Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's daughter, Anita B Pfaff, has approached the Supreme Court seeking directions for the return of her father's "ashes" from Tokyo's Renkoji temple. The apex court has issued a notice to the Centre, seeking its response on the plea. This follows a previous plea by Netaji's grand-nephew which was withdrawn after the court indicated that Bose's heir should be the one to petition.
The cases, brought to light by Team Aid, a non-governmental organisation specialising in repatriation assistance, have sparked calls for urgent government intervention to resolve what campaigners describe as a "humanitarian crisis".
The Indian diaspora in London has been rallying around to coordinate fundraisers to support the UK-based family members of the Ahmedabad plane crash victims, including urgent assistance for two orphaned children.
Fifty years ago this day, October 23, Subedar Joginder Singh began the battle of his life. On learning that Joginder Singh was a Param Vir Chakra awardee, the People's Liberation Army, in a mark of respect for which the Chinese are not renowned, repatriated his ashes with full military honours. No tribute can be greater than an avowal of valour by the enemy. M P Anil Kumar pays tribute to one of India's brave heroes.
Very few today realise that without Brigadier John Dalvi's courage, we would never have known what really happened during those tragic days of October/November 1962, reveals Claude Arpi.
