Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
I have full sympathy, which is never less than any’s, for the bereaved family of late Havildar Niranjan Sundarray, who succumbed to a grenade injury last Wednessday at Noida when it accidentally exploded while imparting training to jawans as a part of his duty.
His body was given guard of honor on arrival at Bhubaneswar airport with floral tributes offered by ruling party MP Prasanna Patasani and the DIG of CRPF among others.
In his village Ratanpur, he was cremated with state honor as a martyr.
I have full respect for the departed soul and I wish,he should never have faced this accident.
Yet I feel, martyrization does not fit into this case.
I have discussed this issue earlier in these pages.
It is my considered opinion that death of a Jawan, that too in an accident, should never make him a martyr.
Jawans are paid for the job assigned to them. And, their job is such that death on duty is always considered a part of life.
So, death of a Jawan is a part of his job, not a gateway to martyrdom.
To a jawan who dies on duty, the nation has enough honors to offer posthumously. And, all those honors are legal. If necessary, many more honors can be created with fabulous cash prizes for welfare of his bereaved family.
But none but the freedom fighters who have sacrificed their lives for our emancipation should be honored as a martyr.
Martyrization of paid uniformed men really martyrs. The sooner the farce stops the better.