Saurabh Kalia
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| Captain Saurabh Kalia | |
|---|---|
| 29th June 1976 - 21 June 1999 | |
| Place of birth | Amritsar, India |
| Allegiance | India |
| Years of service | 1 year |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) IC No. 58522F |
| Battles/wars | Kargil conflict |
Contents |
[edit] Personal life
Saurabh Kalia was born on 29 June 1976 at Amritsar, India to Mrs. Vijay and Dr. N.K.Kalia. His schooling took place in the D.A.V. Public School, Palampur. and he graduated (B.Sc. Med.) from H. P. Agriculture University, Palampur in 1997. He was brilliant in studies securing first Division and winning scholarships throughout his academic career.[citation needed]
He was a naturalist. Bird watching and trekking were amongst his favourite hobbies, besides being excellent in cooking. He was strong - willed and very quiet in nature, soft-spoken and exceptionally good listener.[citation needed]
[edit] Career
He was selected in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in August 1997 through Combined Defence Services and commissioned on 12 December 1998. He got posting in the 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) in the Kargil Sector and joined there in mid-January, 1999 after reporting at the JAT Regimental Centre, Bareilly on 31 December 1998.
[edit] Fateful events
In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went out for patrol duty three times in the Kaksar area of Kargil. He observed and reported large-scale intrusion of Pak Army and foreign mercenaries in Indian side of LoC (Kargil). He assumed guard of "Bajrang Post" at the height 13,000-14,000 feet to check infiltration along with 5 soldiers in the Kaksar area.[citation needed]
On May 15, 1999, after a continued cross fire with Pakistan armed forces from across the LoC, he and his troops ran out of ammunition. They got ambushed by a platoon of Pakistan rangers and were captured alive before any Indian reinforcement could reach for their help. No trace of this entire patrol was left and Skardu Radio of Pakistan reported that Lt. Saurabh Kalia and his five men were captured alive.
They were in their captivity for over twenty-two (May 15, 1999 – June 7, 1999) days and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9, 1999. The postmortem revealed that the Pakistan army had indulged in the most heinous acts; of burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, puncturing eyes before removing them, breaking most of the teeth and bones, chopping off various limbs and private organs of these soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical and mental tortures before shooting them dead.[1][2]
[edit] After death
Captain Saurabh Kalia’s parents never had the opportunity to see him in the uniform. The last words of this valiant soldier to his mother before going to Kargil were "Maa, Tum dekhna ek din aisa kaam kar jaunga ki saari duniya mein mera naam hoga" (mother, you will see one day, I will do such a deed that the whole world will acknowledge that).[citation needed]
The Himachal Pradesh Government raised "Saurabh Van Vihar" in a sprawling area of 35 acres besides renaming the road to our house as Capt. Saurabh Kalia Marg and the area as Saurabh Nagar (earlier known as Sugghar). A museum (Saurabh Smiriti Kaksha) has been raised in his house at Palampur.[3]
[edit] National outrage
The mutilated bodies were handed over by the Pakistan army on June 9, 1999. There was a national outrage over the barbarism. In what then ensued as Saurabh's parents fight for justice, they have since approached highest echelons of Indian Government and various foreign ambassadors to bring to book the perpetrators behind the tragedy. Their crusade has found millions of supporters, but neither has Pakistan Government acknowledged torture, nor has any Human Rights Group been able to get them justice.[citation needed]
The nation was further outraged since Indian Government awarded no gallantry award to these soldiers who died in the line of duty to ensure that the sovereignty of their motherland was not compromised. [4][5]
Indian public and media expressed continued disgust on the barbarism demonstrated by Pakistan. Pakistan army had violated international laws by capturing them alive but not having intimated their POW status to the Indian counterparts. They subjected them to unprecedented brutal torture that violated the Geneva Convention.[6][7][8][9]
His father maintains an online petition to build up support for his quest for justice.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ Kargil's First Hero
- ^ Notes on patriotism
- ^ A Kargil memorial in the time of war
- ^ Is this how we treat our heroes?
- ^ Letter from Ministry of External Affairs
- ^ Embassy of India press release
- ^ Embassy of India outrage
- ^ Embassy of India: Kargil & International Law
- ^ Action barbaric
- ^ 1.25 lakh e-mails endorse appeal for justice
