Capt Saurabh Kalia

My goodness! Our government did finally muster the courage of raising the issue of torture meted out to a martyr - Capt. Saurabh Kalia with the traveling Pakistani Minister to India. Quite in contradiction to our distaste of taking issues head on.

We are a caste based hierarchical society. In the past for some castes fighting was the ordained profession. And people belonging to those castes could not deign take up any profession other than one entailing fighting for the preservation and maintenance of Dharma. The latter connoting ‘social order’ in this case. The other castes felt somewhat alienated from such causes, as those causes were too exalted for them to connect with. So martyrs were largely unsung by a vast majority, as they could not identify with them. Within the caste, such martyrs would constitute folklore, epitomize selfless sacrifice and be held as example for more of the caste. So

The caste system today in India is predominantly vestigial in most walks of life, saving matrimony, where a sense of erinaceous self preservation seems to dominate the process of mate selection resulting in in-caste marriages. But this trend too is on the decline, as how long can man made social norms dominate the natures process of mate selection.

Coming back to what I intended to write on, Capt Kalia was commissioned with the 4 Jat, and was one of the first who sighted the infiltration by the Pakistanis. He was captured and tortured. He died and was honored posthumously, but his father continues the torturous fight for justice for his son.

Capt Saurabh Kalia with his 5 men were captured by Pakistani troops and tortured for 2 weeks before their mutilated bodies were handed over the Indian authorities.

The Istanbul Convention provides very clear guidelines for certifying torture. As per the Geneva Convention, all signatories of the Geneva Convention must refrain from perpetrating torture. Pakistan is a signatory. But gory tales of torture by the Pakistani army or private militia are nothing new.

In the case of a dispute, the International court of justice Hague could be approached. I am sure, there will be justice which will clearly repudiate fatalism that Government of India is wrestling with.

Well, some people say, the Government of India is taking a very practicle stand, as taking the matter to ICJ Hague may open a pandoras box, as Pakistan may take many cases of Kashmir to same court bring negative mileage to India at a time when it leasts needs it.

But while political prudence may dictate India’s inaction on this account, it may clearly be prejudicial to the psyche of a father who still laments not only the loss of life but also the dignity of his bereaved son.