The IA Blog: Hats off to our Indian Soliders..!!!

Lt. Saurabh Kalia of 4 JAT Regiment of the Indian Army laid down his life at the young age of 22 for the nation while guarding the frontiers at Kargil. His parents, indeed the Indian Army and nation itself, lost a dedicated, honest and brave son.He was the first officer to detect and inform about Pakistani intrusion. Pakistan captured him and his patrol party of 5 brave men alive on May 15, 1999 from the Indian side of LOC. They were kept in captivity for three weeks and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture, evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9, 1999.The Pakistanis indulged in dastardly acts of inflicting burns on these Indian officers with cigarettes, piercing their ears with hot rods, removing their eyes before puncturing them and breaking most of the bones and teeth. They even chopped off various limbs and private organs of the Indian soldiers besides inflicting unimaginable physical and mental torture.

After 22 days of torture, the brave soldiers were ultimately shot dead. A detailed post-mortem report is with the Indian Army. Pakistan dared to humiliate India this way flouting all international norms. They proved the extent to which they can degrade humanity. However, the Indian soldiers did not break while undergoing all this unimaginable barbarism, which speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour - something all of India should be proud of. Sacrificing oneself for the nation is an honour every soldier would be proud of, but no parent, army or nation can accept what happened to these brave sons of India . I am afraid every parent may think twice to send their child in the armed forces if we all fall short of our duty in safeguarding the PRISONERS OF WAR AND LET THEM MEET THE FATE OF LT.SAURABH KALIA.It may also send a demoralising signal to the army personnel fighting for the Nation that our POWs in Pak cannot be taken care of. It is a matter of shame and disgust that most of Indian Human Rights Organisations by and large, showed apathy in this matter.

Through this humble submission, may I appeal to all the civilized people irrespective of colour, caste, region, religion and political lineage to stir their conscience and rise to take this as a NATIONAL ISSUE !!! International Human Rights Organizations must be approached to expose and pressure Pakistan to identify, book and punish all those who perpetrated this heinous crime to our men in uniform. If Pakistan is allowed to go unpunished in this case, we can only imagine the consequences. Below is the list of 5 other soldiers who preferred to die for the country rather than open their mouths in front of enemy -

1. Sep. Arjun Ram s/o Sh. Chokka Ram; Village & PO Gudi. Teh. & Dist.Nagaur, (Rajasthan)

2. Sep. Bhanwar Lal Bagaria h/o Smt. Santosh Devi; Village Sivelara;Teh.&Dist.Sikar (Rajasthan)

3. Sep. Bhikaram h/o Smt. Bhawri Devi; Village Patasar; Teh. Pachpatva;Distt.Barmer (Rajasthan)

4. Sep. Moola Ram h/o Smt. Rameshwari Devi; Village Katori; Teh. Jayal;Dist.Nagaur(Rajasthan)

5. Sep. Naresh Singh h/o Smt. Kalpana Devi; Village Chhoti Tallam;Teh.Iglab; Dist.Aligarh (UP)

9 Comments:

At January 16, 2008 3:49 AM , Anjali said...

I can find my own mistake.. Instead of writing soldiers, I have written soliders.. please excuse me.. thats the typing mistake..
At January 17, 2008 3:35 AM , Ullas said...

I dont think Lt. Saurav Kalia was the first to detect enemy presence. Enemy presence was detected before his operation started (if I'm not wrong).

Regarding PoWs in Pakistan, there are a lot of conflicting reports but none that can be verified. I agree that the Indian government has been way too lax on this issue and now it may even be too late.
At January 17, 2008 3:51 AM , Amit said...

I'm not one for politically motivated issues. The entire India/Pakistan issues seems to be politically charged. It can't be that one party is at fault here - again, I'm referring to the political parties on both sides. Brave members of the armed forces have been killed for years and no one cares a hoot.

