By Col Sudhir Rana (Retd)
Major General David Cowan, Commander of the 17th Infantry Division, pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on Maj (later Field Marshal) Sam Manekshaw in the field, fearing he would not survive, stating “a dead person cannot be awarded a Military Cross”.
On the other hand, 14 of 21 PVC awardees after 1947 did not live to receive the recognition bestowed upon them by their nation. As many as 68 of 87 Ashok Chakra awardees were awarded posthumously.
Indian soldiers have been continuously exposed to great danger and deprivation since the time of independence. They have performed exceedingly well in all battles, and national calamities.
But in comparison, recognition by the nation has been not so prompt. The story of other gallantry awards and even highest civil awards like Bharat Ratna is same. Most of these patriots and statesmen did not live to see their services and sacrifices being recognised by their country. A dead person is oblivious to delayed recognition.
Does one have to perform like a Superhero only before one’s services are recognised? During my service, I have known several deserving cases that went unrecognised for not being in the right place or not knowing the right people. Many brilliant but honourable persons were overlooked because of their attitude or uncompromising nature.
For example, how many civilians will know the services of heroes like Lt Gen Sagat Singh? His bravery and leadership never received the recognition he so richly deserved. None of these heroes did what they had to do for the sake of awards or recognition. They did it as a duty towards their nation. Is it not our duty as a nation to recognise their bravery and noble acts in their lifetime?
On the other hand, many other countries have a much lower threshold and they try to recognise the deserving men liberally. American and British soldiers receive ribbons and gallantry awards at much lesser risk. The effort of governmental machinery is to encourage and boost morale of troops.
In our case, services of our battle hardened soldiers are not recognised easily and many of them do not live to see that day.
Is it not our duty as a nation to be more alert to recognise such heroes and statesmen, instead of pandering to the demands of pressure groups and political considerations? Nowadays, it is funny to see people and politicians demanding awards for their favourite personnel. If you really look at many such civilian awardees, you will have to work very hard to find what services they rendered to the nation. On the other hand, real heroes go unsung several times.
It is not the right time to correct ourselves?
