The Indian Army Trained Me For Battles On And Off The Field

“I’ve fallen down, but I’ll rise again,

I’ll show the whole world that I am still alive and I believe in myself.”

Ronit Ranjan, an aspiring young Indian, always believed, his commitment to life was protecting his nation at the borders. Unlike the ones that feared death, he weaved his life into preparing, sacrificing his life for the nation.

If you believe, you are born to do something in life and you find your calling, nothing can stop you from achieving it. No matter how much life tests you, you will always rise above the forces that once tried to pull you down, right?

 Or at least this is what young Ronit, a hardworking and ambitious to be- Indian army officer believed. From being barely treated as a human to bagging a merit card, Ronit witnessed all the ups and downs life could throw at him while training for the Indian Army.

The determined young Indian reckoned on the blue print of life. From when he will take his parents for their first vacation abroad to when he would buy his first Royal Enfield bike, to when he would start dating, everything was mapped out for him just waiting to pan out.

Don’t we all find comfort in predictability?

Little do we know, life always has curve balls prepared to throw at us when least expected.

On being the only one selected from his city in his batch, high sets of expectations, travelled from the city of Ranchi along with him to the National Defense Academy. Several lived their dreams through him only until life came crashing down.

The overly ambitious Ronit suffered a back injury in the midst of his training and was declared medically unfit to continue his training. His quest of becoming an Indian Army soldier and serving his country was snatched away from him at the blink of an eye.

While recovering physically, young Ronit’s mental health began to dwindle. It came to a standstill where he contemplated ending the trauma by attempting to take his own life.

It was not until D – 2 that he realized life had thrown yet another challenge at him to either overcome and emerge out of like he always has been or be a hypocrite about it.  

Mustering all the courage he had, Ronit began his journey of something he never perceived imaginable and pivoted it into something he never dreamed of.

Young Ronit Rajan is protecting lives even today, just not from the borders.

You can take a soldier out of the army but can you take the army out of a soldier?