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Srinagar:
He fought during World War II in Burma, became the 13th chief of
army staff, was Punjab's governor during militancy and also
India's ambassador in Indonesia. And Saturday, 90-year-old Gen. (retd.)
Om Prakash Malhotra returned to the place he was born and brought
up.
"It was my desire to come to Kashmir and visit the place where I
was born, grew up and was educated," said Malhotra, former
president of the National Association for the Blind and founder of
the Equestrian Federation of India.
To mark the visit, his alma mater, S.P. College, honoured the old
student whose father was seven decades ago the college's
principal.
Malhotra was born in the Abi Guzar locality adjacent to Lal Chowk
on Aug 6, 1922, and grew up with his elder brother and sister in
the city.
"When I became the chief of the Indian Army in 1978, the first
place I visited was Kashmir -- the place of my birth. Late Sheikh
Mohammed Abdullah (then Jammu and Kashmir chief minister) and his
wife were happy to receive somebody who had become the country's
army chief and had his roots in Kashmir," he said.
Malhotra said the role of the army had now changed.
"The army is now trained more efficiently to act with heart and
compassion. I met the local corps commander who informed me about
their public welfare programmes," he said.
On the current army chief Gen. V.K Singh getting embroiled in an
age row, Malhotra said: "Authority has to be respected without
question even when there is confusion in the records. That is what
the Indian Army is trained to do."
He also expressed happiness over the large number of tourists
visiting the Valley.
"These people come from Kerala, Gujarat, Bengal and other places.
They help the local economy. This will definitely bring prosperity
to the lives of my Kashmiri brothers," he said.
Recalling his days as the governor of Punjab, he said: "My primary
role was to ensure that elections could be held there so that the
people were convinced about the intentions of the central
government and the state administration."
"However, me and my wife had a narrow escape when militants
targeted the vehicle of the then state DGP which was moving ahead
of our car. Well, those are now just memories of the days gone
by," he said.
Malhotra also interacted with the students, telling them: "It is
my advice to the youth of the Valley to pursue their education and
grow to serve the people of Kashmir who have suffered a lot during
the last 20 years. The local students are very talented and all
that is needed is to properly channelise their immense potential."
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