Reminiscing Capt. Anuj Nayyar on Kargil Diwas

Today, on the occasion of Kargil Diwas, I recall the fateful day in the summer of 1999, when the body of Capt. Anuj Nayyar was brought back home with full state honours wrapped in the Indian flag. He was a neighbour and the whole society in Janak Puri was there to welcome him back home.

It was the moment where for the first time in my life I experienced, a plethora of emotions from pain, to rage, to helplessness, to deep pride and many more that I couldn’t even recognize. It was heart-wrenching to see his parents trying to hold their tears with a great amount of strength. But watching his fiancée cry her heart out on seeing her life and dreams wrapped in a flag was the moment which pierced my heart. I cried like I lost someone very close that day though I hardly knew him on a personal level.

People spoke so much about his bravery and valour. He was awarded Maha Vir Chakra posthumously and even the road in front on my parents’ home was renamed as Capt. Anuj Nayyar Marg but was that all he was meant to do? He was a young man of 23, elder son of his parents, who was about to get married and he was lying in front of us without any sign of life.

Had he been alive today he would have been celebrating his 45th birthday next month, hopefully with his parents, wife, grownup children, and friends. But alas!

He was not the only one who lost his life in that war. More the 500 Indian soldiers were martyred in that war including Captain Vikram Batra (13 JAK RIF), Lieutenant Balwan Singh (18 Grenadiers), Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav (18 Grenadiers), Major Rajesh Adhikari (18 Grenadiers), Major Vivek Gupta (2 RR), Naik Digendra Kumar (Maha Vir Chakra) (2 RR), Major Padmapani Acharya (2 Rajputana Rifles), Rifleman Sanjay Kumar (13 JAK Rif), Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey (1/11 Gorkha Rifles), Major Saurabh Kalia (4 Jat) and many more unsung heroes.

India has seen many wars since independence starting from Indo-Pak war in 1947, to Indo-China war in 1962, to another two Indo-Pak wars in 1965 & 1971 and, finally Kargil war of 1999. Now another war is looming large on our head.

Till when the old parents, spouses and children will keep loosing their dreams and hopes on the altar of wars fought to feed the egos of the political class. Hasn’t mankind seen enough of them to understand that even winning side is a looser with so many orphans, widows and old left alone to fend for themselves?

Won’t we ever learn from our mistakes?