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Hero buried in the Capital amid total media
blackout
Muslim Captain dies unsung
By S U Rahman
 The
country lost yet another promising young
soldier in front of the lofty chinar trees in what used to be ‘paradise
on earth.’ Captain Jawed Ali Saifi, who had just celebrated his 32nd
birthday on 1 August, was shot at around 11 in the night of 22 August in
Srinagar. He succumbed immediately to his injuries on the spot itself. His
body was brought to Delhi next day.
But the martyrdom of the young captain made no news for the ‘national’
or mainstream media which goes berserk to highlight the religious
affiliation if the victim is a non-Muslim. Newspapers and TV channels
which gave full coverage to the death of a colonel and a lieutenant on the
same day failed to cover the news of Javed Saifi’s martyrdom or the
emotion-charged burial given by the people of his area, Zakir Nagar, in
the national capital. It is observed that this is habit of the so-called
national media when it comes to cover news of this sort, unless, of course
the news is somehow anti-Muslim.
Martyr Jawed was given a grand burial by the people of his area. Thousands
of people thronged his burial site and prayed for him. Thousands gathered
in front of his house to mourn the death of a young and promising soldier
from the community who sacrificed his life defending the country in the
insurgency-hit state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hundreds of those who had
gathered to mourn his death, did not even know the person who lost his
life in Srinagar, but had come to condole his death because he had
sacrificed himself for the country. Everyone seemed aggrieved, tears
rolling down their eyes and trying to know who the young soul was.
Muhammad Ashraf, who attended the funeral of the young captain, was one of
the hundreds who did not know Captain Jawed Ali Saifi, but had gathered to
mourn his death nonetheless. When this correspondent asked Ashraf as to
why he is attending the funeral without knowing who the martyr was, he
replied that now he knows him better than himself. It is enough to know
that he has given up his life in order to defend his country, and this
reason alone is enough to make Jawed nearer to him than any of his
relatives. A number of other people including Rahmat Yar expressed same
sentiments. They mourned and prayed for the young soul who has parted in
the midst of his prime youth.
Jawed was born on 1 August 1968. He did BSc in civil engineering from
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and joined the army in 1995 as lieutenant.
Soon he was promoted to the rank of captain. The sole bread-earner of his
family, he is survived by his young wife Abida whom he married in 1994
before he joined the army. He has left behind a 4-year-old son, Faisal, an
ailing father, two brothers, one of whom is blind and three sisters. q |
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