Just like any other country, there’s so much that is wrong with ours.
But there is so much that is right, too, and it’s the right, the good that keeps us going as a nation.
Time after time, we hear stories of certain officers and public servants who made big sacrifices so that their countrymen could live an easy life.
And one such story is about police inspector and encounter specialist, Vijay Salaskar.
In a video titled Hum Mehfooz Hai, storyteller Mohammed Sadriwala perfectly puts into words his admiration for the brave policeman, experience of meeting him and the respect for every honest officer.
He starts by saying that people are used to looking at police officers with a hint of doubt in their hearts.
But since childhood, Mohammed himself was an exception. He was fascinated with the jobs and personalities of encounter specialists and tried to know as much about them as possible.
His favourite was Vijay Salaskar.
This one time, not knowing what the day had in store for him, Mohammed set out to play cricket with his friend.
As they were waiting for conveyance, something unexpected happened.
But the person inside wasn’t there to catch them, he was there to give them a lift till Azad Maidan. The person was none other than Vijay Salaskar.
On their journey, the boys loosened up and found that he wasn’t scary at all. He talked to them about cricket and life and finally dropped them to their destination.
Mohammed was elated, he had just met the person he admired so much. Years passed and things changed. Mohammed was in college when the 26/11 attacks happened.
Sad and scared like the rest of India, he was also following the news. That is when he got to know that Vijay Salaskar lost his life saving the people of his city.
What followed was not something Mohammed was prepared for.
That was the day he actually realised the sacrifice that goes behind making sure that the people of one’s country are safe.
As a child he once asked his father that why don’t honest officers make it to the news and headlines. And his father said, “Imaandar logon ki maujoodgi hamari khushi mein aur hamare sukoon mein dikhti hai.“