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| Justice evades everyone in this world, even the most disciplined gentlemen have failed to be just. |
I read ‘The
Week’ on a regular basis and have been trying to keep it that way. Why? Well,
mainly because nothing can replace print media in this world. The digitization
song NDA is trying to teach will surely echo till eternity, but may rhyme only
for a while. There’s still a newspaper over my doormat every morning; advertisers
still spend on newspaper ads and flyers; and bookstores continue to walk
shoulder to shoulder with shops selling a Kindle.
The Nyoma
mutiny was extensively covered by the digital media, but somehow, escaped a few
of us. I stumbled upon an updated version of it on The Week. Allow me to rewind
the clocks back to 2012 when a nobody sepoy Suman Kumar was allegedly beaten,
harassed, and set to trial by a pretty lopsided bench of ‘Sahab log’. The
officers argue that Suman Kumar tried to molest a senior officer’s wife. But
the other side of the story carries more weight and genuineness.
Suman Kuman
was sexually harassed by an officer’s wife, as per his version. What followed
was an endless phase of physical and mental torture for Suman who had cold
water poured on him while he was naked, in Ladakh. Just the thought of it can
freeze you to death. But Suman lived to tell the tale and to live what was left
of it.
The ill and
unjust treatment handed out to Sepoy Suman Kumar (no they’re yet to
court-martial him) ignited anger and disgust among others. Brawls between the
two groups started as Suman was found in a make-shift hospital and not an Army
hospital (as per reports, this was done to cover up the assault).
Some 119
jawans have been accused of planning a ‘mutiny’ against the senior officers,
and might as well be court-martialed in some time. This is the first mutiny of
independent India which has been carried out by jawans against officers.
Suman’s version
was supported by a certain Subedar Mahender Singh who told the court of inquiry
that Suman had mentioned it to him that a senior officer’s wife was misbehaving with
him. As per Suman, the officer’s wife did objectionable things like removing
her top in front of him, and even asked him to join her in the bed.
Why would a
sepoy make the effort of stitching together such an elaborate cover-up? That
too, after being punched in the face by Major SK Sharma, who did not even think
about questioning him first? The other two officers who beat up Suman were
identified as Major AD Kanade and Major Kapil Malik. Also, Naik Amresh Tiwari
has already told the court of inquiry that he saw Major SK Sharma, Major AD
Kanade, and Major Kapil Malik pouring cold water on Suman after taking off his
clothes. But this statement was rejected on grounds that Tiwari’s eyesight was
weak and he couldn’t see beyond 10 meters. I don’t know how much truth that
carries but I sure hope that Naik is not the only one left with ammo when the enemy surrounds Major SK Sharma and Co. in the battlefield.
It’s
outrageous to jump to conclusions, but after three years of courtroom chatter,
there’s enough evidence (for the sane bunch) supporting Suman’s claim. The
jawan-officer divide has plagued the army for long now. A batman is technically
meant for helping out with official clerical and non-clerical work. But some
officers, like Major SK Sharma here, have been sipping on too much whiskey and
have forgotten that slavery was abolished years back.
I refrain from judging the situation, I leave it to the reader. You may argue that the manner in which this write-up has been framed seems to favor Suman. To this, I quote Voltaire, who once said, "I disagree with what you say, but I shall defend to death your right to say it".
I refrain from judging the situation, I leave it to the reader. You may argue that the manner in which this write-up has been framed seems to favor Suman. To this, I quote Voltaire, who once said, "I disagree with what you say, but I shall defend to death your right to say it".
