Dear Indians,
Please take pride in Being Indian and Share the
tale of a Brave Indian Martyr. Lance Naik Kesur Ramabhai Vanvi, 33 of
221 Field Artillery Regiment died Friday, August 25, 2017 while doing
what he was proudest of; serving his country in the Army 221 field
Regiment. In the morning of 25 August he had a severe headache. He was
also feeling dizziness, was at loss of breath and was sweating very
heavily too. He straightaway went to the Army doctor, who diagnosed him
with high Blood pressure, may be a major stroke was on. The Doctor
immediately called for an Air Ambulance. Lance Naik Kesur insisted he
was alright and there was no need for an emergency evacuation, But the
Doctor knew about the seriousness of the situation. Kesur was air lifted
in an Army Aviation Helicopter but mid air Blood started oozing out
from his nose and ears, his heart was pounding heavily blood pressure
was enormous and suddenly he fell unconscious. The doctors at Leh
Military Hospital pronounced him dead on arrival. Postmortem at the
medical college revealed the cause of death as ‘stroke’.
Lance
Naik Kesur Vanvi was posted at mountainous high altitude terrain of
Drass since last 17 months. His unit location at Drass being a
non-family station, just like most of his colleagues in the Army, Kesur
was also staying without his bellowed wife at those forbidden heights.
Kesur’s unit is posted at such a remote location that there aren’t any
mobile towers in that area. The Jawans have to reach out to a nearby STD
Booth to be able to talk to their near and dear ones.
Married
since last 13 years kesur and his wife were deprived of the joy of being
parents. Every time when Lance Naik Kesur used to come on leave, their
time is spent on visiting places of worship, praying for a small gift
from the almighty. Very recently, after so many years of various
treatments and change of doctors, the couple received the ‘good news’
‘she was finally pregnant with their first child.’ In his last phone
call, Kesur promised her that he would be back before her delivery date
to be with her and to welcome their bundle of joy.
But the
almighty had another plans; He took away the only man of her life even
before the joy of having the little one in their awaiting hands is
shared. Lance Naik Kesur Vanvi has left behind a bereaved pregnant wife
and crying old age parents. A child who has not even seen the light of
day, has lost its father. Uncertainty and bleak future awaits the little
one of the diseased soldier.
This is not the first such
casualty of his unit a Naib Subedar saab who was posted in Rashtriya
Riffles (RR) was on patrolling duty the whole night. The patrolling
party came back at around 04 o’clock in the morning. They all sat
together and had their last tea that morning. Naib Subedar saab went for
a nap, never to wake up and to ascend into the deepest sleep forever.
In
the year 1984, Pakistan invaded Siachen, in the year 1999 The back
stabbing neighbours broke Simla accord, invaded and fortified Kargil,
Drass and Batalik and the rest we know is history. Since then the Indian
Army has been forced to keep the areas manned throughout the year.
Earlier, India and Pakistan used to withdraw troops from the very high
altitude areas during treacherous winter and send the troops again to
occupy those posts once the snow starts melting.
The high
altitude of Himalayas is one of the prime killers of our soldiers
besides Kashmir insurgency being the first one. Those treacherous
mountains have a unique combination of thin air and freezing
temperatures that has been challenging human abilities to survive in
extreme weather conditions.
The phenomenon of thin air, caused by
low barometric pressure, is the only environmental condition unique to
high terrestrial altitude. It imposes several physical stresses on men.
The
partial pressure of oxygen falls as well, producing arid air that holds
significantly less water vapor and reducing the amount of oxygen
available to human tissue. Hypoxia, the reduction of oxygen supply to
tissue, occurs at elevations above 5,000 feet. Hypoxia can lead to
several illnesses, some of which can prove fatal, as well as less severe
physiological effects.
Even the most physically fit men exhibit
muscular weakness and a loss of neuromuscular control above 15000 feet.
The atmosphere affects vision in several ways. Soldiers lose much of
their natural night vision above 8000 feet. Retinal hemorrhaging,
bleeding from blood vessels in the eyes, affects over half of all
soldiers at 18,000 feet. The drastic increase in ultraviolet light can
cause snow blindness and severe sunburn. The healing time of wounds
increases due to lack of oxygen, in body tissues.
Lance Naik
Kesur Vanvi’s close buddy L/Nk Jitendra remembers his friend with
saddened eyes, “I have never seen in my life a more obedient and
disciplined soldier like Kesur.” We both joined the Army in the year
2003 and were posted in the same battery. Retired Havaldar Nakumbhai of
his unit proudly states that Kesur made a lasting impression on everyone
he met with his charm, which was only surpassed by the size of his
heart. His energy, mischief, kindness and the zest for life are what his
friends and family will remember most.
Kesur will forever be
loved by those of us that he left behind. He is survived by his parents
and wife all living in Umbari villege of Gir Somnath district of
Gujarat. He will also be missed by the many friends he touched that we
now consider family. We will all miss the joy and love that he brought
into our lives, and we couldn’t be more proud of him. His last rites
were carried out with National honor and Guard of Honor by the Indian
Army on 28 August. People from nearby towns and villages flocked the
streets of Umbri villege. The nationalistic feelings and sadness of
losing a son was evident from their LOUD chants of ‘BHARAT MATA KI JAI’
and ‘KESUR BHAI AMAR RAHE’.
We consider a soldier as martyr,
only when he dies receiving a bullet. But, let me elaborate this very
clearly this time. “Each and every soldier who loses his life in the
line of his duty is a martyr.” In forbidden heights of the Himalayas,
High Altitude and oxygen less air combine to make the environment a
potent adversary. The physical and psychological stresses of high
altitude degrade all soldiers overtime, even those who are acclimated to
it.
The biggest irony of a soldier is that when he happily
sacrifices his life for the nation, those whom he has left behind are
stranded to fend for themselves. The government of the day sometimes
announces some financial aid, so does the Army but there is no National
Policy for rehabilitation and resettlement of such families.
There
are government institutions at central, state and Zilla level for
taking care of the retired Jawans as well as the Veer Naries but they
function like white elephants and have no accountability. The sainik
boards and DGR are answerable to none!
“Hum na soche hame kya mila hain.. Ham ye soche kiya kya hai arpan…”
ॐ Shanti.. Shanti...
PETTY OFFICER MANAN BHATT, VETERAN
sainikswaraj@gmail.com