BHUBANESWAR: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) member Anil Dhir found the first flag of independent India at the place of YA Sishak, a veteran of the Indian National Army.
The Indian army had constructed a war memorial beside the Imphal-Ukrhul road in Manipur. It had been raised by the Maratha Light Infantry to commemorate the martyred soldiers in the Battle of Shashank which raged for six days from March 20 to 26 in 1944.
Inscribed on a four sided cenotaph are the words “To the eternal memory of the fallen martyrs of 4 Maratha LI and the 50 Para Brigade.” On the other sides of the memorial, the inscription reads, “Martyrs of the Royal British Army” & “To the brave people of Shangshak”. The names of the soldiers and civilians are all etched here.
Y.A.Shishak, one of the last few of the Indian National Army veterans lives in a small house just below the Shashank War Memorial, and has a private museum with many knick knacks of the Great War. He looks after the memorial and maintains the small neat garden. He has with him the first INA flag that was flown in liberated India at Moirang on April 14, 1944 by Colonel Saukat Hayat Malik, commander of Bahadur Group.
These valiant warriors came from an era when charity and altruism were as common as mobile phones and Pepsi are today. They were men of integrity who had a strong character. They had gone into battle, fighting a war which they did not properly understand. The serene ambience in and around the cemetery adds to the solemnity and sanctity of the place. Delegations from England and Japan regularly visit this cemetery.
Dhir has repeatedly written to the Government of Odisha asking them to request him to give the flag to install it at the Netaji Museum in Cuttack. He can be persuaded with proper efforts, he added. The Netaji Museum has a pathetic collection of artifacts. This flag can be a high point and be a fitting tribute to Subash Chandra Bose.
