Pathankot was under siege.
All newspapers reported on 1st
page of the 4 militants killed. One of the four infiltrators killed in the
operation was shot dead as he was climbing over the 10 ft high concrete wall of
the air base. Some of our army men sacrificed their lives in protecting the
Nation. Indian Express reported that strips
of Ponstan painkiller tablets found on
the bodies of the four terrorists who were killed showed that they were made in
Karachi. Syringes as well as vials of injectible Neurobion were also found.
While some press reported it correctly – some journalists criticised that only sketchy details were made available unlike the Mumbai. This article in Telegraph, pains, makes one get madly angry too.
It reads : Martyrs make myths. The
converse could quite equally be true. When an individual joins the armed
forces, he, almost by definition, puts his life at risk. A soldier or an army
officer can actually die while doing his duty. But do all army personnel who
die while doing their duty deserve to be treated like martyrs? The death of
E.K. Niranjan, a lieutenant colonel in the Indian army, during the operation in
Pathankot is a case in point. He is the only officer to have died in the
operation. Niranjan was the head of the bomb squad, but during the combing
operation to clear the area of explosives, he was not wearing a blast-shield
uniform. He fell victim to a simple booby trap planted by the terrorists.
Niranjan also chose not to use specialized equipment like remote-controlled
robots to move a dead body. Owing to this act of bravado, or stupidity, he lost
his own life and had five of the soldiers with him seriously injured. Yet the
last rites of Niranjan were performed with full State honours, with thousands
paying their respects to him. No one is asking the question: does he deserve to
be honoured?
The question transgresses
the customary injunction regarding not speaking ill of the dead. But the
transgression is urgently required because it opens up a line of enquiry,
seldom pursued, concerning the falling standards of discipline and security in
the Indian army. The attack on the Pathankot air base exposes the lax security
and the appalling state of alertness. The fact that a lieutenant colonel went
into an operation without following the required safeguards shows that
discipline and routine are not being followed. As a result, a life was lost and
serious injuries took place. The army is, or should be, one of the institutions
commanding the highest respect in the country. But the behavior of its
officers - their persistent pursuit of their own interests, their lapses in
discipline, and even of integrity among some of them - is reducing the army to
an object of ridicule. This can only spell danger for the nation. An officer like
Niranjan should be taken to task even after his death, so that an example is
set for others not to break discipline and risk lives. The impression gaining
ground is that the entire defence top brass, from the defence minister
downwards, is involved in an attempt to cover up the lapses. There is no better
vehicle for that than the making of a martyr.
Does that incense
you ….. !! - to my another article on
Indian Army, a good friend, a very knowledgeable person had sent me this
response of Brig AN Suryanarayanan (Retd.) who had seen action in 1965 and 1971
wars. While the article in Telegraph is
to be condemned, especially for the usage ‘stupidity’ – this response should be
circulated to more and more of our friends. Spare Military Casualties from Cynicism: Brigadier A.N Suryanarayanan's
Response
How Niranjan died
:- The soldiers had killed two terrorists in same spot and as a
standard procedure the body has to be inspected thoroughly (even inserting
probes in to their chest cavity and stomach) by the NSG explosive disposal
squad, which is headed by Niranjan. Normally terrorists hide explosives in
their body which is meant for inflicting further damage.
Nirajan
approached the first body and cleared that of for handling as it did not have
any hidden explosives. The solders dragged the second body a little towards
Niranjan for him to inspect and clear. But the second body had a chest belt
based explosives hidden, which gets triggered once the belt is disturbed.
Niranjan quickly realized that it got activated and screamed the solders to
take cover. He then rolled over to the
dead body, lifted the body in air and was trying to through it away. By then
explosion got triggered and ruptured our national hero's both hands, chest
cavity, one side of face and eye.
The
reason why he was not wearing protective gear was that, it was a major combing
operation by walk in a vast 1500 acres forest type land. The bomb disposal
gears are so heavy with all that protective gears and non flexible. It is
impossible for an NSG commando to have that put on in a live operation underway
in a terrain like that. I saltute the fallen spirit and we all Indian say, you
will live through us.... your every drop of blood will continue to flow through
us... You, our immortal hero... we salute you !
We join
the Brig and salute the real Hero Lt Col. Niranjan. Brigadier Dr C R Suryanarayan is a Chennaite;
he was one of the pioneers of radiation treatment in India, having started the
first Radiation Medicine Centre in the Military Hospital at Delhi in 1957, as
Chief Medical Officer. For his contribution to the field of chemotherapy in
cancer treatment, he was given a
lifetime achievement award by the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University.
Read this
too : The Kerala
Cabinet on Wednesday decided to adopt the family of Lt. Col. E.K. Niranjan, the
NSG commando who was killed in the Pathankot terror attack. The State will pay a solatium of Rs. 50 lakh
to the family. His wife, Radhika, will be given a government job and the entire
education expenses of his daughter, Vismaya, would be borne by the government. The
Cabinet took up the issue as the first item of the agenda, also decided to
carry out renovation to the 10-km Kollengode-Elampilassery road leading to
Niranjan’s house at a cost of Rs. 4 crore.
Making an announcement here soon after a Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister
Oommen Chandy said the Cabinet ratified the recommendation of Labour and Skills
Development Minister Shibu Baby John to rename the Elampilassery government ITI
as Lt. Col. Niranjan memorial government ITI.
Similarly, the stadium coming up as part of the Palakkad Medical College
campus would be named after the commando.
Now,
please do read the first para again !!!! Saluting
the Nation’s bravest son
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
8th Jan 2016.
