HEROES OF THE HOUR

IN THE BATTLE AGAINST COVID-19, ORDINARY INDIANS HAVE SHOWN EXTRAORDINARY COURAGE TO ENSURE THE COUNTRY’S WELL-BEING EVEN AS THEY PUT THEIR OWN LIVES AT RISK

- RAJ CHENGAPPA

What is the stuff heroes are made of? If Norman Schwarzkopf, the United States army general who led the coalition forces in the 1990 Gulf war, is to be believed, “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who go into battle.” As the Great Lockdown enters its 7th week and over half a billion Indians still remain confined to their homes, there is what Mahatma Gandhi described as “a small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in the mission” who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make our lives safe, secure and ensure that our daily needs are being met. And most of them are ordinary people from different walks of life who are displaying remarkable courage in putting their own lives at risk for the well-being of others.

It is now time we paid this army of do-gooders a tribute by recognising their heroic efforts for which they seek neither reward nor applause. Most of us did step out into our balconies, clapped our hands and clanged thalis in appreciation of the work they are doing when Prime Minister Narendra Modi thoughtfully asked us to do so before the Lockdown. We lit diyas to lift the gloom that has descended on us ever since the coronavirus pandemic turned our world upside down. The armed forces came together on May 3 on behalf of the nation to express their solidarity with these warriors as air force helicopters showered petals on hospitals, fighter jets conducted a flypast, army personnel laid wreaths on police memorials and the navy and Coast Guard lined up warships in formation on the Arabian Sea. In doing so, the forces acknowledged them as compatriots of a different kind fighting the enemy in a war that in magnitude now rivals the havoc wreaked by World War II—without a single bullet being fired.