A long 42 years have passed since the bloody Indo-Pak armed conflict has come to an end, but this retired wing commander, S Balasubrahmaniam, still stirs up the memories of a fellow soldier with whom he shared his room during the course of the war.
“Another Vijay Divas is nearing and we are still not sure whether or not our war hero, Flying Officer K P Muralidharan, is alive in Pakistan prisons,” said Balasubrahmaniam, who was the roommate and colleague of Muralidharan from 1968 to 1971.
“Murali was a fighter to the core, crazy about flying that he was once upset a few weeks before joining the Indo-Pak battlefield as he was down with fever and was declared unfit during the medical examination,” Balasubramaniam said.
“He had thought that he would miss the opportunity to fight that crucial war. He recovered a few days later and became part of the Number 20 Squadron of the Indian Air Force Lightnings,” Balasubramaniam said.
Murali was one of the two officers who carried out the second raid in Peshawar. The other officer, K N Bajpai, returned safely, said Balasubrahmaniam, who is now settled in Mumbai.
“Time and nation have done injustice to the war hero. The family is still not sure whether he is alive or dead.
“The Centre had earlier published a report of 54 Indian detainees in Pakistan jails and Muralidharan was 52nd in that list. But soon after India published the list, Pakistan denied it and announced there were no detainees from the 1971 War,” said K Rajendran, a distant relative of Muralidharan.
Muralidharan’s encounter with Pakistani Sabers came to light in an article published by Pakistani Wing commander (retired) Salim Mirza Baig, which is included in the website bharat-rakshak.com.
In 2009, Air Force Chief P V Naik is said to have recommended Maha Veer Chakra for Muralidharan, but was turned down by the Centre on account of two-year bracket hindrance.
According to the Central Honours and Award Committee of India, the act of conferring the gallantry award had to be made within two years from the date of act.
Rajendran said this clause was not effective in the case of squadron leader A B Devayya when he was awarded Maha Vir Chakra posthumously 23 years after the 1965 war on the description of air battle in the autobiography of a Pakistani air marshal.
Muralidharan hails from a royal family in Nilambur and was 25 years old when he met with the unfortunate incident. The family remembers his passion for becoming a fighter pilot and how he evaded opportunities to become a commercial pilot.