In today’s scenario, we celebrate the victory of war but behind this celebration, there were many soldiers who laid their lives for their country. Some stories of war heroes are popular like Captain Vikram Batra, Captain Anuj Nayyar, Rifleman Jaswant Singh etc. but there were also some heroes who sacrifice their lives but their stories were rarely heard and his name is Captain Saurabh Kalia. He used to martyr before the war started.
CAPTAN SAURABH KALIA
Born on 29 June 1976 at Amritsar, Punjab. He is the elder son of Dr. NK Kalia and Mrs. Vijaya and brother of Vaibhav Kalia. Hs starting education was done from DAV public school in Palampur and earned his Bachelor’s degree from H. P. Agricultural University in medical science.
Through Combined Defence Services he was selected to Indian Military Academy and commissioned in 4 Jat of Jat Regiment on 12 December 1998.
Posting in Jammu and Kashmir was his first job after commissioned. From his unit, he was emplaced to Kargil sector. He associated as a Lieutenant and after it perched as Captain on the battlefield at 22.
OPERATION VIJAY
During his routine patrolling with 5 other soldiers- Sepoys Arjun Ram, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, Bhika Ram, Moola Ram and Naresh Singh of the 4 Jat battalion Pakistani intruders fired on them in revert they also fired. During the continuous cross-firing, Captain Saurab Kalia and his 5 soldiers ran out of ammunition, They informed and called for reinforcements. But before help arrived they were surrounded by the Pakistani Army and held captive.
Captain Saurab Kalia and his men were captured around 22 days. They were brutally injured and tortured by the Pakistani Army. The postmortem examination of the bodies disclosed that the Pakistani forces had tortured their prisoners in gross violation of the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war.
Capt Saurabh Kalia was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life in the service of the nation.
LEGACY
- The government of Himachal Pradesh state raised a memorial park named ‘Saurabh Van Vihar’ in an area of 35 acres (14 ha) in Palampur and renamed a street in the town ‘Capt Saurabh Kalia Marg’, and the locality as ‘Saurabh Nagar’.
- A nursing college in the proposed Vivekanand Medical Research Trust Hospital in Palampur has been raised in his memory.
- In Amritsar Kaliya’s statue has been erected in a memorial.
- A Liquefied petroleum gas agency has been allotted by the Indian Oil Corporation to Saurabh Kalia’s parents.
GENEVA CONVECTION
According to the Geneva Convention Part 2 Article 13 (General protection of prisoners of war), Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. Any unlawful act or omission by the Detaining Power causing death or seriously endangering the health of a prisoner of war in its custody is prohibited and will be regarded as a serious breach of the present Convention.
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