A forgotten war hero

The bravery and heroics of Capt Raghunandan, who breathed his last while fighting Pakistani troops in the 1965 war, became the talk of the town.

In a condolence meeting held at Chikkadpally, where Capt Raghunandan resided, the then Mayor Sarojini Pulla Reddy and minister P V Narasimha Rao, who later went on to become the Prime Minister of the country, had promised that Chikkadpally would be renamed ‘Raghunandan Nagar’

Exactly fifty years ago, on September 17, 1965, Captain Vijaya Raghunandan Rao of Bonala, a tiny village in Sircilla division of Karimnagar district, fell to an enemy shell at Akhnoor-Chamb sector, a terrain similar to that of Kargil, while commanding a company of Gorkha Rifles during the Indo-Pak war.

It is 50 years since the war, but the heroics of Capt Raghunandan have like most heroes in the Indian Army been relegated to the pages of history. In the annals of the Indian Army, there are a few who have gone on to become Captains in less than a year after getting inducted; Capt Raghunandan was one of them. A glorious life was cut short but not before he went down all guns blazing.

Even as bullets, grenades and mortar shells of the enemy kept pounding from the other side and a Light Machine gun developing a snag, Capt Raghunandan rectified it and fired at the enemy positions which enabled his company score a strategic victory over the enemy; all this after he was wounded when a shrapnel of an artillery shell hit him in his head.

Before losing consciousness, Capt Raghunandan asked his second-in-command to take charge of the operation. For this act of courage, determination and leadership and in recognition of his supreme sacrifice for the nation, Capt Raghunandan was awarded the Vir Chakra posthumously in 1966 by the President of India, which happens to be the first in his battalion.

Chikkadpally as Raghunandan Nagar?

Soon after the Indo-Pak war, the bravery and heroics of Capt Raghunandan became the talk of the town and in a condolence meeting held at Chikkadpally, where Capt Raghunandan resided, the then Mayor Sarojini Pulla Reddy and minister P V Narasimha Rao, who later went on to become the Prime Minister of the country, had promised that Chikkadpally would be renamed ‘Raghunandan Nagar’.

Many years have passed and a lot of water has flown under the bridge. The new state of Telangana has come into being. Admirers and family members still have hope that Capt Raghunandan will get his due. Noted advocate Bonala Krishna Rao (86), brother of Capt Raghunandan says, “His life was short but his contribution to the nation is immense.

If Chikkadpally can be renamed as Raghunandan Nagar it would be the best tribute to a son of Telangana.”It is interesting to note that on the occasion of the unveiling of statue at Karimnagar in 2000, a commemorative souvenir titled ‘My Name is India’ was brought out in which present Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who was then Deputy Speaker of AP Legislative Assembly, gave a message lauding the late Captain for his inspiring service to the nation.

Now that KCR is the Chief Minister of the new state, will he undo all the wrongs of the past governments and give Capt Vijaya Raghunandan Rao his rightful place by renaming Chikkadpally as Raghunandan Nagar? It is a question on everybody’s lips.

By:T P Venu