India's Heroes — PROSE

Introduction
India's Heroes is an anonymous story about the reaction of different people in a difficult situation. It deals with the terrorist attacks on Mumbai on November 26 , 2008 ,and sings of the unsung heroes, who contributed immensely in the time of danger, some even laying down their own lives, to save others. The terrorist attack on Mumbai was one of the most devastating of its kind. It involved altogether twelve coordinated instances of shooting, bombings and sieging attacks across Mumbai, beginning on November 26, 2008 and lasting till November 29, 2008.

Summary:  Mrs. Reeta Baruah class teacher of 8 A entered the classroom and asked the students whether
they were ready with their speeches on what they would like to be when they grow up. All forty students had enthusiastically raised their hands, she added that it might not necessarily be a profession that they need to talk about, they could also speak of someone whom they would want to be like or maybe a role model or a mentor or even a particular trait or quality that they admire in a person and wish to emulate. Each student was eager to speak. Ajit Basu was the first speaker who wanted to be a cricketer like Sachin Tendulkar; next Gayatri Chhabra wanted to be a social worker like her mother; Sanjay Damle wanted to be a pilot and elaborated on the thrill of flying an airplane. Thus the whole class spoke about actors, sports stars, politicians and so on.
 Now Kabeer got up to speak, he was slightly nervous as he did not have a flair for making speeches. Moreover, he knew his speech was different from others as it did not focus on any one person, profession or quality. It was a combination of traits and people from different walks of life.
 Clearing his throat, Kabeer started, saying that when he grows up, he wanted to be brave like Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the thirty-one year old National Security Guard (NSG) commando, who laid down his life fighting the terrorists in Mumbai in November 2008. When Sandeep Unnikrishnan was eight years old, in class three, he made up his mind to join the army. He served two tenures with his battalion in counter-insurgency and counter- terrorism operations, before becoming part of the NSG in January 2007. He was deployed on the 27th of November to clear the terrorist from Hotel Taj in Mumbai. He showed his courage. in chasing the terrorists without caring about his own life. He cared for his fellow soldiers and asked them to step back and eventually was shot by the terrorists.
 Kabeer breathed for a while. Everyone in the room was attentive to his words as they were wondering what was going to follow next. Everyone was allowed to speak for three minutes and Kabeer had just spoken for a minute. Outside the classroom life was carrying on as usual, with the younger children enjoying their recess but the class of 8A was oblivious to it. Kabeer continued – when he grew up, he wanted to be like Vishnu Dattaram Zende, an announcer with the Mumbai railways for ten years. On 26 November. When he heard a loud explosion at one end of a CST platform, instead of panicking and running away, he used the public announcement system to inform people to go out from a different exit. The terrorists fired a bullet into Vishnu Dattaram Zende’s cabin, but it missed him.
 Next Kabeer said that when he grew up, he wanted to be like Karambir Singh Kang the General Manager of the Taj Hotel, who helped the guests in the hotel to safety instead of running away or trying to save his wife and children who were trapped in a room engulfed by fire. He is still with the Taj and trying to rebuild the heritage building.
 When Kabeer looked up, he saw that Swati’s eyes we already moist. He suppressed a sob and continued speaking that when he grew up, he wanted to be fearless like the Ant. Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare, who pursued the terrorists in a jeep and was gunned down by terrorists near Cama Hospital, along with his brave companions DIGs Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar.
 Kabeer carried on speaking, when he grew up, wanted to be caring like Mohammed Taufeeq Sheikh, popularly known as Chottu Chaiwala, a young boy who ran a tea stall outside CST station, who was among the first to help transport the injured to St George Hospital. He further added that when he grew up, he wanted to be selfless Iike Sandra Samuel who saved the life oftwo-year-old Moshe Holtzberg during the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Lastly he said that when he grew up, he wanted to be like the caretakers of the kabristans (cemeteries) in Mumbai who refused to allow the dead terrorists to be buried there. They believed that “terrorism has no religion, and that the only true religion in the world is love and respect for all human beings.”
 As Kabeer ended, the class stood up to applaud and cheer. Mrs. Buruah dabbed a handkerchief to her eyes. She knew that these children are the future of India and they will advocate the virtues of peace, tolerance and selflessness and that one day India will be terror free and lead the world.
Critical Appreciation:
 “India’s Heroes” is a short story where each student of Class 8A of an unknown school in India was delivering a short speech on what he or she wanted to be when he or she grew up. Most wanted to be famous cricketers, politicians, film stars, social workers; but there was a student named Kabeer in the class who wanted to be like people who fought the terrorists, saved, helped the wounded and the injured people during the terrorist attack in Mumbai.
