If one wants to enjoy their weekends or willing to get rid of boredom or wants to cherish moments peacefully with their family and close allies then they should prefer to visit North East India. This part shares commonness and differences if we compare this with other parts of our Country. If we see the commonness it’s as beautiful as anything at any part of India, it is as inclusive and shows bonhomie between its people as shown across the cross section of our beloved country. Now if we see the differences then there you can find different faith, food, culture, rituals and what not.
This region comes with beauty of its own. To cite if we start if one dreams to see Bihu, Kamakhya temple or one horned Rhinos then he should visit Assam. Also if one wants to see Ziro valley, Sela pass or Bombdila then he should plan for Arunachal Pradesh, The land of dawn lit. Further if one intends to enjoy cuisines of Nagaland like Akhuni he must visit there. There he can find different tribes and beautifully diverse culture. Adjacent to Nagaland is Manipur. There one can witness World famous Loktak Lake and Orichadrum. If I say about Mizoram, then after the peace accord this place should be at one’s wish list. Here one can take experience of Dense Bamboo jungles, Chapahar kut and what not. On the west of Mizoram lies Tripura where one can see Rubber plantations and enjoy Tripuri cuisines. At last if one plans to visit Meghalaya then he/she can find serene Garo, Khasi and Jaintia Hills.
Major David Manlun
But it’s quite evident that every gift comes with a price to pay. Alike here the beauty and variety of North East India is a gift but it is deeply associated with the price and here the cost is so high that even one has to lay down their life for the purpose of maintaining peace and sanctity of the region. So it is quite evident that this place must have given tough, uncompromising, devoted and dedicated warriors. One such warrior, for whom I am enthusiast to write here, is DAVID MANLUN. He hailed from Manipur. This guy from a typical armed forces family was so desperate to join Indian Armed Forces that he gave his attempts after completion of his MBA. “I remember how elated he was when he cleared his SSB in his last attempt” –his friend’s testimonies about the same can be seen in the same context. According to one of his classmate he drank all night and danced nonstop on that day.
“I have been ready since the day I was born” was his benchmark statement which motivates the upcoming defence aspirants. As David saw his father, Subedar Khamzalam of the 5th Battalion of the Assam Regiment, so it was quite obvious for him to get inspired by the charisma and glory of that uniform which his father wore. Moreover in addition his brother is presently serving in Indian Army’s the 8th Battalion of the Assam Regiment and his sister is married to a Colonel of the Assam regiment. Thus after going through the profile of David’s family one can easily identify that how much that family is associated with Indian Army. Although David had options to pursue jobs in private sector or corporate ones but he chose to appear attempt after attempt for clearing SSB and joining Indian Army.
In March 2010 he was commissioned into the 1st Battalion the Naga Regiment, the out-fit which remembers him fondly. He joined the battalion at Naugam in J& K and served there for next two years and took part in number of operations. After a stint of peace station at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh, Major David was posted in Nagaland with 164 Infantry Battalion Territorial Army (NAGA) in 2014. As he was versed with various local languages like Mizo, Kuki, and Paite, he found easy to engage with the local populations there. Moreover he was deeply interested in Football that he always plans to organise tournaments where locals took part with high enthusiasm. By this he served two purposes, firstly he managed to draw youngsters towards mainstream and thus they didn’t join any insurgent outfits present there. Secondly he was able to build the rapport amongst the locals who started informing him regarding any suspected activities. Hence David continued the legacy of Armed forces where they play multidimensional role for the benefits of the society
UNFULFILLED DREAM
Being said about his active participation and mass engagement one more fact which can associate with David is he always wanted to join NSG (National Security Guard). For the same he appeared and even cleared at last. But prior to the day his letter of joining arrived he left everyone continuing the legacy of supreme sacrifice. This fateful operation happened on the 6th.day of June 2017. On that day Major David’s troop along with troop of 12 PARA went for an operation after they got specific input of movement of heavily armed insurgents of joint groups belonging to the Paresh Baruah faction of ULFA and SS Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K). The area was Lappa in Mon district of Nagaland that was approximately 325 Kms from Kohima, the capital of Nagaland, and 25 Kms from Myanmar border.
After combing the areas for some hours they witnessed some insurgents travelling in auto rickshaw. So when the forces intercepted them the insurgents started firing heavily on the personnel. As the encounter began at a turning point where there was no place to take cover and fire thus it led injuries to four PARA commandos who were badly hit and were lying on road in open. Seeing this Major David could not control himself and he came out of his cover and started firing indiscriminately on them. This counter attack gave a much needed window for evacuation of the injured persons. But at the same time the move brought David in the line of fire and thus he took bullets here and there. But that man was surely made up of steel who hunted four Ultras after receiving the multiple bullet injuries. By this David also ensured that no more casualties from our side should happen as the remaining insurgents eloped in the dense woods seeing the ferocious avatar of Indian Army major.
So when the encounter concluded it was ascertained that 4 insurgents were killed and Major David was killed in action. Coincidentally the day he was about to be cremated that same day his family received one letter on which it was written David has to report on June 17 for joining NSG”. The life of Major David and many others like him can be well described in the following quote. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with blood of patriots and tyrants. It’s the only natural manure of it”
Credits: India’s most fearless, Honour point, SSB CRACK-