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 CAPTAIN.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)
Yours truly,
Dr.N.K. Kalia (Captain. Saurabh Kalia’s father)
Saurabh Nagar,
Palampur-176061
Himachal Pradesh.
Why the NDA government, at the time of the Kargil intrusion and the current UPA government ignore this heartfelt plea from the father of an Indian soldier?
Nobody seems to have cared about the fact that the Soldiers Dr.N.K. Kalia is talking about were brutally tortured by pakistani soldiers,throwing to the wind every norms of international rules.Why the Indian government did not pursue this after making some protest noise initially?Why this was not taken up at the international level?
It's a real shame that we did not do any thing to avenge the inhuman torture inflicted on our Soldiers.
Also it's amazing that India keep trying.Trying to talk peace with pakistan.Having peace talks with the leaders of a country who did not even respect POWs is an utter wastage of time.As long as pakistanis pursue the single point agenda of somehow harming India,as long as there are terrorist training camps churning out lunatics,there is no scope for peace.India should change.India should be tough.It's time to wake up atlast.Or else we will be killed in our sleep..
Now read below(Content Courtesy:Rediff).This is very significant :
Dr N K Kalia,had written to every important department in government, to the prime minister, to every embassy and consulate he could find addresses of, to take up the case of human rights violations and the flouting of the Geneva Convention by Pakistan.
Jaswant Singh, then the external affairs minister and a former soldier himself, replied that the matter would be raised with Pakistan at every opportunity.
In Dr Kalia's thick file of letters, there are some written on impressive letterheads after his son's tragic death.
The British high commission -- 'We are seeking from the Indian Army a full report of the postmortem, unfortunately without any success so far.'
Israel -- 'Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Pakistan.'
Germany -- They had contacted the ministry of external affairs and had not received a reply.
"If this had happened to American or Israeli soldiers the culprits would have been hounded around the globe. I received assurances from the government, but in due course the matter got diluted," says Dr Kalia.
Pakistan denied the torture of the six soldiers and rejected India's demand to punish the guilty.
"It was Saurabh's sacrifice that awoke a sleeping nation to the intrusion," says his father, "I will pursue the case with whatever strength I have till I am no more."
The above responses make it amply clear that the India Government did nothing,absolutely nothing to get the guilty punished..
It's really unbelievable..
Read below full report about what happened to the 6 brave soldiers.
Courtesy :http://www.geocities.com/siafdu/kalia.html
Born in Palampur district in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Captain Saurabh Kalia was brilliant in academics and effortlessly secured scholarships throughout his schooling years. After completing his graduation in May 1997, Saurabh was selected in the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun in August 1997, through the Combined Defence Services and was commissioned on December 12, 1998.
Lt. Saurabh was posted with the 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) in the Kargil Sector. In the first fortnight of May 1999, he went out for Patrol Duty three times to check the infiltration in the Kaksar area of Kargil. Lt. Saurabh was hailed as the First Officer to give information of the large-scale intrusion of the Pakistan Army and infilitrators in the area.
After the intrusion was detected in area, his Commanding Officer deputed a slightly older Junior Officer to check the strategic Bajrang Post. Lt. Saurabh, however, volunteered to go there himself and went in place of the deputed officer. Here, the troops were fired upon by the enemy. These brave Indian soldiers kept fighting as reinforcements couldn't reach in the day, any movement in the daylight would come under the direct enemy fire.
The Indian troops ran out of ammunition, their signal instrument went out of order and finally they got encircled by about 200 Pakistan soldiers and were captured alive, before the reinforcement reached at that height.
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 to June 6-7, 1999) days and subjected to unprecedented brutal torture as evident from their bodies handed over by Pakistan Army on June 9,1999. They did not break while undergoing this unlimited barbarism. This speaks volumes of their patriotism, grit, determination, tenacity and valour and the whole nation is proud of them.
The enemy indulged in the most heinous act of burning their bodies with cigarettes, piercing ear-drums with hot rods, removing eyes, chopping off various limbs and organs of these soldiers besides inflicting all sorts of physical and mental tortures before shooting them down. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's skull was fractured and most of the bones and teeth broken. He had a bullet injury in the temple indicating that he was finally shot dead.
History testifies that all great souls suffer. The enemy violated all laws by capturing the Indian troops alive and failed to inform the Indian Army about their POW status. The six Indian men in uniform were subjected to unprecedented brutal torture that violated the Geneva Convention to which both India & Pakistan are signatories.
