Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
By Dheeraj Fartode
CRPF is the largest paramilitary force of country and was established on July 27, 1939 as Crown Representative Force. The primary task of the force was to help the Princely States to preserve Law & Order situation. Independence of the country marked an important watershed in the history of the Force which was renamed as Central Reserve Police Force. While speaking in parliament, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel the first Union Home Minister visualised a multidimensional role for it in tune with the changing needs of the newly independent nation. The Force was presented colors in a glittering ceremony on March 19, 1950 by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
As the demand continued to increase, the Force grew in size from 01 unit to 236 units. It was the CRPF which bore the brunt of the first onslaught of the Chinese at Hot Springs (Ladakh) on October 21, 1959 when a small CRPF patrol was ambushed and was outnumbered by the Chinese Army. In the ensuing skirmish, as many as 10 CRPF men laid down their lives for the motherland. Their Martyrdom on October 21 is observed throughout the country as the Police Commemoration Day.
A small contingent of 2nd Bn. CRPF repulsed the 3500 men strong Pakistani Brigade attack on April 9, 1965 at Sardar Post in Gujarat in which 34 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the skirmish six valiant CRPF men laid down their lives at the call of duty. This day i.e. April 9th is being observed as Valour Day in the Force.
The brave Jawans once again saved the day for nation when they repulsed the fidayeen attack was on Parliament House on December 13, 2001. In exchange of fire between the CRPF and militants that continued for about 30 minutes, all the five militants were eliminated.
On July 5, 2005, five armed terrorists tried to storm the Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya. They had penetrated the outer security rings manned by the Uttar Pradesh Police. But the CRPF Jawans posted at the inner security rings, rose to the occasion and thwarted the evil designs of the terrorists, eliminating all of them on the spot. From a single Battalion in 1939 the Force has now grown to 236 Battalions, 39 Group Centres, 14 Training Institutions, 4 Base Hospitals and 17 Composite Hospitals.
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