Theme:
 Hero: A true hero is the one who can rise to the occasion and deliver his or her best for mankind without hesitating about his or her own life or about the life of his or her near and dear ones. Heroism is not accepting any injustice but the courage to fight it. All the people who fought against the terrorists on 26 November 2008 in Mumbai, all the people who helped the injured and saved people’s lives are heroic as they stood against terror boldly by reacting to the adverse situation. They did not think about themselves, but they felt that at the hour of crisis it is their human duty to fight the terrorists, to protect the innocent and to save the wounded. Whether Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a National Security Guard Commando, or Vishnu Dattaram Zende, a railway announcer in the CST Platform of Mumbai or Karambir Singh Kang the General Manager of the Taj Hotel, Mumbai, or the Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare or DIGs Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar or Mohammed Taufeeq Sheikh (Chottu Chaiwala) a young boy who ran a tea stall outside CST station – all of them showed their courage to fight against the terrorists – some actively by attacking the terrorists, some by saving and protecting the innocent people, some by helping the injured reach the hospitals. They are the true heroes of India as they did not do anything for name and fame, but did what they thought to be their human duty. They are the ones who make India proud as a nation. They are the ones who can be the role models for the youth of India.
 Children and their dream of a career : Today’s world is career oriented and children from their childhood are made to dream about choosing a right career for themselves Education has become a gateway to choose the right career whereas real education is not only about career building, but about becoming a good human being. The flashy world of consumerism has led us to dream of becoming cricketers, sports persons, film actors, politicians, etc. as they are always in the news and achieve fame. Most of us want to emulate them, their achievements.
 But the true heroes are the ones who work without any desire for name or recognition. True heroes are the ones who stand up and fight injustice when the occasion demands. Heroes are those who help the needy, the helpless, and the wounded. They are the heroes as they are good human beings who think about others, about humanity at large, about being human. Such heroes are the ones who fought against the terrorists on 26th November 2008 and who helped the injured and the innocent. When someone wants to grow up to be one of them, he or she is not thinking about a career, but about trying to inculcate the true values in himself or herself so that he or she may grow up to be a good human being, which is the most significant aspect of education. When the youth of a nation grows up with this kind of education, with this kind of moral values as represented by the people like Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a National Security Guard Commando, or Vishnu Dattaram Zende, a railway announcer in the CST Platform of01: India’s Heroes 123
Mumbai, or Karambir Singh Kang the General Manager of the Taj Hotel, Mumbai, or the Anti Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare or DIGs Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar
Characterisation:
 Mrs. Reeta Baruah :  Mrs Reeta Baruah is a major character in the frame story. She has been presented as a Middle School teacher. She was quite an accomplished teacher, who had a studentcentered approach to teaching.
 Mrs Baruah tried new ways and means to make her teaching interesting as well as effective. She did not want her assignments to be dull or uninteresting. She gave a task with which the children could relate themselves, and the result was that the entire class brought their completed assignments.
 She is appeared to be a strict disciplinarian and an emotional person. As Kabeer was reading his assignment, she had tears in her eyes. She kept looking down, so that the students could not notice that she was on the verge of crying. When the speech ended, she dabbed a handkerchief to her eyes to wipe her tears.
 She felt proud to see her students cherish the moral virtues of peace, tolerance and selflessness.
 Kabeer:  Kabeer is a shy boy who does not have a natural flair for speech, but he definitely is a person who feels deeply about the happenings around him. The terrorist attack on Mumbai on 26th November 2008 has touched him deeply and therefore when his class teacher Mrs. Barauh gave an assignment to prepare a speech on what they want to be when grown up Kabeer mentioned people like Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a National Security Guard Commando, or Vishnu Dattaram Zende, a railway announcer in the CST Platform of Mumbai or Karambir Singh Kang the General Manager of the Taj Hotel, Mumbai, or the Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare or DIGs Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar or Mohammed Taufeeq Sheikh (Chottu Chaiwala) a young boy who ran a tea stall outside CST station, who fought against the terrorists, who helped the innocent to safety, who helped the trapped and the wounded. Kabeer felt that if he can grow up to be like them then his life would get some meaning. Unlike other children who wanted to be sports persons, politicians, etc. Kabeer wanted to emulate characteristics which will make him a good human being. His dream is not to earn money, fame, and name; but to be humane in the true sense of the term.