Yodha ki Pratigya (The Warrior's Oath)

It comes as no surpise that Ladakh is a hostile terrain. The cold weather for the large part of the year, the consistently heavy breeze and the lack of oxygen are all ingredients that create, as a collective, an ominous scene. Although, there are some bright and sunny days in the summer, they are far and few between most days of cold and grim weather. And this is just the valleys and the plains; glaciers are a whole different league.

As you spend time there, you begin to greatly appreciate the challenges faced by a soldier posted in the region. The soldier recruits posted here come from all over India, most part of which, has perennially tropical weather conditions. And the ones that are entrusted to guard the glaciers, need to make themselves fit to weather the 3-4 months' posting and have to go through a rigorous acclimatization process. Only Mental toughness carries the soldiers’ will to survive and overcome the physical and mental hardships.

To awaken the warrior spirit in the soldiers, a Warrior’s oath is engraved and installed at the Siachen warriors' camp. This installation and the oath serves as a constant reminder to the soldiers that they are bigger than their challenges.

?Yogha ki Pratigya (The Warrior’s Oath) translated:

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????I am a Warrior??????

I possess the capacity to take on any difficulty, whether across the border or in personal life

Powered by this strength, I will face any obstacle fearlessly

I will not allow myself to develop any feeling of deficiency while faced with any tough situation

And I will face and overcome any challenge with my mental strength because I am a Warrior

We all go through times in life where we need to dig deep and call on our inner strength and mental toughness, the past two years have popularized as #resilience.

Yodha ki Pratigya is a commitment you make to yourself that you are bigger than your circumstances. It is an ode to the warrior in all of us.??May we all find the #resilience to face and overcome challenges that lie ahead of us.