Indian Prisoners of War

15 Aug 2007, INDIA celebrates its 60 years of freedom; it’s the time to rejoice, the time to remember those, who gave us this freedom and also those who protected it from vested interests. India and Pakistan are marking this day by releasing prisoners of each others countries. It is indeed a very noble way of celebrating our freedom however while reading the news, my eyes were trying to find, if the prisoners freed were Prisoners of War (POW). But no, the free Indian prisoners from Pakistan were mostly fishermen and rest civilians, who had illegally crossed the borders.

I didn’t know much about POWs, until I saw this amazingly heart touching movie… 1971, Prisoners of War by Amrit Sagar. This movie is obviously about POW from the 1971 India-Pakistan war. It’s a flawless movie portraying the struggle of POW planning to escape from the prison, and what happens in between.

The climax especially would leave anyone awestruck. There are very few movies that are de-glamorized yet entertaining. And above all, an eye opener, which leaves a deep impact on the viewer. From that time on many occasions, I have thought what must be the state of these POW now.

Wish the kind of awareness hockey has got, after the movie Chakde…India, even the POW issue could get after 1971 POW…!But sadly didn’t read any such news about it, anywhere.

As I read the article about the freed prisoners, once again I restlessly look if there is any news about them. From 1971 to 2007, these army men are paying the price for keeping us safe and to think about it, what if there are similar POW from the Kargil war. According to some of the Freed Indian Prisoners coming from Pakistan, quite a lot of POW are still present in Pakistan’s secret cells. About 36 years later they are still waiting for someone to reach out to them. Some have lost their mental balance some their eyesight.

Illegally under imprisonment in Pakistan, their families must have lost hopes of their return. On the completion of 60 years of Independence; Let us pray for their Well being and hope they are soon united with their loved ones. With such patriots suffering in another land, how appropriate is the 60 years celebration??

A poem, dedicated to these POW

Dedication to POW