Pampore braveheart Vir Singh's funeral creates row: Nation hangs its head in shame

It is a matter of great shame that Constable Vir Singh’s body should have lain awaiting the solution of a controversy on his cremation because of his ‘caste.’ The man died for the country in the Pampore gunbattle, and we are told that some high-caste individuals in his village in UP raised objections to the use of a public space for the final rites. Of course, it is despicable. It makes one cringe. But what is more despicable is that the sub-divisional officers had to negotiate with the village elders and engage in prolonged talks. What the hell is that? Prolonged talks, like there were two sides to the question. It is a crime to use caste as a measure of anything. Therefore, why the chatting up? Just call the cops, guard the grieving family and get on with it. [caption id=“attachment_2862762” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vir Singh. Image courtesy: Twitter/@shenoy70[/caption] You don’t sit there and discuss the merits of the situation. And while we are at it, where was the CRPF honour guard and the flag officers at the funeral? It is customary when a comrade falls in battle to do the honours. There is a proper volley of gunfire in salute and his colleagues present reverse arms. Didn’t Director General Durga Prasad send a contingent? There is a poignant protocol to the final journey and it should have been maintained. Did no VIP go to the funeral? Was the body just dispatched so that some bureaucrat with his heart in the right place (thankfully) would engage in conversation with the gram pradhan, Mr Vijay Singh who seems to ‘understand’ and ‘appreciate’ the sentiments of these upper castes? It was a bizarre meeting that went for hours. If one of these members of ‘high’ castes needed blood to save his life, and there was a ’low’ caste member with the same group, it would have been interesting to see how fast he’d make him his brother. By law, all these protesters should have been arrested. We don’t have to be thankful that a soldier killed in combat was conceded a 10x10 metres’ space for the final rites, as a special gesture. What is wrong with us that we let such things happen and then we accept them as par for the course? Vir Singh lived up to his name. He took a bullet from the enemy and we couldn’t even give him a decent goodbye. No one has been held culpable or accountable. So here we are in 2016, grateful that the sarpanch, or whoever was nice enough, gave in. In fact, the guy should be behind bars with all his high-caste buddies—for acting against the spirit of Article 15 which says discrimination on the basis of caste is illegal in India. What’s the point of having it on the books if it doesn’t count for anything?