I t was the eve of Republic Day in 1996 which also happened to coincide with the 25th anniversary year of the Indo-Pak War of 1971. I was then the director of the Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS). One of my closest friends was Prakash Kardaley, the then dynamic Resident Editor of The Indian Express, Pune. I admired him for being a peoples’ journalist by stretching his pen beyond the news columns and addressing their issues. To facilitate this interaction, he had formed the Express Citizens’ Forum (ECF), which highlighted citizen’s issues with the powers-that-be and took them to a logical end.
Isn’t it distressing that India has no war memorial of its own, dedicated to our martyrs of the 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars?’’ There is one, he added, for the martyrs from the Navy which is in Pune, constructed by the Indian Maritime Foundation. Otherwise the government has not even thought of having an independent memorial for our war heroes, rued Prakash Kardaley. I listened to his passionate story and said, “Why don’t you have one in Pune? You could dedicate the war memorial to all the soldiers and officers from Maharashtra who were killed in wars or internal conflicts postindependence, August 15th 1947.’’
ECF had become a formidable citizens’ pressure group and its voice was heard with respect, in the corridors of the local-self and state government too.
Kardaley’s remarkable quality was that he would put his ear to the ground, listened to what others were saying, and then astutely picked up ideas that he thought were for the larger public good and doable and implement them with extreme finesse and effect. Being the first of its kind of forum launched by any newspaper in India, I too had become a member of the ECF and sometimes attended the vibrant meetings where many a senior former defence officer discussed hot issues like Late Prakash Kardaley who pioneered the National War Memorial project against the backdrop of the War Memorial, Pune garbage, bad roads, drinking water pipeline for Pune, tree plantation and so on. That was the time when the city, in its early 1990s was blossoming into an industrial destination and thus attracting an educated migrant population from all over the country. Hence, issues of urban governance and provision of basic amenities and public utilities were topmost in the minds of citizens.
Kardaley and I often met in the evenings over beer and the friendship further strengthened after his son, Amol, joined the institute. That night we happened to get talking about the Prime Minister who, on that Republic Day too, continued the tradition of laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti. As you know, the India Gate is a war memorial that commemorates the 90,000+ Indian soldiers that fought for the British and its allies and died in World War I. Under its arch is a memorial - Amar Jawan Jyoti - the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. An eternal flame burns here in memory of the Indian soldiers who died in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.
Kardaley expressed sadness at the fact that the tomb with the flame was but an offshoot of a memorial built for soldiers who fought for the British in World War I and that the small flame served as a remembrance of an `unknown soldier’ who fought the 1971 Indo-Pak War. “Is it rocket science to know the name of each and every war martyr? Isn’t it distressing that India has no war memorial of its own, dedicated to our martyrs of the 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars?’’ There is one, he added, for the martyrs from the Navy which is in Pune, constructed by the Indian Maritime Foundation. Otherwise the government has not even thought of having an independent memorial for our war heroes, he rued.
I listened to his passionate story and said, “Why don’t you have one in Pune? You could dedicate the war memorial to all the soldiers and officers from Maharashtra who were killed in wars or internal conflicts post-independence, August 15th 1947. ’’ By then we had had two bottles of beer and he seemed to be suddenly excited, his eyes twinkling, seemingly, with dreams of what to do next. I said, “Pune is a hub of the Indian army, being the headquarters of the Southern Command. Your ECF members are mostly senior retired defence officers and a large section of the readers too come from the uniformed background. So, it should be easy for you to campaign on this issue.’’
I was delighted to know that I had sowed a thought process so volatile and fertile in Kardaley’ mind that it fructified into the first ever War Memorial in South Asia that has been erected through citizen’s contribution, with names of post-independence martyrs belonging to the Army, Navy and Air Force hailing from Maharashtra, inscribed on marble.
I humbly wish to put on record that beyond germinating the idea of the noble cause and giving a donation of Rs.25,000 from the SIMS, I had no role to play in the magnificent memorial. In a magnanimous manner, Brig. N B Grant (retd.) along with stalwart former defence officers and eminent civilians worked hard to convince the Southern Command, which I must add here, was initially reluctant, to give the land for the memorial. The foundation stone of the War Memorial was laid by the then Army Chief, Gen V P Malik and was donated to the nation, a year later by the then Governor of Maharashtra, P C Alexander, on 15th August, 2000.
The War MemorialToday, the unique War Memorial of Pune stands proud in all its magnificence at Morwada Junction in Pune Cantonment. Located on Ma- hadji Shinde Road catering not only to local but also interstate vehicular traffic, the monument is already a prominent landmark of the city.
