Mike Sangma, CNN-IBN|India
New Delhi: Meet a soldier who took four bullets in his arm in a pitched battle with insurgents and saved the life of two critically injured children in Manipur. Eighteen years since the incident, Colonel DPK Pillay still shares a close bond with the people of the Manipuri village.
Colonel Pillay recalls that fateful day in Longdaipabram village, manipur, which is 22 kms from the district Headquarters Tamelong in Manipur.
“The militants were inside the room and rather than allow them to pick and choose and fire us at will I had to intervene. I had to enter the room. I broke the door open and I got a burst of AK-47. The first burst came on my shoulder. I got three burst here and that guy corrected himself and he got a shot on my chest. One of them hurl a grenade, I don’t know how I saw the grenade in the darkness but instantly I kicked the grenade and the grenade blew on my leg, taking a portion of my leg away,” he says.
The village has not forgotten his act of kindness. The entire village has gathered to show their gratitude to Colonel Pillay for saving the lives of Masebiliu and Dingamang. He has also been inducted as an important member of the local community. His family, too, is proud of his selfless act.
At a time when the country is debating about a sense of alienation among the people from the northeast, the bond between the people of Longdaipabram and Colonel Pillay is an example of how an individual’s act of courage and sacrifice can bridge differences.
