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Families of POW blast govt, armed forces

Amberish K Diwanji

Roop Lal is back after 26 years of incarceration in a Pakistani jail. But, if some are to be believed, there are still others not so lucky, gallant men who continue to languish in a jail somewhere in Pakistan, forsaken and forgotten by the two governments in New Delhi and Islamabad.

These are the POW -- Prisoners of War -- leftover from the 1971 India-Pakistan war. And while the governments of India and Pakistan insist that there are no Indian POW in Pakistan (or for that matter, Pakistani POW in India), their relatives believe otherwise.

Damayanti Tambey is one such hopeful. Twenty-eight years after her husband of a mere 18 months, Flight Lieutenant V V Tambey went missing on a sortie, she is convinced that he is still alive in a Pakistan jail.

"I have been waiting all these years, I can wait a few more years," she said, "but what hurts is that no one seems to care. Not the government, not the armed forces, no one."

Tambey believes her husband is still alive. A few years after the 1971 war, Time magazine published a story with five photographs of Indians lodged in Pakistani jails. One of the pictures was that of Flight Lieutenant Tambey.

"That is not the only proof," added Damayanti Tambey. She said that Victoria Sheffield, who authored Bhutto Trial and Execution , wrote in her book that in the cells next to where Bhutto was jailed were some Indian POW. Bhutto was hanged in 1978.

Like Tambey, there are 54 families all over India who still believe that their nearest and dearest did not die in 1971 but are alive, somewhere in a Pakistan jail. For instance, there are the Suris -- R S Suri and Bharat Suri, father and brother respectively of Major Ashok Suri. They believe their son is alive after they received a letter from him in 1974.

Dr Bharat Suri was at first unwilling to talk about the subject. But later, he let loose a torrent of anguish at the complete lack of interest in the matter by the government, the defence forces and the media.

"For 28 years we have been giving out this information, giving out proof and evidence. We have approached the government, the media and yet nothing has happened. We receive assurances from the government who promise to do everything, and then everyone, including the media, forgets our story," he said bitterly.

Suri has a point. It is the release of Roop Lal from Pakistan that only proves how callous the Indian authorities are to the serious matter of Indians in Pakistani jails.

Roop Lal's release came about through the ceaseless efforts of his daughter and son-in-law and the labours of Asma Jehangir, chief of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission. The Indian government was a mere spectator!

"We have no faith in the government," said an angry Damayanti Tambey. Asked if she is hopeful, she shrugs, "It is better not to think or expect. Everyone thinks we are mad, that we are chasing an illusion. They forget that we do so because we have specific reasons for doing so. And as long as we are alive, we will hope and try, though we don't expect anything much," she said.

Tambey and the other affected relatives have formed an informal grouping called Missing Defence Personnel Relatives Association, which is led by R S Suri. The group holds meetings and has made representations to the government, to little avail so far.

The Indian Army denies the presence of any Indian POW. "We have checked and cross-checked through our official lines and also through our sources. And we do not have any such case," said a senior army officer.

The army officer also pointed out that Roop Lal's case was different in the sense that he had been jailed on charges of spying.

Nevertheless, Tambey and the others retain a flicker of hope. "We don't expect anything from the Pakistani government, which would never like to admit that it is still holding Indian POW," said Tambey. "But we are now in touch with Asma Jehangir who was instrumental in getting Roop Lal released."

She added that beyond the politics of India and Pakistan, the governments must remember that there are human lives and families involved. "Tell me, after 28 years, what harm can any POW do? Why not release them so that they can spend the rest of their lives with their own families. That is all that we ask for," she lamented.

Suri said that he and the others were tired of running around in circles for so many years. "We are just individuals with limited powers and abilities. In the end, the pressure to find any POW has to come from the government, from the officials, and from the media who must put pressure on the government to act. But no one seems to care, everyone is just busy with their own lives," he said angrily.

Tambey added that the relatives have been trying through various media, but in vain. She then looked hopeful, "Can the Internet help?"

I replied truthfully that I was not too sure. But despite the crushing years of wait, she remains optimistic.

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