The citizens’ initiative in erecting a post-independence war memorial in Pune was preceded by celebrations in December 1996, to commemorate the silver jubilee of India ‘s decisive victory over Pakistan in 1971, leading to the birth of a new nation, Bangladesh.
Kardaley thought of a brilliant idea to hold a series of lectures by war veterans of the 1971 Indo-Pak War in the city to build up the fervour. Hosted by a joint committee of The Indian Express and citizens of Pune, this was the only citizen-oriented celebration of the silver jubilee in the country.
It was then that the need to have a post-independence war memorial was acutely felt.
A committee of citizens formed by The Indian Express resolved in January 1997 that during the golden jubilee year of independence, without waiting for the government initiative, citizens would begin the initiative of such a memorial in Pune as a mark of their gratitude for the guardians of our frontiers.
The committee under the chairmanship of Brig. Grant approached the Southern Command of the Indian Army for a suitable piece of land which was earmarked by the Pune Cantonment Board. The citizens’ committee functioned as a catalyst for fund raising. A reputed MES contractor under the supervision of the Chief Engineer, Pune Zone and HQ, Pune Sub Area, carried out the design and construction.
The citizens of Chandigarh followed the model of Pune and set up a second National War Memorial for which too Prakash Kardaley was the guiding light. The Chandigarh War Memorial is dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the country since independence and lists the names of martyrs from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh
The memorial is an 18 metre high tower dressed in cherry brown granite with marble panels carrying names of the martyrs on three sides. Names of over 2,000 officers and men hailing from Maharashtra who laid down their lives in action since August 15, 1947 till date have been inscribed on marble plaques. The names have been listed year-wise and alphabetically. A volume comprising names of all martyrs from the three services from all over the country is kept for inspection at the memorial site. Over Rs.22 lakh was collected through a lot of hard, voluntary campaigning.
However, in the December of 2008...A few years later in 2008, the Southern Command surprisingly changed the name of the National War Memorial into the Southern Command War Memorial, thus relegating the memorial to just one command. I feel saddened that such a colossal and historic effort by citizens was watered down. The Southern Command has also uprooted the board which had the names of the donors, but has promised to put it back.
Maj. Gen. SCN Jatar, Sashikant Mehendale and several other eminent citizens wrote to the Southern Command authorities urging them to retain the original name and the board. Maj Gen Jatar stated in the letter, “Sir, every rupee of the Rs.22 lakh collected by the citizenry was a result of toil and affection. At a time when neither the government nor the Indian Army had not even thought of such a memorial with names of each and every marM tyr inscribed on marble plaques to give identity to their noble sacrifice, it is the citizens of Pune who had so thoughtfully contributed towards making this historic monument.
“Moreover, the citizens who contributed substantially were promised that their names would be put up on boards at the entrance of the memorial as acknowledgement to their magnanimous contribution. Former editor of The Indian Express, late Prakash Kardaley had steered the citizens to build this unique memorial as the defence forces always felt that the civilian counterparts did not respect the noble sacrifice made by them. So, Mr Kardaley inspired the civilian citizenry to make a noble gesture which has gained historical importance in the defence and socio-cultural history of South Asia. By confining it now to just one command of the Army and by closing it to the public, you are burying an important chapter of history.’’ Thanks to citizen’ pressure, it was renamed `National War Memorial Southern Command’. Maj. Gen. Jatar and Qaneez Sukhrani are still pursuing the issue.
The citizens of Chandigarh followed the model of Pune and set up a second National War Memorial for which too Prakash Kardaley was the guiding light. The Chandigarh War Memorial is dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the country since independence and lists the names of martyrs from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It is located in the serene and beautiful Bougainvillea garden of Chandigarh and was inaugurated by the then President of India Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam on 17th August, 2006.
I am indebted to my dear friend Prakash Kardaley for having inspired the civilian citizenry to honour the brave soldier (because of whom we all can live in peace and sleep peacefully) and in whose honour two magnificent War Memorials have been built, with individual names inscribed in marble, to be remembered for posterity!
This miraculous realisation of two war memorials by citizens is a classic example of how we, as citizens, can play a pro-active role in governance and bring about the change that we want to see and be. It also points out to the fact that if the idea which has been conceived is carried out with precision and with a focussed mind, it will succeed. I am reminded of John F Kennedy’s famous statement, ``ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.’’
At the same time, it is pertinent to mention here as to why the government finds it difficult to be proactive in such issues? Does it always have to be citizens who should be picking up cudgels for the public good?
Dr (Col.) A. Balasubramanian
editor-in-chief
