Bihar groom delays wedding by 2 hours to join national mock drill: ‘Nation comes first’

A groom in Bihar put the nation first and delayed his wedding by over two hours to join the nationwide mock drills held to test civil preparedness for air strikes amid India’s rising tensions with Pakistan.

According to an NDTV report, Sushant Kushwaha, a resident of Purnia district, was set to leave his home with the baraat procession heading to his bride’s house, 40 km away in Araria, at 6 pm on Wednesday.

However, the groom’s family ended up waiting for two hours as Kushwaha chose to participate in the mock drill exercise.

“It is my wedding today but that is not the only reason why I feel elated. Today, the Indian Army entered Pakistan and launched missile strikes on their terror bases. It is a proud moment that I am able to be a part of the drill,” he said, as quoted by NDTV.

‘Soldiers often leave their wedding’

He added that he had already informed his family of his decision to join the security drill the day before, as soon as he learned that his district was one of the 244 chosen to be part of the nationwide security exercise.

Once the mock drill was completed, the groom returned home and joined the baraat for his wedding at around 8 pm.

Kushwaha saw nothing unusual in his decision and emphasised that for him, the nation comes first. “Soldiers often leave their wedding venue to go and fight at the borders. If the situation demands, we will also do that,” he added.

On May 7, wide-ranging security drills simulating air raids, search-and-rescue operations, and fire emergencies were carried out across India as part of the civil defence exercise, Operation Abhyaas.

The drills coincided with India’s retaliatory strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor, in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians on April 22.