Feel free to contribute on burning issues concerning the armed forces. Contributions would be acknowledged - Use the 'Comments' tab or email navdeepsingh.india[at]gmail.com. No operational/business/commercial matters to be discussed please. Legal advice/litigation related issues would strictly NOT be published or discussed or entertained. Information on this blog is opinion based and is neither official nor in the form of an advice. This is a pro bono online journal in public service related to issues, policies and benefits, and the idea behind it is to educate and not to create controversy or to incite. Be soft in your language, respect Copyrights.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Have you heard about Col AGJ Swittens?


There are some stories that touch your heart. This is one of them.

Col Swittens, who passed away in 2011, was a young Subaltern of the Gorkha Rifles when we went to war with Pakistan in 1971. He was the last Prisoner of War to get back to India.

He was taken PoW by the Pak Army and completely forgotten. It took a young Swiss lady from the Red Cross to wake us up back here in India.

What followed is a trail of red-tapism and insensitivity on the part of our establishment – political, military and bureaucratic. The treatment at the hands of our own Army was also nothing to be proud of and he was accused of having stayed back in Pakistan at his own volition.

Please read the “Story of the Last Prisoner of War” at www.classicstories.in to know more about our forgotten past.

14 comments:

n p singh said...

touching story

PBOR said...

every time i read this story (this is da 3rd time) it hurts, touches. I get senti and tears

Anonymous said...

"The nation that forgets it soldiers, is doomed to be forgotten itself"

A sad story of a life gone waste. from whom and for what ???.........The question remains.

Anonymous said...

toching story...how fate plays...............alas...our govt and MI was sympathetic...

Anonymous said...

it is a pity how a soldier is treated by another soldier. what is even greater painful that how shabbily we treat our own fellow men.

i'm sure flt lt nachiketa got better treatment in kargil war. we should make an effort to continuously improve the system.

Anonymous said...

dear maj navdeep, it is indeed shocking when one sees that ones own organisation is out to screw its own people. you have very rightly pointed out so many times that we need to look within, and improve ourselves. will take time, but i can assure you that there are many of us who have maintained a positive attitude and, in our own small way, will at least make a difference by moulding the attitudes of our juniors.
would request you to restart the chatroll. cant u ban those not behaving from the chatroll?

Anonymous said...

dont be sad but be proud this is a real story of a soldier not of a filmi hero. his story defines the word SOLDIER

Dasila said...

There are so many such stories of
1962 PsOW but no one is available to narrate the stories. Most of them are not alive, even if few of them are alive at the fag end of their life, they are not able to narrate the true story so meticulously as explained in this story of Col Swittens. In some cases people sent home without any terminal benefits with the plea that they(PsOW) have been brain washed and made communist. Similarly, 65 and 71 war veterans and their families hardly compensated any thing commensurate to the amount of sacrifice they made. Who is to be blamed ? Obviously,the GoI who has hardly any concern for its armed forces except 1999 Kargil war.

Anonymous said...

i agree with anony (5:5 pm). A few bad eggs should not be a reason for a suffering of complete community.

one more aye for starting chat roll.

STORYTELLER said...

Here's another story about one of our own unsung hero who brought back arunachal to india. you can read it here An another unsung hero

Anonymous said...

Sir, I would like to sort clarification on the entitlement of married accommodation to clerk (SD) in the indian army. under the provisions of DSR Para 1020, clerks are authorised 100% married accommodation. In addition, due to introduction of MACP promotions, on grant of MACP promotion, the indl affect is entitled married accn allowance and travel entitlements of grade 4200 i.e nb sub. Pl clarify about the married accommodation entitlement to clk )SD) in the army.

Anonymous said...

Very very sad,but what else do you expect from a country that is run by Babus.We took everything from England but somehow forgot to learn how to treat our soldiers as a nation.The kids from the Royal family still join the forces,what about us?But You know what!Nothing wrong with our Motherland a I think and hope its just a passing phase in the life of a 60 year old Democratic Nation.Things are bound to get better.

faransqi said...

sad on one hand we talk about integrity....where was the integrity towards the men you command ?any senior officer of his times.....comment

piffer said...

Col AGJ Swittens story is very touching. Curious to know more about him, I checked history of 4GR and 1GR during Chamb operations 1971, no bttn of 4GR was present at Chamb, however another Gorkha unit 4/1 GR was present at Chamb along with 5 Sikh and 5 Assam,there is no mention of Lt Swittens in the official history or on the roll of the regt, although other officers are mentioned?
Just wondering if anybody has some more concrete details to authenticate the story?