We won the battle, but we lost brave men.

I woke up this morning got of my bed and switch on the television. Taj was still under siege. And then things changed. Rapid exchange of fire and counter fire started along with explosions. And it continued for at least an hour. Then Taj was on fire and it was completely covered in smoke. 

The fire tenders and the brave fire personnels rushed to the spot. The operation was finally over. The ordeal had come to an end. The Taj was free and then I saw a 16^th year old boy lighting up his father’s pyre. What must be going through his mind? His father died for what? 

Hemant Karkare the chief of ATS was a bright and upright officer. Till his death he fought terrorism. The double  face monster known as politicians were up again. The same BJP and VHP who till Wednesday were accusing the ATS of giving the hindu’s a bad name following his investigation in the recent blast had constructed hoarding saluting the brave soul. Shame you guys. You never allowed him to work, question his integrity , threatened him and his family, called for a bandh on 1^st dec to stop him from working and today you hail him as a hero ready to grab the media bytes by offering his family money. I detest people like you. We are better with out you guys. And all of us should ask ourselves what did they die for?

Given below are profile of some of the men we lost trying to defend us. Yes, Us. So that we can live another day.I am not gonna use the word late in front of their names cause heroes never die.

Hemant Karkare:

The 54-year-old police officer had a career spanning 26 years. Originally from Madhya Pradesh, he studied mechanical engineering in Nagpur.

After stints at the National Productivity Council and Hindustan Lever, he made it to the Indian Police Service in 1982.

Karkare served as Superintendent of Police in Chandrapur, Maharasthra primarily fighting Naxalites from 1991 to 1993.

He was also an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Nagpur.Known as an upright officer, he served in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for seven years.

He returned to his state cadre to head the ATS in Jaunary 2008 and is credited with solving the serial bomb blasts in Thane, Vashi and Panvel.

Ashok Kamte:

Ever heard of a police commissioner having a fan club.(Click here to visit his fan club) Yes, it’s true. He was a daredevil officer who had gained a popularity matching a Bollywood hero in solapur. A body builder, power lifter he also had  two national records to his name. He came from a family of officers. 

A highly decorated officer, Solapur and Sangli, where Kamte served as the commissioner of police and the superintendent of police, his status was no less than that of a hero. He was also deputed to Bosnia. He came into lime light when he dragged  a Karnataka MLA(Click here to read the complete story) for violating the supreme court rule of not bursting the crackers between 10pm to 6 am. The MLA had to be admitted to the ICU.  Defending his actions he said the law was equal for all. "Nobody has the right to violate the law”. The last words his wife said to him before he was taken away for cremation was she will always love him.

Click here. Story 1. Story 2. Story 3.

 Vijay Salaskar:

 Salaskar, an M Com from Mumbai University , had joined the force as a sub inspector. He had been believed to kill around 75 dreaded criminals in police encounters. After being out of the spotlight for quite sometime, the encounter specialist was given the plum posting of heading the anti-extortion wing of the crime branch.

He was also known for his professional animosity against Arun Gawli, a notorious gangster turned politician from Mumbai.

It is worth quoting his beliefs he talked about in his interview with Pritish Nandy .

How does it feel to kill a man, looking him in the eye?", to which he had said, "In a shootout, no one has time for such niceties. Either you kill or you get killed. I am plain lucky to still be alive. In this job, you know, we take one day at a time. Who can predict what tomorrow will bring?"

These were his words in March, 1999. On November 26, 2008, Salaskar died during the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Click here for full interview.

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan:

The Safety, Honour and Welfare of your Country come first, always and every time.

The Honour, Welfare and Comfort of the Men you command come next.

Your Own ease, Comfort and Safety come last, always and every time"

Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan lived and died by this motto of the IMA. He led a commando team to clear Taj Hotel on November 27. The operation was code named Operation Cyclone.

When one of the commando of his team was injured, Major Unnikrishnan went in to evacuate him and spotted one of the terrorists.

Major Unnikrishnan engaged the terrorist in a gun battle and had overpowered him but another terrorist who was hiding in the room fired at him seriously injuring the brave officer. Major Unnikrishnan succumbed to his injuries soon.

The 31-year-old Major, born on March 15, 1977 and the only son of retired ISRO officer K Unnikrishnan, joined the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the 7th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment in 1999. 

If you visit his orkut profile.(Respect  the space) you wont believe the guy you are seeing is a leader of a crack commando in the country. From the videos you see in his profile I could infer that his favourite band must Pakistani band Strings. In his job description he writes it is non productive. Ironic isn't it.

If these events do not inspire us for a change nothing else will. We need to understand that Terrorism has no religion, no caste and certainly no GOD. We need to be united. If we cannot be the change we want to see in this world, no one else is gonna come and change it for us.

 Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

Missing from the action was a certain gentleman and his rag tag army who has vowed to keep all the outsiders from Mumbai. Wondering why did not they came out. Is it that they come out of their homes only when they think "Marathi Manoos" jobs are on the line and not their lives. Strange. Think about it. The two face monster called the politicans.

Battle has been won. War still rages on.

(Sources: The Times of India, The Indian Express , IBNLive, Rediff.com)