NSA Ajit Doval on Saturday recalled that a traditional annual event held in memory of gallant men of country's largest paramilitary force CRPF had left him so "impressed" in 1973 that he named his son Shaurya.
Doval said this to a packed house of men and officers from the Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) and other central forces as he delivered his speech to mark the annual 'Shaurya Divas' (Valour Day) here. The day is commemorated by the CRPF every year by awarding gallantry medals to its personnel and it draws its history from a 1965 event at the 'Sardar Post' in the Rann of Kutchh area when a motley squad of 150 men of the paramilitary repulsed a Pakistani brigade attack on this day and engaged them successfully all night without letting them succeed to overrun the post.
The retaliation by the CRPF men saw the numerically and armament superior Pakistan retreating the areas and leaving behind 34 bodies of their soldiers including two officers. Four Pakistani soldiers were taken hostage while six CRPF men made the supreme sacrifice and the post was saved. "In 1973, when I was posted in the North East, I attended the 'Shaurya Divas' event held by CRPF there. That event and the story of courage recounted had left an indelible mark on me and I was so impressed by it that I named my son as 'Shaurya' who was born 10-15 days after that," the National Security Advisor said.
His son Shaurya is the Director of organisation India Foundation which works on various issues of Indian polity. The hall where the NSA made his speech is also named 'Shaurya Auditorium' by the CRPF.
Doval said while he does not remember the exact battalion that organised the event in 1973 but since then he has felt himself like a "family" of the force which is deployed for combating some of the most difficult security challenges in the country.
After awarding 81 gallant personnel of the force who had won bravery awards in various categories, including posthumously, he also asked the top force commanders to look after and accord top most priority for the welfare and well being of their jawans and officers. "You should give all the importance to the personal problems of your men and women," he said.
He said the force raised in 1939 has a rich tradition and history and they should work to keep it up and enhance it further. Doval added that for a country and a force like CRPF to succeed, it is important that its "morale" is always high. "We are indebted to the families of the martyrs who gave to us, and to the country, the most important part of their lives," he said.
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