There are two facts about heroes that have never been in doubt. One acts in movies to entertain the audience to earn fame and reputation for the knack of his acting skills whereas the other takes risks to save people in real-life scenarios, say Indian soldiers or a common man.
The hero is someone who can give real-time protection by all means. The sad reality is that people admire film heroes as much as they admire gods. We have seen, in many parts of India, avid fans offering milk Abhishekam and prayers for the filmy heroes they admire who just act in movies but when the hero risks his life to save lives, he gets no hype but just an appreciation by some people.
We live in a society where people appreciate film heroes who save people’s lives in action sequences but when the same thing happens real, no one bats an eye.
Meet the real hero – Amit Raj
15-year-old Cadet Amit Raj of Sainik School, Purulia has done something extraordinary to save the lives of three kids. Amit Raj, who hails from Nalanda district of Bihar, sacrificed his own life in order to save the lives of three kids.
Amit Raj was a class 10 student of Sainik School in West Bengal’s Purulia. His father, Bhushan Kumar, who is a contract labourer in Mumbai, said that the incident occurred on 3 December.
The boy showed exemplary courage and entered the house and saved three kids while sustaining 95% burn in the process.
His father said, “I was in Mumbai when this incident happened. Amit had come here due to lockdown and didn’t go back and he was attending online classes. People said that there was a gas leak in a neighbour’s house. He was jogging at around 6 am that day. He ran towards the house when he heard the screams. He tried to stop the fire and save the kids, but he was caught in flames.”
His father said that they took him to a nearby hospital where he was referred to a hospital in Patna.
“After his school got to know about the incident, they took him to Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital on 9 December for treatment. I came back from Mumbai on 6 December. He was fine till 12 December, talking to me and eating, but later that night his condition worsened. He passed away at around 12 noon on 13 December,” his father said.
His father also said he did what he had to do and he is proud that he sacrificed his life for others.
“I have two children, a girl who is in class 9 and a boy who is in class 8. I had so many expectations from him. I used to think he will help me after 2-3 years and now see? Whatever I earned, I invested in his studies. I am just a labourer. I haven’t received any support yet, but some authorities came and said they were trying to get some help for me, but we haven’t received anything yet. The school authorities are also in touch with us,” his father added.
On 24 December, the Indian Army condoled Amit’s death and tweeted: “15-year-old Cadet Amit Raj of Sainik School Purulia sacrificed his own life while saving the lives of three children. He will continue to inspire future generations with his courage and bravery. Indian Army salutes the supreme sacrifice of the Braveheart.”
