Those that are better than us, make their way to the armed forces, those that are the best among them march onto eternal greatness, and the ultimate sacrifice. Of them, 21 will now be eternally remembered.

Lately, the overt media cycle has been consumed by sporadic interest over a peripherally pleonastic BBC documentary that makes as little sense substantively as it does objectively.

The real story – if it must be about the Prime Minister – and indeed, the Modi question, is the long overdue and immensely gratifying tribute he paid to our honourable Param Vir Chakra (India’s highest military award) awardees by naming 21 islands in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago after them. On Parakram Diwas, the occasion of Netaji’s 126th birth anniversary, India celebrated the soul of its independent entity – those that laid down their lives to make the country stay alive.

Lest we forget, let’s venerate: “Like the sea connects different islands, the feeling of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ unites every child of Mother India”, the Prime Minister remarked on the occasion. “From Major Somnath Sharma, Piru Singh, Major Shaitan Singh to Captain Manoj Pandey, Subedar Joginder Singh and Lance Naik Albert Ekka, from Veer Abdul Hameed and Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran to all 21 Paramvirs, everyone had only one resolve – Nation First! India First! This resolution has now become immortal forever in the name of these islands. A hill in Andaman is also being dedicated in the name of Captain Vikram Batra from the Kargil war”, he said.

Those that are better than us, make their way to the armed forces, those that are the best among them march onto eternal greatness, and the ultimate sacrifice. Of them, 21 will now be eternally remembered.

This is not a lone stroke; even the worst among his critics struggle to preface an argument cogently when it comes to the PM’s policies on matters of national security. Still, to actively work in the interest of the nation is the brief; we expect it of any elected leader.

But, to actively work to revisit, revive and reinstate those who fought for our security (only to be forgotten or to be relegated hitherto to cursory, ceremonial mention) is beyond the brief; we expect it only of a patriot.
Yet again, this Indian government is unabashedly unequivocal in implementing actionable change that tilts the balance towards progress, enriched with a legacy of pride – honouring our forgotten heroes.

To the BBC’s incendiary attempt at stoking communal divisiveness and violence (thereby posing a security threat to the country) we need to say: you are irrelevant.

To the rekindled recognition of our rejuvenated pride, immortalized in the 21 Andaman Islands, we need to say: we salute you, you made us relevant.