I have just returned from a visit to Colombo-my first since the end of conflict.The first part of my visit was devoted to Confidence Building Measures in South Asian Waters. A group of academics,analysts and very senior Naval officers grappled with issues that cause accidents and animosity. When such incidents are prevented as in this case, they turn into great opportunities for cooperation.
The second part was to deliver a talk at the well established Defence Services Command and Staff College where I was received with warmth and courtesy. But that is another story. Let me narrate the story relevant to most. How do we honour sacrifices of Soldiers and in particular those who make the supreme sacrifice. We have been debating and "Actively Considering" the need to build a war memorial for our own soldiers,Sailors and Airmen for very nearly 40 years. Jaw-jawing without results. Any number of excuses without concrete measures-all too familiar. "We are like that only" some would say.
See what the Srilankans have done. They have erected a simple but elegant memorial in honour of our gallant military men who laid down their lives during the Indian Peace Keeping Operations(IPKF) .Every single name is engraved for those who wish to remember and touch them. I am told that senior Indian officials do lay a wreath there. Whether the tourists from India are aware of the memorial is not clear to me.
The war memorial is very close to their own memorial. It is not that some empty space was made available for us. It is the prime location in the vicinity of the imposing Parliament structure.I found the visit to be an emotional experience.The Indian Military was ordered to move to Srilanka by the Government of India without adequate preparations. Many precious lives were lost and who remembers them now. It is not even a foot note in our history. Many valuable lessons on Higher Defence Management were never learnt. Each service of our military operated independently with bare minimum cooperation.
To top it all, our Prime Minister who was to inaugurate the Memorial during his visit to Colombo failed to do so. The specially prepared plaque remained covered, as if to cover our shame. No prizes for guessing. Coalition Politics and pressure from Tamilnadu..Having laid down his life does the poor soldier deserve this neglect? Do we have a National perspective of National interests or are we regionally driven solely by Regional agenda? When will we stop being apologetic and stop using coalition politics as an excuse for lack of spine?
And now to some observations.Peace has brought its dividends. Flurry of infrastructure development, tourism,easy and uninhibited movements during day and night. More and more relaxed and cheerful faces on the streets.Paradoxically, boat full of illegal emigrants running away from Srilanka were intercepted by the Srilanka Navy.What were they running away from? Trained man power vanishes faster than they can be trained. Population is set to drop rather precipitously.. According to an expert the replacement figures have dropped to 0.75(2.1 is the rate required to sustain existing levels) Labour is hard to find. There are speculations that Indian Labour would need to be brought in to sustain construction activities.
Lastly my bank called me to check whether I had used my credit card in Srilanka. On hearing an affirmative response from me, they conveyed their recommendation to immediately replace my card. They claim that disproportionately large number of cases of data compromise of cards for malafide use, emanate from Colombo.This is a multinational bank and their facts and figures of locations abroad are reported to be authentic. Here is one way of using technology to get rich' quickly'.
