The madness of two neighboring countries India and Pakistan over a piece of Glacier called SIACHEN which sucks more than 5 crore per day at an average from both the sides. Many mothers have lost their loved once from both the countries to protect this glacier. The life on such a glacier is always on ventilator where you cannot fight to defend but you have to fight more for it’s own survival.
There is urgent need from both the countries which are claiming the ownership of the SIACHEN instead of utilizing and wasting the money on the defence of this glacier utilize it on the development of the near by villages of the SIACHEN which still lacks basic amenities of life, good health facilities, schools and good education..
On this part of the glacier LEH, LADAKH and other villages near LOC still lack basic Health care facilities, good education and better infrastructure which they deserve and I am sure on the other side of the SIACHEN i,e Pakistan the condition is worst than ours…
Very recently met an old friend after 8 years who was working in Indian army, who is almost half dead now just because of the fact that he had served in SIACHEN glacier for few months..
The armed forces of both the countries are not there to defend from each other but infact mostly they have to fight for their own survival from the nature.. Isn’t it strange how can you fight each other where the temperature remains minus 50 degree and can even go to minus 70 degree, where there remains always chances of cyclones and avalanches.
Where on bad days there is zero visibility and you cannot even recognize your hand if put in front of your eyes and it can lost for months as well,blindness for months..
Where it takes 3 hours to heat up a backet of water for wash, where bathing if possible once in a month..
Where you mostly suffer from memory loss, speech blurring, Frost bites and lung infections..
On SIACHEN glacier bullets are the last thing soldiers have to fear..
Till date more than 3000 soldiers have died on SIACHEN not because of the bullets but mostly due to weather extremes..
Why can’t both the countries India and Pakistan vacate their forces unilaterally through a bilateral diologe.. Under the grab of personal enmity why to fight with the nature..
Why not to utilize the money which is being wasted on both the sides by both the countries of India and Pakistan when we know that how people are suffering even for the basic necessaries of life…
Why to snatch the loved once from the mothers of both the countries under the grab of protection of SIACHEN..
Is there no one from both the countries among the ruling class who can understand the pain and sufferings of those who are posted in SIACHEN and device a mechanism to save the precious lives from both the countries and utilize the funds on development instead of defence.
The first priority must be let us live for the country instead of die for the country..
Let the Nature itself to protect SIACHEN in it’s own way, don’t command the nature instead let’s follow the nature.. Shun the foolishness let’s be wise from both the sides…
The author can be reached at wanimudasirnazir@gmail.com