Nine-year-old Ravikar Reddy first learnt about the BSF when his mother narrated to him a series of stories about Indian soldiers, their sacrifices and hardwork to protect the nation. Inspired, he couldn’t help admiring the armed forces.
“I wanted to express my admiration and gratitude to them, but didn’t know how to. My mother suggested that I write a letter to the BSF (but not to expect any reply). She found the e-mail address of the Director General of the BSF (K.K. Sharma), and I wrote to him, thanking him for their services,” Ravikar recalls.
After a month, BSP acknowledged the boy’s letter. “After a fortnight, a jawan from the National Police Academy (Hyderabad) came to see me along with his family. He explained to my mother that the BSF DG in Delhi had directed the SPA Academy to get some details about me, to invite us for a trip to the border. I couldn’t believe it initially because they must be receiving so many such letters.”
The BSF jawans were surprised to see the boy. “When I went to Jaipur, Amit Lodha, IPS, DIG BSF Jaisalmer, was surprised to see me. He appreciated me and called the media to tell them about my visit. Since I don’t know Hindi, they appointed a translator and instructed them to show us the historic places and the weaponry.”
After a few days in Jaipur, the family reached Jaisalmer. “I could not bear the heat in Jaisalmer, but jawans made sure that they showed us the war zones such as The Battle of Longewala, where the 1971 Indo-Pak war took place; Tannot Mata (temple), etc. We then went to Murar and Babliyan (BOP 609), about 150 metres away from Pakistan check post.”
In Murar, they don’t have enough water to drink, nor proper electricity. They are sacrificing everything for us. They are the real heroes. Once, we were stuck in a desert storm, but the jawans protected us. I even saw snakes and lizards. It was very scary. I realised how hard it is for the soldiers to work in such temperatures.”
