The
Sunday supplement of “ Mathrubhumi “ Newspaper dated 13-9-2015 narrated the
hardships faced by a brave
ex-serviceman, who fought three wars for India with
an iron will
and
resolve. The story made
very painful reading and has
left a sense
of heaviness in my heart. Here it goes :
Part one – Yuddha
Bhoomi – Battle Field :
Sri.C.V.Krishnan
Nair, ( 81 years ) currently resides in Taliparamba,
Kannur, Kerala
State.
He saw
active combat in the
1962 war with China,
the 1965 and 1971
wars with Pakistan.
Death of fellow servicemen and colleagues, destruction of military
hardware, civilian
infrastructure did not weaken him a bit . Rather they made him
much stronger in body,
mind and soul.
Born
as one among
the six children
of Chindan Nair (
a military personnel ) of Thrichambaram Village of Kannur District, Sri.C.V.Krishnan Nair joined military
service in 1958
at the age
of 23 and
was attached to the 9th Battalion of Madras Regiment. He had his
first posting in Kashmir and soon after got drawn
into the 1962 Indo – China
war. Sri.Krishnan Nair was exposed to the vagaries of nature and also the
hardships of battle.
During
the 1965 war, Sri.Krishnan Nair was posted at Punjab. The Pakistan army crossed the Ichchogi
canal and attacked the Indian forces. It
was a bloody conflict which resulted in heavy material and human loss to Pakistan. 71
personnel of the Madras Regiment were martyred in the
field. The Indian forces squarely defeated the enemy
and drove
them back. Sri.Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Indian Prime Minister congratulated the commendable
bravery exhibited by the Madras Regiment
personnel.
Sri.
Krishnan Nair was posted at
Barmer in Rajasthan
during the 1971 war. The Indian army’s operation
was codenamed “ Cactus Lily “, which. crowned our forces
with astounding success and glory.
Sri.Krishnan Nair suffered minor injuries in the war but ignoring it, he continued in service till 1976, when on health reasons
he got discharged from the army as a “ war victim “, and returned to civilian
life. Sri.Krishnan Nair had hoped for a happy transition from strenuous service
to peaceful retired life, after leaving the army. But destiny had charted the
course for another vicious battle in his
life, which has been so tiring, troublesome, cantankerous for Sri.Krishnan Nair, than the blood soaked war
fields that he had treaded upon.
Part Two – Bhoomi
Yuddham – Battle
for Field :
Taking
into consideration his service record and contribution, the Government of India
granted 2-60 acres of land to
Sri.Krishnan Nair at Adoor
Village in Kasaragod
District of Kerala in 1970 and handed over the ownership records for the same
in 1972. Physical injuries and illness
prevented Sri.Krishnan Nair from visiting his land for quite some time. But
by then it was encroached upon by the
neighbours, who claimed ownership to the land, even though the Revenue
Department Officials confirmed Sri.Nair’s
ownership over the said lands.
Sri.Nair’s
travesty started then and has extended for over three decades now with no sign of
decisive action taken on the part of the bureaucracy and the Department
Officials towards delivering the land granted to him by the Government of
India. It is more ironic to note that he
has been dutifully paying the taxes on
the subject land till date, without being in a position to enjoy the benefits
accruing from it.
Official
apathy forced Sri.Krishnan Nair to move his case to the Judicial Adalat which
passed an order in February 2005 directing the Officials to handover possession
of the subject land to Sri.Krishnan Nair within a period of five months. The order remained only on paper and nothing
concrete came out of it. As a soldier Sri.Nair could fight and defeat the
enemies in the battlefield, but as a
civilian he could not win over the treacherous maneuvers of the neighbours abutting his land and the indifference
exhibited by the officials.
Wearied
by age and haunted by insults, Sri.Krishnan Nair’s son-in-law extended a
helping hand and took the cause on his behalf and opened another front in the
battle for justice.
In
2009 a survey was conducted by the Revenue Department officials after visiting
the concerned site. The report submitted
by the Kasargod Tahsildar ran on these lines – “ An extent of 2-60 land granted
by the order of L.A.15/70 in Adoor village stands in the name of one
Sri.Krishnan Nair in Government Records. But it seems that Sri.Krishnan Nair
has since expired “
It is poignant to note that
Sri.Krishnan Nair did not embrace death in the three wars that he fought for India, but he
was martyred by the Revenue Department Officials. Can there be a more glaring
example of official callousness and irresponsibility shown to a brave son of India?
This
shocking revelation and lackadaisical bureaucratic attitude forced Sri.Krishnan
Nair to place the matter before
Sri.A.K.Antony, the then Honourable Defence of Minister of India
in 2009. The Respected Minister sought a detailed report on the episode,
advising it to be treated as a matter of utmost importance and urgency. Nothing
came out of this effort too. The matter was then taken in person to
Sri.Rajendran, the then Honourable
Revenue Minister of Kerala
State when he visited Kasargod, who in turn sought a report from his department officials,
directing them to look into the matter in earnest and bring it a finality. There was no progress worth mentioning..
Out
of desperation and exhaustion Sri.Krishnan Nair approached the Kerala High
Court which in its order dated 30-06-2014 directed that the concerned land be
handed over to Sri.Krishnan Nair within a period of six months from the date of
the order. But even after a
year, things are
in a cul-de-sac,
with the file not making the slightest movement in the official corridors. Great
Isn’t ? The efforts initiated by the
Human Rights Commission towards bailing out Sri.Krishnan Nair from this impasse
also got defeated.
Age
and exhaustion has slowed and wearied Sri.Krishnan Nair. The final point blank
range shot came as a bolt from the blue in February 2015, when the Revenue
Adalat had a sitting at Kasargod in the presence of Sri.Adoor Prakash, the current Revenue Minister of
Kerala. When questioned by him as to how
this problem could be solved and put an end to, the Revenue Officials spelt out
the following answer – “ It is not possible to grant 2-60 acres
of land. At the most we can give 50
cents and that’s it “ Fleeting time
had not only diluted Sri.Krishnan Nair’s physical strength and mental agility,
but had also shrunk and narrowed the
quantum of land allotted to him. What
can be said of this pathetic situation? Who is to be made responsible and
questioned for the mental torture and agony inflicted on a dedicated serviceman,
who has fought for our nation ?
I
would like to inform the readers that three family members of Sri.Krishnan Nair
( 2 sons and 1 son-in-law ) are currently
serving in Indian Military.
The
collective voice raised by scores of ex-servicemen for grant of One Rank One
Pension (OROP) has been heard by the Defence Ministry. In unison, it reached a crescendo so as to hog the limelight
and attention. Will the solo, feeble voice of Sri.Krishnan Nair ever reach the ears of the Government
Officials for due redressal?
It
is time the present Defence Minister and
the Government of India step in and initiate earnest efforts towards soothing the bureaucratic wounds caused on
Sri.Krishnan Nair’s physic and psyche, thereby bringing much needed peace of
mind and happiness to him for the remaining part of his worldly existence.
Jai
Hind.
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