I agree, there are conflicting reports. Some blown out of proportion. But before we start pointing a finger at Pakistan, lets look at our own heinous crimes (and that too against our own countrymen). Nandigram and the Gujarat riots are prime examples. How are perpetrators of such crimes any better? And what's more, we have elected them to high ranking positions. How are we as a society any better?
At January 17, 2008 6:45 AM , Crime Master said...

@ Amit

I think pinpointing gujarat is being a bit too harsh - riots happened when Indira Gandhi was assassinated, and when Babri Masjid was demolished.. there were bomb blasts in important city where hundreds lost their lives. And when the leaders of the respective states were not able to control the riots, you cannot blame Modi all the time! I'm not saying he's innocent, but it's not entirely his fault.

And that he has come back to the power - he is a democratically elected leader, by a strong majority, and in that case, we should respect the choice of the people.

Of course, entirely my views.

ps - to the uninitiated, I'm Amit's sister in law, i.e. Vishwa's sister! :-)

pps - the word verification is really annoying - can it be disabled? :P My eyesight deceives me and I end up writing wrong letters! :P
At January 17, 2008 8:15 PM , Amit said...

I agree - its not entirely Modi's fault - but as a leader he should claim full responsibility. In any case, my anger is also toward the people of Gujarat - not for electing Modi again, but for actively participating in the Gujarat riots and equating Muslims to terrorists. And yes, Babri Masjid and the 1984 riots are equally ghastly - we have a history of targeting minorities.
At January 17, 2008 10:03 PM , Vishwa said...

War is never a good thing. And prisoners of war always face horrifying consequences. The Iraqi POWs at Guantanamo Bay faced such humiliation, but the soliders still don't stop fighting for their country and whats worse, the party with the upper hand will always continue to override human rights even after all the hue and cry by the HROs all over the world. And I don't agree that parents will think twice before sending their kids for serving in the armed forces just because of the heinous acts committed on POWs. A soldier who'll go on the front line will be prepared for anything I guess - dying or getting mutilated in a battle or as a POW.

A lof of american soldiers did not support the war on Iraq, but they still went ahead and faught in Baghdad because it was their duty. Some things are done just because it is the honorable thing to do and because you signed up for it in the first place.

Of course that doesnt mean that countries should get away with treating POWs so badly and there should definitely be some stand on that front.
At January 18, 2008 2:15 AM , Ullas said...

I don't think the discussion ever was about Gujarat, Nandigram, Blue Star, anti-Sikh riots.

It's a simple issue - that of Indian PoWs in Pakistan. There are reports they're alive in the Balochistan area. Most of them are reportedly mentally deranged by now due to the continuing sexual and mental abuse by their captors.

Again, this is what I have read and seen in films and documentaries. It's very difficult to really ascertain the truth here.

What can we do for the PoWs? That's a point to ponder.

It's in cases like these that urgency is critical. Today, we are supposedly at peace with Pakistan so taking up this issue would be pointless. Also, most of the PoWs there are from the 1971 (2?) war. It's now way too late.
At January 21, 2008 12:01 AM , Amit said...

I agree - the issue is not about Nandigram or the Gujarat riots or terrorist acts in Assam. Its about crimes against humans and humanity.

My arguement is pretty simple - we are angered by what Pakistan does to our POWs (and we should be) but how come we are not really as angered by the crimes against our people by our own people. In any case, that's not really what the article is about, I just can't understand how we keep blaming others when we ourselves are not tolerance personified.

And, yep I agree with Vishwa as well - I don't think parents will think twice before sending their kids to the armed forces. The armed forces have been making sacrifices for long, and will continue to do so.
At January 21, 2008 7:48 AM , Ullas said...

@ Amit

Absolutely! I think we should have the same yardstick to judge our homebred criminals and the ones across the border. In a lot of ways, Pakistanis treating PoWs inappropriately is a lesser issue.

Army men are given a job where they are not allowed to be governed by their sentiments. When they are asked to kill, they kill. If they don't, they'll be dead. It's political rivalry.

But some of our local leaders didn't bat an eyelid while picking out a foetus with a sword. Who is worse?

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Hats off to our Indian Soliders..!!!

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