SPEECH OF HON'BLE GOVERNOR PUNJAB AND ADMINISTRATOR, UT CHANDIGARH, SHRI BANWARILAL PUROHIT ON THE OCCASION OF OPENING CEREMONY OF MILITARY LITERATURE FESTIVAL AT CHANDIGARH ON DECEMBER 11, 2021

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Evening to all of you!

As we embark on the journey of Golden Jubilee of the 1971 Indo Pak war, we have a great opportunity today to relive the grandeur of history, the bravery tales and valor of Indian soldiers in 1971 Indo Pak War in the 5th Edition of Military Literature Festival!

But, before I say more, I would like to take a moment of you all and would pay my humble tributes to our brave-hearts… Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Bipin Rawat, son of tricity Brig. LS Lidder and all the defence personnel who lost lives in the unfortunate helicopter crash on December, 8; Nation will never forget their rich contribution. May they rest in peace!

This military literature fest organized jointly by the Government of Punjab, the Chandigarh Administration and the Western Command of the Indian Army, will provide an opportunity for the people in general and youth in particular to gain knowledge about the wars fought by our Armed Forces, get inspired from the experiences of the veterans as also imbibe their patriotic fervor.

Learning from military history is very important. It is the key to self-improvement. It gives us an insight into how other people in other days accomplished their missions. Shri Rajnath Singh ji soon after taking over the charge of the Ministry of Defence constituted a committee to progress the work of writing the border history of the country. Publishing periodicals and journals from time to time and organizing events like Military Literature Festival narrows down the knowledge gap between the people and experts.

It is an excellent way of informing citizens and the youth of India about the country's Armed Forces, their discipline, culture, their sacrifices and unique unity in diversity

We all know that India has always been a peace-loving country which never in its history has been aggressive towards the people of any other land. As Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has said, “India never attacked another country but has sacrificed lives for other nations. Our country has never been hungry for land. We have never attacked any other country. In fact, India has fought for other countries. The nation has sacrificed over one and half (1.5) lakh lives for other countries during the two World Wars.”

At the same time, this is also crystal clear that although India is a priest of world peace and has never indulged in aggression with any country in the world, BUT we are capable of giving a befitting reply to those who show aggression towards us.

“Ahinsa Parmo Dharma” but our commitment to abide by Ahinsa should never be misconstrued as response limitation. Any foreign "aggression" or "misadventure" will always get a most befitting response. There have been countless malicious attempts to create unrest but every time terrorism gets a befitting reply.

Currently, the country is celebrating 75 years of its independence, the Amrit Mahotsav of freedom. We have achieved this freedom by making innumerable sacrifices during the long period of servitude. It is our responsibility to protect this freedom. We have new goals, new resolutions and new challenges in the virtuous period of independence.

We are now moving towards self-reliance in the defence sector. About 65 percent of the defence budget is now being spent on procurement within the country itself. This is the resolution of the AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Today Arjun tanks and the state-of-the-art Light Combat Aircraft like Tejas are being built within our country. Recently, seven new defence companies have also been dedicated to the nation

The defence of the nation for us means protecting this national vitality, national unity and national integrity! Our armies have soaring bravery and along with that there is humanity and compassion in their hearts. That is why our armies do not exhibit valor only on the borders. They are there whenever the country needs them during calamities, disasters, diseases and epidemics. There is an unwavering belief of the country today that India’s armies turn up where no one reaches. There is an instinctive feeling in the mind of every Indian not to worry when they see the Indian army. This is not a small matter. I am sure that with the inspiration from the bravery of our Armed Forces, we will take our India to the highest heights.

The rich martial traditions of the region of Punjab have made the region a treasure trove of military events that have steered the course of history, not only of the region but also the nation. The partition of India rent this land as under covering it in blood, uprooting families and setting culture back a few decades. Yet people of this land rose out of their misfortunes and created the bread basket of India and also became its sword arm.

This festival is unique in its construct as are the people of this region and it therefore makes Chandigarh a natural center of the region where the festival is hosted.

As I gather, this Military Literature Festival offers a wide range of events ranging from battle narratives, individual tales of bravery and grit as also panel discussions by leading thinkers and experts on contemporary topics of national and international consequence. The events have been designed and planned in a manner to evoke the interest of people of all groups from all walks of society.

The festival focuses on children especially those from the remote villages, to enthuse them and motivate them by bringing to them the heroes and highly decorated soldiers of our forces. The patriotic narratives pass on the baton of the legacy of bravery and sacrifice and will motivate them to join the Armed forces.

This year as the activities are virtual owing to the threat posed by the pandemic but the focus would still be on military events.

This year we also celebrate the Golden jubilee of the Glorious victory of the Indo-Pak war of 1971 and the festival is themed accordingly. This is an opportunity to honour and commemorate the legendary bravery and sacrifices of the Indian soldiers and also to bring on to a common platform, the experts to deliberate on contemporary military, security and geopolitical issues.

I compliment the team of the Military literature festival led by Lt Gen TS Shergill for staging this festival which showcases the indomitable spirit of India and the unparalleled contributions of the people of the Punjab region in the security of the nation.

Conceptualizing and organizing this meaningful event with a view to apprising the younger generations about the glorious military legacy and its valor, is commendable.

I am very confident that the festival will be virtually witnessed by a large number of viewers who will relish the events.

It gives me great pleasure to declare the Fifth Military Literature Festival 2021 at Chandigarh, open, and I wish it all success!

Thank You,

Jai Hind.