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amitdahiya
March 14th, 2003, 09:23 PM
Swami Kalyan Devji who is 127 years old this year has created 300 successfully running institutions during this extraordinary and full life. Swami Ji comes across as a combination of a Karma Yogi, divine santa claus and blithe spirit.

General Niranjan Malik PVSM (Paar Kay Jat) is a distinguished soldier of the Armoured corps and a highly repected graduate of the Frunze Military Academy in Russia. He was also a driving force behind the Arjun Main Battle Tank project. General Malik has provided the physical drive to help crystallise Swamijis latest and very touching project-A permanent memorial to the Kargil Martyred heroes, all 527 of them.

The Kargil Shaheed Smarak is born out of the resonance between Swami ji’s desire to immortalise the Martyrs of Kargil, and the soldierly devotion of Lt General Niranjan Malik, PVSM a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, now retired but busier than ever in social service to the nation.

The elegant pristine memorial is built on the quietly flowing banks of the Holy Ganges, from the Ghats of which a broad and long marble terrace leads to the majestic structure, rising like the peaks of Kargil Hills. The structure is a double storied eight sided building, topped by the national flag flying high above the Kargil Peaks and the Holy Ganges, carrying a message of peace and serenity to the departed souls of our heroes. Inside, the eight marbled walls of the Sanctum Sanctorum proudly bear in Gold letters engraved on Green marble the names of every single martyr, along with his unit, district and state. In the centre is a simple marble platform that bears the sacred stones, brought all the way from Kargil, and which were sanctified by the blood of the martyrs. Some of them carry blood stains of those immortal souls or 'Amar Atmas'.A reversed assault rifle with the traditional helmet depicting the fallen hero is mounted in between these sacred stones in a simple tribute to the warriors. On the front wall is a huge map of the entire theatre of the Kargil war, code-named operation Vijay. Visitors can locate every single unit of the Indian Army as also those of the enemy they vanquished with courage beyond the call of duty. Gen. Niranjan Malik has personally conceptualised the creation of this map.

Speaking to this reporter Gen. Malik said” The Kargil Shaheed Smarak marks an important departure in the tradition of confining war memorials to the isolation of cantonments. Shukratal he said places the war memorial exactly where it belongs i.e. in the heart of our society’s traditions, connected to the Holy places by the waters of the Vetrani Ganga Mayya. It now forms part of the main stream of our Sanskriti and helps in the task of nation building by inspiring the youth of the nation with the sacrifice of the martyrs. General Malik also said that the Shaheed Smarak was not a close ended project that would end with its dedication, it was instead a nucleus of a complete programme based on harnessing the extraordinary spirit of the youth and the discipline of the soldier to promote patriotism and the love of the country.”

A very special part of the ceremony was the presence of the very large number of students and young people, especially the NCC cadets on whose faces you could see a special sense of pride that could only come from a sense of closeness to the Martyrs of Kargil through this grand memorial.

For the huge crowd that filled every inch of the banks of the Ganges right up to the Smarak, this was a day rich in ceremony, emotion and spiritual resurgence. The Army put up the kind of show that only the Army can, despite the simplicity of the environs and the relative isolation of Shukratal 30 Kms from busy Muzaffar Nagar. In the traditional Indian Sanskritik way, first and foremost ceremony was the holy consecration of the Smarak by the Dharam Gurus, Panditji, Maulviji, Granthiji and the Padre. They all in turn prayed for the departed souls of the Martyrs to rest in peace.

An honour Guard provided by the Bengal Engineer Group of Roorkee Cantonment, the dedication of the monument to the Nation by Lt General B.K. Bopanna , AVSM,VSM, Director General of the National Cadet Corps, and the sharp turn out of the NCC cadets marked the ceremonial aspect of the days celebrations. Wreaths were laid on behalf of the Armed Forces of India, Indian Army, then by the Shaheed Parivar, followed by the Ex Servicemen and other dignitaries present. Mr & Mrs Gopichand Pandey, the parents of Shaheed Capt. Manoj Pandey, PVC led the Shaheed Parivar Shraddhanjali to their departed dear ones. It was the most touching moment and every one present had his eyes moist. Swami Kalyan Dev ji Maharaj paid his tribute by laying a wreath and blessing the gathering.

A galaxy of important Defence and political persons were present through the occasion. Lt Gen. B.K. Bopanna AVSM, VSM DG NCC, Brig KTG Nambiar VSM, Commander Meerut Sub Area, Brig Madhusudan, DDG NCC. Col C. Rai, BRO Bareilly. The retired Army officers included Maj. Gen. Virendra Singh Chairman Modern School and Chairman of the Cheshire homes South Asia and founder of the NCC, Lt Gen. Sibal, Major General K.S.Solanki President of the Exservicemen's League In U.P., Brig Kvr Narendra Singh-President of the Ex Servicemen’s League Delhi. Brigadier Ahlawat the father of outstanding national horseman and Show jumper Lt Col 'Moni' Ahlawat

The political luminaries and V.I.P’s present included Shri Virendra Verma Former Governor Of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Shri Hirendra Malik M.P. Rajya Sabha, Dr M. L. Ranga Minister of Health Haryana, Shri Qadir Rana MLA U.P, Dr P.P. Singh, Vice Chancellor Meerut Agriculture University.
Gen. Malik, as the President of the Shaheed Smarak Samiti laid a wreath on behalf of the Samiti, followed by Somansh Prakash, and Brahmchari Omanand ji Maharaj as co-Presidents.

The Armed forces also put up an interesting display of the weaponry employed in Operation Vijay, as also an aero-modeling and river running excercise by the NCC Cadets.
An impressive variety entertainment programme put up by the local school children celebrated the Kargil war . Original songs, plays and a very original qawwali were the highlights of this cultural programme.

