Late Captain Harshan R
2 Para (Special Forces), Indian Army
Roll No: 2776, School Captain
(Class of 97, Sainik School Kazhakootam)
The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out and meet it (Thucydides, Circa 460 BC - 400 BC)
The family lost a beloved son, the nation a hero, the army a leader and i lost my friend.
The world has surely become a grimmer place without your smile to brighten it up.
Anish Mathew
Roll No: 2767, Class of 97 (Sainik School Kazhakootam)
13 comments:
though i never met him, we knew harshan in school as our senior's brother and also as a very good sportsman...if i remember rite he had been to our school quite a few times to play with us and against us.
it is saddening to see the sacrifices made by brave young armymen like him daily and the constant wavering of the goverment at framing a concrete policy for kashmir. i am sorry for your loss, your friend will be remembered as a hero...i wish i had known him in life.
below i have pasted the news article which came in indian express which was the best i read about him... the article is archived now
...so i paste it below...anish, sorry about this comments length...but i think everyone should read how he went down.
Capital salutes its brave sons
Friday March 23 2007 09:38 IST
T’PURAM: Their families lived a few dozen kilometres apart, but it is doubtful whether the two men knew each other.
A captain with a five-year meteoric career behind him; the other, with 14 years of service, with a wife and son. It was fate’s decree that Capt Harshan R and Naik Ratheesh Kumar come home together on their final journey.
The mortal remains of the brave soldiers, slain by militants in separate encounters in the border district of Kupwara two days ago, were brought home on a New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Indian Airlines flight on Thursday evening. The city received their lifeless bodies with trembling arms.
A solemn hush fell over the airport’s crowded car-park as the olive green caskets were carried to the nearby ‘Shradhanjalisthan’ for the armed force personnel to pay homage.
“There are many people here who knew Capt Harshan personally. But I knew him personally, professionally and as a human being. Every Army man here has shed tears for him. I know that I shed tears for him. It’s a national loss,” Lt Col P Srivastava, second in command of 2 Para (Special Forces) - Harshan’s unit, said about the captain who was only 25 years old.
One by one, the Army officials and leading politicians paid homage to the heroes, as the Army band trilled the Auld Lang Syne. Harshan, from Manacaud in the city and an alumnus of Sainik School, Kazhakoottam, met his death in a fateful joint operation in the early hours of Tuesday.
Shot in the neck and thigh, Harshan mowed down two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants before he died. His colleagues gunned down two more. Earlier this month, he had killed two Hizbul Mujahideen militants.
Unmarried, he leaves behind father Radhakrishnan Nair, mother Chitra and brothers Vyasan and Manu. Harshan was expected home on leave on Thursday.
Ratheesh Kumar, 32, from Muttakkad, Venganoor, on the city outskirts, died fighting in another encounter at Kupwara on Tuesday night. He is survived by wife Anu and one-and-a-half-year-old son Rahul. He belonged to the 203 Engineers.
Ministers M Vijayakumar, K P Rajendran and Benoy Viswom represented the government at the airport. Opposition leader Oommen Chandy, Mayor C Jayan Babu and District Collector N Ayyappan were also present.
Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Army Command, the Southern Air Command, the General Officer Commanding APKTNK and the Station Commander, Pangode Military Station.
As the caskets were loaded on to the waiting ambulances, cries of Capt Harshan Amar Rahega, Naik Ratheesh Amar Rahega and Bharat Mata Ki Jai rent the air. At the airport gate, the two ambulances parted ways, both to the arms of waiting, grieving families.
The mortal remains of both Army men were consigned to flames on Thursday evening.
thank you for the article jiby, and thank you again for the nice words
anish
Thanks for putting that tribute da. Have been trying to write a couple of words on Harshan and words failed me.
Hope this brings cheers to his dear ones.
"N Prashanth bagged the fourth rank. Vyasan R and Anish Rajan secured the sixth and seventh ranks respectively. Nila Mohan came 13th, while Ramya Mohan Moothedath stood 17th and Shainamol A secured the 20th place.
Vyasan is the elder brother of Harshan, the Indian soldier who was killed in Kashmir last month.
The top rank holders are alumni of the Loyola School, Thiruvananthapuram."
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEX20070514235125&Page=X&Title=Kochi&Topic=0&
- Roopa
I have known Harshan as a coursemate in NDA.A great guy.Full of Josh.Its a great loss to our course as we lost one of the best .At the same time its a matter of pride for us.We salute him.
Oh His deeds synonyms to bravery sacrifice and patriotism I will treasure his memories -
A bypasser of this Blog
It was a bitter time when i heard the death of Naik Ratheesh kumar ,who was my cousin.To me he was Kuttan chettan who went to the force & was dreaming about having a happy life with his wife & lovely son rahul (ambadi).Fate took away his life when he had only few months to retire.
His sorrowing Mother & family lives just in front of my eyes
Please blog!
As his course mate of NDA I can only say that he was the josh box of our course. His demise is a big loss to the Indian Army and the nation.
Its been a pleasure to write or think anything about Late Captain Harshan, A true role model to the core, josh personified, a man full of determination and will power, and a passionate youth as i remember him in the National Defence Academy, Pune.Even though his junior i got an opportunity to know him personally being his pal from kerala.He has done the whole of India proud and he will remain in the hearts of the whole new generation to come.
We are indebted to the sacrifice made by Cap. Harshan
-Kapil
It's been over 7 long years since he left us and the early morning phone call telling us about his demise is still etched in mind like yesterday. His sacrifice would never be enough for words to explain or appreciate. He's terribly missed. He was more than just an officer, he was a friend, mentor and a great confidante. He'd always be in our prayers!
It's been over 7 long years since he left us and the early morning phone call telling us about his demise is still etched in mind like yesterday. His sacrifice would never be enough for words to explain or appreciate. He's terribly missed. He was more than just an officer, he was a friend, mentor and a great confidante. He'd always be in our prayers!
Post a Comment