Remembering our heroes
PANKAJA SRINIVASAN
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How many memorials do you know that pay homage to soldiers who fought and died for India? Here are two of them.
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PHOTO: K. ANANTHAN
TRIBUTE: The Memorial at Wellington, the Nilgiris.
"Their's not to reason why, Their's but to do and die" -
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Lord Alfred Tennyson
As the wind whooshed and whistled about us, we stood with heads bowed to pay respect to soldiers we had never heard of till then.
It was Independence Day and the year was 1994. And we were in a place called Chushul close to the Indo-Chinese border standing before Aahir Dham or the Shaitan Singh Memorial situated not far from where a fierce battle had been fought between the Indians and the Chinese in 1962. It was the Battle of Rezang La. Major Shaitan Singh and the jawans he commanded, fought valiantly.
They succeeded in holding off the Chinese from making fresh inroads into Indian territory. Their acts of bravery saved the lives of many that day.
In gratitude their brother soldiers built the Memorial. And on a plaque it is written:
"How can a man die better than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods."
To the sacred memory of the Heroes of Rezang La, 114 Martyrs of 13 Kumaon who fought to the last man, last round against hordes of Chinese on November 18, 1962. (Built by all ranks 13th Battalion, The Kumaon Regiment).
In a couple of days we are going to be celebrating our 59th year of Independence. Our history books tell us all about our great freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehruji, Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel and others, but what do we know about the thousands who gave up their lives so that we may live, like the martyrs of Aahir Dham?
Did you know that there is a memorial closer home at Wellington in the Nilgiris? It honours the soldiers of the Madras Regiment that is the oldest infantry regiment in the Indian Army. In black and grey granite the obelisk stands with the words, "It is glory to die doing one's duty" emblazoned proudly at its base.
Hundreds of names
Gleaming brass plaques have the names of hundreds of the Madras Regiment soldiers who have laid down their lives in various battles and operations.
Some of these soldiers have taken part in the Second World War campaigns, in the J&K campaigns, in the Indo-Pak wars, at Nagaland in 1971 and so on. Their bravery and sacrifice is kept alive in memorials like these.
Every morning, smartly turned out soldiers from the Madras Regiment, wipe and polish the memorial till it shines and lovingly tend to the plants planted around. A fresh wreath of flowers is laid at the base of the memorial each day, as if to say "This is to `thank you', because you laid down your lives so that we may breathe free."
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