"Maa, Tum Dekhna Ek Din Aisa Kaam Kar Jaunga Ki Saari Dunia Mein Mera Naam Hoga" -- mother, you will see one day I will do such a deed that the whole world will acknowledge that. At Bareilly (JAT Regiment Centre) Lt. Saurabh Kalia had said, "I am proud that I have joined 4 JAT and one day 4 JAT would be proud that Saurabh Kalia joined this regiment."
The last time Lt. Saurabh rang up his home on April 30, 1999 to congratulate his younger brother Vaibhav on his 20th birthday. He had promised to return home before June 29, 1999 to celebrate his 23rd birthday with his parents and his dear brother. A true Indian soldier, Lt. Saurabh kept his promise, only he returned in a coffin.
The family including his parents did not have the opportunity to see their dear son in the olive green uniform of the Indian Army. His dead body arrived even before his first salary cheque was cleared. Lt. Saurabh Kalia's anguished brother had not met the uniformed-brother since he was commissioned in December 98, expect for brief one-hour meeting at a crowded railway station.
Destiny played a cruel joke on this great believer of Lord Bajrang Bali (Hanuman), Lt. Saurabh was captured at the Bajrang Post and laid down his life in the "Operation Vijay", the name of his mother Vijay Kalia.
"The birthday gift I wanted was that we celebrate his birthday jointly. He came well in advance. But in a coffin", said Vaibhav Kalia. "His death does not hurt us. A soldier is meant to kill or get killed. But Saurabh was murdered by Pakistanis who tortured him for 21 days," he added. Vaibhav identified the body "by the eyebrow...there was little else left." Saurabh's mother Vijay Kalia grieves quietly but breaks down when talking about the signs of torture on the body. Saurabh's father Dr Narender Kalia made an appeal, through a letter to the editor of a daily, to the public to condemn the Pakistan act of torturing and killing prisoners of war.
Showing a pile of supportive letters and over a lakh of signatures he has received from all parts of the world, Vaibhav says, "Though Saurabh is gone, now all the army soldiers are like Saurabh to us. We must expose (Pakistan) for what they are and put a full stop to that."
On June 12, 1999, Thousands of people, who had assembled at Palampur for the cremation of Lt Saurabh Kalia, bid a tearful farewell to the valiant officer. A five-hour delay in the arrival of the coffin did not deter anyone from braving the scorching heat.
The body of Saurabh Kalia was flown in from Delhi by an Indian Air Force chopper and was received by senior Army officers, the civil authorities and senior politicians at the Army helipad. ``Well done, my son. You have done your job. May every home produce a son like you so that the enemies dare not touch the territorial sanctity of our country,'' said Vijay Kalia as soon as the coffin was taken out off the helicopter. The body was accompanied by Major Sudhir Mohan Kalia, Lt Saurabh Kalia's uncle, who is serving in the mechanized infantry.
The body of the Army officer was then taken in a procession from Holta to Pragati Maidan via the residence of the Kalias(where the religious rites were performed) in Tika Sughar. Army pall bearers led by Col Sarat Sharma, carried the coffin as hundreds of mourners stood on both sides of the road to salute the hero. People showered flowers on the coffin of Lt Kalia as it passed through the town to be taken to the cremation ground. The procession included a convoy of vehicles led by hundreds of scooter-borne youths of Palampur. Cries of ``Saurabh Kalia amar rahe'' rent the sky.
The body, draped in the tri-colour, was taken to the cremation ground. It seemed as if the entire town had assembled to pay respect to the young officer on his final journey. Wreaths were laid on the body on behalf of the President of India, by senior Army officers, the Governor and the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. Former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, Minister Ravinder Thakur, MLAs Dulo Ram, Vipin Parmar, B.B.L. Butail and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Sat Mahajan also placed wreaths.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as the last rites of the officer were performed. A sense of national pride prevailed as people raised slogans like — "Saurabh Kalia amar rahe" and also anti-Pakistan slogans. Kalia was given a state funeral with full military honours. The jawans saluted the martyr and sounded the last post as Vaibhav Kalia lit the pyre among the chanting of mantras.
The government decided to name the locality where the house of Lt Kalia is located as Saurabhnagar. The former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Shanta Kumar, informed that after consultations with the Chief Minister, it had been decided to erect a memorial to Lt Kalia. The land adjoining Neugal Cafe would be used for making this. The road next to the house of Lt Kalia would also be named after him.
In April 2001, the State Government installed a statue of Capt. Kalia at a 12-hectre sprawling environmental theme park called Lt Saurabh Van Vihar in Palampur. Capt. Kalia was a keen environmentalist and birdwatcher.
Today, tourist guide's will probably be rewritten to mention the brave hero of Palampur and Kargil Martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia, whose fate was similar to "Abhimaanyu" of Mahabharata.
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