Zara Parwal

This is @aakashibhatt and @shantanubhatt95 Dearest Dad, This is the 8th Father’s Day we are spending torn apart from one another. When people hear the word father, they often think of a provider, a protector, a parent. But to us, you have been infinitely more than that. You have been our friend, guide, mentor, our biggest inspiration, fiercest supporter, our moral compass, our strength … our very soul! Everything we are today, every value we hold, every conviction we carry, every ounce of courage we possess, begins with you! Long before we understood the complexities of the world, we understood that if we wanted to know what courage looked like, we only had to look at you … If we wanted to know what integrity looked like, we only had to look at you … If we wanted to know what it meant to stand up for others, to defend those who needed defending, to speak when silence was easier and to persevere when surrender seemed tempting, we only had to look at you! In these past years, Shan and I have watched lesser men, drunk on power make decisions that have profoundly and painfully altered the course of countless lives. We have watched men entrusted with responsibility choose self-preservation over courage... We have watched Men bending their principles to pressure and greed, choosing convenience over conscience, obedience over integrity, silence over truth and self-interest over justice. And often, as I watched them, I found myself wondering: What legacy will these men leave behind? When history strips away their titles, their influence, their power, what will remain? When their kin are old enough to understand, what will they tell themselves? What will they think when they look back upon their choices? Will they speak proudly of men who remained silent when they should have spoken? Will they admire men who bowed when they should have stood? Will they celebrate men who traded integrity for advancement and conscience for comfort? who watched injustice unfold and chose silence because it was safer? Or will they feel the unbearable weight of knowing, that when the moment came to stand for what was right, these men chose instead to kneel before what was expedient? I do not know. But what I do know beyond any doubt is that they will never know what Shan and I do … They will never know the immeasurable privilege of being the children of a man whose character cannot be compromised, whose conscience cannot be intimidated, and whose spirit cannot be broken! They will never know what it feels like to draw strength from a father whose life is a testament to courage! They will never know the pride that surges through our veins when we speak his name! They will never know what it is like to have a father who is not merely a hero to us, but to tens of thousands... A man who chose principle over comfort... A man who stood when others knelt... A man who spoke when others remained silent... A man who chose truth over safety... A man who paid the heavy price for doing what was right! Dad, you have always led by example … You taught us that courage is not a dramatic act performed in a single moment of heroism, rather it is a habit … a way of moving through the world, a quiet refusal to compromise one's principles, even when compromise would make life easier. It is the willingness to stand alone when standing with the crowd would be safer. It is the ability to look adversity directly in the eye and refuse to surrender your humanity to it. From you, we learned to never remain silent in the face of injustice, to fight for what is right, no matter the consequences, to face adversity with our heads held high, to walk into storms rather than run from them and to never allow the fire in our hearts and the courage in our souls to be extinguished. You taught us that hope is not naïveté, rather it is defiance. It is the refusal to allow injustice the final word … it is the belief that truth survives even when buried, that justice survives even when delayed, and that goodness survives even when punished. Children often search for heroes in books, films, and legends, but Shan and I never had to, because we were fortunate enough to grow up with ours … A hero in flesh and blood! A hero whose voice guided us …Whose example shaped us … Whose love sustained us. A hero we have the immense honour of calling our father! Dad, you have, and you continue to inspire us, shaping our lives indelibly and forever. Since we were little, you filled our childhood with laughter, warmth, books, music, art, culture, curiosity, and wonder, unwavering in your efforts to introduce us to extraordinary role models. As you guided us through these incredible years of our lives, I wonder whether you ever realised that the person Shan and I have most wanted to become, ever since we were young, has always been, and will always remain, you! For eight long years, we have been torn apart by cowardly, spine-less men. They’ve stolen away our precious years, celebrations, ordinary moments, memories, and irreplaceable time.But they have failed in the one thing they truly sought to destroy…They have failed to break your courage, spirit and resilience! People often say greatness is measured by the lives one touches and the principles one refuses to abandon …. By that measure, Dad, you are a giant! The names of those who abuse power will eventually fade into oblivion. But the names of those who stood against them will echo across generations. Because, in the end, good, though battered and bruised, must triumph over evil. Justice, though trampled by politics and power, must ultimately prevail Truth, though persecuted, must emerge. And it is my belief that you, Dad, will emerge from this stronger than ever! Dad, you are not only our father … You are our hero … our NorthStar … Our Cornerstone! Here's to a future where people find the strength to choose courage instead of subservience! A future where conscience matters more than convenience, where integrity matters more than power, where truth matters more than fear! Enough lives have been shattered, enough dreams have been trampled and enough futures have been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency! The time for silence has long passed …. The time for courage has arrived. And if there is one thing you have taught us, it is this: That a single voice speaking the truth can echo louder than an army of cowards. Here's to the day when these years are finally behind us, when distance is no longer measured in years, when celebrations are no longer marked by absence, and when we can simply sit together again, in the warmth of our home. Here's to the day our family is whole again .... To many more years of laughter, love, arguments about books, terrible jokes, shared meals, listening to music and, as you would say, continuing to "build character." Happy Father's Day, Dad! We love you to infinity and beyond and we are immensely proud to be your children!! Lots and lots of love, Aakashi & Shantanu #justiceforsanjivbhatt #FreeSanjivBhatt #EnoughIsEnough