KOCHI: The Jammu & Kashmir government named a bridge and a road after him; a military auditorium at RS Pura in the Samba sector of Jammu bears his name; in the Nilgiris there is a bronze statue of him at the Madras regimental centre museum; a gymnasium in his name, built at a cost of `8 crore, also at Nilgiris, speak volumes of his extraordinary show of courage. But, Thomas Philipose, the only Keralite alive now to be bestowed with the country’s second highest gallantry medal - ‘Maha Vir Chakra’ - is a forgotten name in his home state, with not even a bylane named after him.
Thomas, who served the military for 32 years, was honoured with the award for his heroic deeds in the Basantar sector of Punjab during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. Thomas, a resident of Aranmula, is deeply pained that successive state governments ignore soldiers like him, even as they honour ‘celebrities’ from the fields of film, sports and politics, by erecting busts and naming roads and alleys after them. “I wish the state government would give befitting honour to war heroes as well,” said Thomas who has named his house ‘Maha Vir Chakra Bhavan’.
Thomas said Kerala government in 1972 had allotted him `10,000. A promise of one-and-a half acres of land was not fulfilled and in lieu paid him `1 lakh, four years ago. “The governments in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have given their heroes `15 lakh, 10 acres of land and a building as a mark of respect,” he said. The governments in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan recently hiked award money to recipients of gallantry and other armed forces awards by almost 10 times. “Kerala raised it by a paltry sum, that too for those who have received the award after June 1, 2012,” said Thomas.
Having joined the Army in 1961 as a sepoy in Nilgiris, his first posting was at the Sino-Indian war front on the Sikkim border. But, the turning point in his life came during the 1971 war.
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