Through it all Swami Kalyan Devji comes across as a very lovable and blithe spirit and completely without any affectation despite nearly 300 successfully running, medical, education and technical institutions to his credit. Swami Kalyandevji remained at the heart of every one’s attention at Shukratal, a town that was lost to oblivion and legend and which he has resurrected entirely on his own.
The ceremony ended with presentation of Shraddhanjali Patra to each Shaheed parivar by Swamiji.

For those who live in western U.P Shukratal is avery plesant drive of 30 kms due east of Muzaffarnagar located on a very pretty tributary of the ganga. Since we contributed 65%of the martyrs of the Kargil war it is avery good reason to visit Shukratal and the memorial to pay our respects there. Swamijis ashram there boasts a ficus tree that is now several thousand years old. But the beloved swamii kalyandevji remains by far the greatest reason for a journey to Shukratal.

Amit Dahiya

ishwarlamba
March 15th, 2003, 05:59 AM
Congratulations Amit Ji for posting one of the best article on this site.
We are all proud of Swami Kalyan Devji and Lt. General Niranjan Malik retired Dy Chief of Army Staff. He had been a Corp Commander also. Fours years ago Dr Ishwar Singh (Lamba by gotra and practising at Begum Pool in Meerut) had visited Sydney, his sister is married to General Sahib.
We will send an email of congratualations from our local Jats group.
I will request NCR/Delhi jats to make sure that he is more active with local Jat activities, General Sahib lives in Noida.

ravichaudhary
March 15th, 2003, 07:42 AM
Amit

I have posted this on a few other discussion groups

Well done

Ravi

pssangwan
March 15th, 2003, 08:04 AM
A deeply inspiring article!
It proves that a sacrifice for a noble cause is never wasted.
SAHIDON KI CHITAWON PAR, LAGENGE HAR VARASH MELE,
WATAN PAR MITNE WALON KA, BAKI EHI NISHAN HOGA.
A thousand NAMANS to Swami Ji and Gen. Malik and everybody else who helped in anyway to make this dream come true!

With warm and due regards

Dr. Partap Singh Sangwan
Sangwan Hospital
Uklana Mandi Distt. Hisar Haryana -125 113
Ph. 01693-233077, 233677, 235077
pssangwan@rediffmail.com

amitdahiya
March 20th, 2003, 08:26 AM
Ishwar Singhji Pranaam,
A remarkable thing about both Swamiji and General sahib is the resonance between them. Both are still moving at full speed and although i had the pleasure of interacting with them only as a consultant on this project, they have both impacted greatly on my consciousness. I feel it is important to have people like General Niranjan malik in our public life and we should all endeavour to rope him in for the cause of the kaum and encourage jats everywhere to interact withhim in this direction.




Ishwar Singh Lamba (Mar 14, 2003 07:32 p.m.):
Congratulations Amit Ji for posting one of the best article on this site.
We are all proud of Swami Kalyan Devji and Lt. General Niranjan Malik retired Dy Chief of Army Staff. He had been a Corp Commander also. Fours years ago Dr Ishwar Singh (Lamba by gotra and practising at Begum Pool in Meerut) had visited Sydney, his sister is married to General Sahib.
We will send an email of congratualations from our local Jats group.
I will request NCR/Delhi jats to make sure that he is more active with local Jat activities, General Sahib lives in Noida.

amitdahiya
March 20th, 2003, 08:47 AM
Dear Ravi,
Thank you for your attention and initiative in this regard. I have never been religious in my life but I have had afew spiritual moments. meeting Swamiji was certainly one of them. I do hope that the word of swamijis life spreads like PRASAD throughout our Kaum for his philosophy is a simple as his life and it consists of just one word 'Do'. Swamiji is a great doer and for our divided confused ill directed and poorly led kaum Swamijis philosophy may be one simple way of getting together in an uncomplicated dynamic way. Swamiji has given me his blessings for the Ride for pride from bharatpur to delhi and despite being badly let down by our own Government of Haryana at the last moment i am proud to inform you that the kaum is getting together from Punjab, Rajasthan and remote corners of Haryana to make the event a huge success.
Amit






Ravi Chaudhary (Mar 14, 2003 09:12 p.m.):
Amit

I have posted this on a few other discussion groups

Well done

Ravi

amitdahiya
March 20th, 2003, 08:57 AM
Pratap Singh Ji Ram Ram,
I am communicating your sentiments to Swamiji and general sahib I am sure your sentiments will work for them the way Swamijis prasad works for every one. Thank you for your address I shall look forward to meeting up with you when we hold our district meeting of the Ride for pride In Hissar which would be in this month itself. I would be grateful for the name and address of the seniormost Veterinary officer in the district who might have a list of all the private horse owners in Hissar and who could participate in the Ride for Pride.
Regards
Amit





Dr. Partap Singh Sangwan (Mar 14, 2003 09:34 p.m.):
A deeply inspiring article!
It proves that a sacrifice for a noble cause is never wasted.
SAHIDON KI CHITAWON PAR, LAGENGE HAR VARASH MELE,
WATAN PAR MITNE WALON KA, BAKI EHI NISHAN HOGA.
A thousand NAMANS to Swami Ji and Gen. Malik and everybody else who helped in anyway to make this dream come true!

With warm and due regards

Dr. Partap Singh Sangwan
Sangwan Hospital
Uklana Mandi Distt. Hisar Haryana -125 113
Ph. 01693-233077, 233677, 235077
pssangwan@rediffmail.com

ishwarlamba
March 20th, 2003, 11:26 AM
Amit Ji,
Thanks for writting details, please write more about about Swami Ji' life.
Is he a Jat also by the way?