I've been to the border areas and know for a fact that the weather in these regions is disastrous; it must be stressful for soldiers to be on alert at all times under these hostile circumstances. I'm sure the Pakistani army must be facing the same crisis. I heard of this Indian jawan who was injured and got caught in the crossfire for 14 hours! After that he had to walk another two hours to get medical aid.

I think people blend better than governments. It is very obvious that Pakistan has instigated the infiltrators. Given this fact, there is no point in taking diplomatic initiatives, especially when people are dying.Life should never go cheap. I don't think this is the time to be nice. India hasn't done anything to bring this aggression on. It's unfortunate because we have too many things to take care of other than fighting over an LoC that was decided 27 years ago.

The international opinion is important especially in times such as these. Both countries depend heavily on economic grants Pakistan more than us. However, what the world thinks is not the be all and end all. India has its own identity, self respect and pride at stake. We have to preserve it.

--As told to Deepa Deosthalee