafty, cruel and crude allegations. Therefore, as a citizen, I take it as my duty to respond. 

Here it is. 



सैनिक का उत्तर


पूछते हो प्रश्न तुम, बस मौन है उत्तर मेरा।
योद्धा हूँ तो क्यूँ समझते हो हृदय
पत्थर मेरा।

जब प्रलय सा मेह बरसा, 
जलमग्न हुई थी ये धरा,
निष्पाप मन से था उपस्थित
मैं संतरी बन कर खड़ा।

जिस मनुज के पास हो
नन्ही सी इक तलवार भी,
सहन करता कौन मानव
छोटा सा इक प्रहार भी?

पाषाण की बौछार में भी
शाँत मेरा शस्त्र था।
विश्वास था, उस ओर भी
शत्रु नहीं एक मित्र था।

तुम समझते हो कि मैं मानव नहीं
इक यंत्र हूँ,
यज्ञ की इक आहुति हूँ,
रामबाण इक मंत्र हूँ।

मैं भी पिता का पुत्र हूँ, 
माता का इक संबल हूँ मैं,
पुत्री का मैं भी तात हूँ, 
सिन्दूर हूँ, आँचल हूँ मैं।

समय के इस क्रूर समर में
शाँत शौर्य का धर्म हूँ मैं।
राष्ट्र का सूचक हूँ मैं
इस मातृभूमि का मर्म हूँ मैं।

शब्दों के कुटिल कवि
तुमसे मेरा क्या मेल है।
मेरे लिये है राष्ट्र गौरव
आपको सब खेल है।

शब्दों के निर्लज्ज द्वन्द में
झुका दोगे भला क्या सर मेरा?
मस्तक है यह इस राष्ट्र का,
बस मौन है उत्तर मेरा।

      - साकेत
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