WHY INDIAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN ANY ACTION ARE NOT CALLED AS SHAHEED/MARTYR ?

            This sentimental question raised many times by our fellow Indians through social media to give respect to our Indian soldiers and police personnel. But both the terms "shaheed" and "martyr"  have their linkage with religion. The term "martyr" comes from the dialect of ancient Greek. It literally means 'witness'. It was first used in the sense that they first witnessed Jesus Christ's life and resurrection. Then in past years, as Christians were persecuted for adopting the new religion. So this term also applied for them and then eventually restricted to persons who had died of his belief in Christianity.
           
             The term "shaheed" came from the Urdu language. It means both a 'witness' and 'martyr'. Although shaheed in the first sense appeared in the Quran. Martyrdom in Sunni Islam has been closely associated with death in the battle. Contemporary 'martyrdom' is closely associated with the nationalistic resistance movements in the Muslim world.
         
               In Hindi, the use of 'shaheed' word is widespread and almost becomes mandatory because of sentimental values attached with our defence forces. So whenever we describe members of Indian defence forces killed in action, people expect the newspapers and other media to use the word shaheed for them.

No 'Shaheed' or 'Martyr' In Our Terminology- Government

There is no term as “martyr” or “shaheed” in the Army or the police and instead, a soldier or a policeman killed in action (KIA) is called a “battle casualty” or “operations casualty” respectively.



So, I want to know your viewpoint, should we use shaheed officially or should we use other Hindi words like 'veergati' or 'balidan' having the same meaning??

Comment below to discuss...