SLICE OF HISTORY

TUKAARAM………….Who!

Travelling in a train from Hyderabad to Bangalore, got to know a young and very learned lady. While conversing on many issues, I happened to ask her “if she has heard the name of Tukaram Ombaley”. She was blank. “No I haven’t heard any such name”, she blurted. “Do you know Kasab, Ajmal Kasab?” was another question that I asked her. “Yes, he is some kind of a terrorist.” “Is he an Indian?” was my another take wanting to check her update. It was incredulous, she blurted “I think he is Indian”. She sounded just dumb. She had earlier told me that she is an MA from London. I asked a teacher in a government school back in Mangalore, the same question. “Have you heard of any body by name Tukaram Ombale?” Answer was a blank ‘No’. You heard of Ajmal Kasab? Was the question that followed. “Yes, he is that Pakistani terrorist”. She was certainly better informed. Yet she didn’t know who was this Tukaram Ombale.

In umpteen places, highly literate to semiliterate to illiterate, their response was same. They have not heard of Tukaram Ombale. Not that it was 100% but over 90% respondents certainly did not have a clue who is this Tukaram Ombale. Surprisingly this 90% included even media men.

We have heard of the idiom “Out of sight is out of mind”. While this is fairly true, also true is, out of media will render even a celebrity out of circulation and as usual media can make or break a person. But here the point is why and how we can forget an incident and therefore a person, merely because, it has been reported only a few times, even if the incident is an extremely rare happening, resulting in the supreme sacrifice of an unsung lowly placed individual in the social & administrative hierarchy.

Of course when it happened, lot of press coverage was given, he was remembered in some public places and public functions. Then it was life as usual. Most forgot him, if not all. The memory of the valour of this small, unlettered hero faded into the world of national amnesia, except those who have been reading or hearing Marathi news bulletin, since this unsung soul belonged to Maharashtra as the name suggests.

For the information of those souls, who do not know or do not remember having heard the name of this Tukaram Ombale, he is the one who’s unparalleled valour and the supreme sacrifice led to the capture of the only Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, who was caught alive. India would have had no case if this Ajmal Kasab was killed in action like other terrorists. Again for those who do not know the details of this unsung hero’s valour should know that this Tukaram Ombale was an Assistant Sub-Inspector, who was not authorised to have a revolver and thus had only a baton, as opposed to the AK 47 of terrorist Kasab. Having responded to the security alert and during the beat, coming face to face with the AK 47 wielding Kasab, what chance Tukaram Ombale had of surviving an AK 47 assault. In the event, without losing a moment, fully cognizant of the certain death in the hands of the terrorist, with the only intention of catching the terrorist alive, Tukaram embraced tightly this terrorist Kasab. Of course, despite Kasab emptying the bullets from his AK 47, into his bare abdomen, Tukaram held on until other policemen with him managed to over-power Kasab to be captured alive. Minutes later Tukaram dropped dead after giving the country a SOUVENIR, unparalleled in the annals of modern Indian history.

He is a hero, who should be made a part of the Indian folklore. He should be included in the history and social studies books of school children. Our younger generation need to know of this brave soul and feel inspired and humbled. To remember him and to remind the nation that there existed one like ASI Tukaram Ombale, and to make him part of, not just the oral history but to make the life story of this exemplary Indian, into the pages of history books of our motherland, not merely for the information of posterity but for it to live in the heart of every young child, as an inspirational beacon of light.

Assistant Sub Inspector Tukaram Ombale is probably the finest thing that has happened to contemporary India. Born poor, placed poorly by the system, that passes for governance, but when occasion came by, ASI Tukaram Ombale rose like a meteor, unmatched in 61 years before him, not likely to be matched by any of his senior most colleagues. In the line of duty there is nothing that can even remotely match his supreme sacrifice, not by accident but by embracing it with full knowledge.

What do you call him? if not,
CONTEMPORARY INDIA 'S GREATEST HERO.

J.Shriyan