The lion, former DGP of
Punjab Kunwar Pal Singh Gill, 82, is dead and gone. In life, for saving India
and its Punjab from terrorists and their Pakistani handlers, the 1958 batch IPS
officer had to go through the same kind of tirade which has been on display for
some time against Maj Leetul Gogoi. In fact, the barbs thrown
at him could have turned any sane person into a reactionary. But all through
his life he maintained his Yogic calm and remained resolutely dedicated to the
service of the country. Any nation, other than India, would have conferred its
highest award on him for defending democracy and saving the unity of the
country. But India is India. It loves and honours people who torment its soul
and violate its physical purity and integrity. It has wasted away Bharat Ratnas
on all kind of skunks. But it has not considered it fit to confer the same on
Gill. Yeah! You say lions are
kings - beyond the pale of awards! But we say Governance is a dirty joke.
That's why you can't honour him even posthumously. In this context, it is
pertinent to recite an anecdote from the American civil war history. Envious of
the success of General Ulysses S Grant, some of his colleagues from the General
staff approached President Ab Lincoln and told him that General Grant did
nothing but spent most of his time on drinking whiskey and smoking cigars.
Amused by the complaint, Lincoln advised them to find out the brands of whiskey
and cigar consumed by Grant, so that they could start consuming the same to
acquire his sharp strategic and tactical sense. What happened subsequently is
anybody's guess. Late Prime Minister P V
Narasimha Rao proved to Gill what Ab Lincoln was to Grant. A temporary PM,
Chandrasekhar, had done away with the services of Gill, seeing himself as a
great problem solver. However, his brief rule reignited the Punjab problem with
daily massacres becoming common. Luckily, Rao became PM in 1991 and he
redrafted the services of Gill to handle the Punjab situation. What the former
Punjab did then has become the subject of textbook studies in
counter-insurgency operations. He wasn't a military man but he followed what
General Grant had said long ago: "The art of war is simple enough. Find
out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as
you can, and keep moving on". 
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Demise of an unsung and vilified hero
By IndianMandarins - 2017-05-27 13:00:57
The lion, former DGP of Punjab Kunwar Pal Singh Gill, 82, is dead and gone. In life, for saving India and its Punjab from terrorists and their Pakistani handlers, the 1958 batch IPS officer had to go through the same kind of tirade which has been on display for some time against Maj Leetul Gogoi.
In fact, the barbs thrown at him could have turned any sane person into a reactionary. But all through his life he maintained his Yogic calm and remained resolutely dedicated to the service of the country. Any nation, other than India, would have conferred its highest award on him for defending democracy and saving the unity of the country. But India is India. It loves and honours people who torment its soul and violate its physical purity and integrity. It has wasted away Bharat Ratnas on all kind of skunks. But it has not considered it fit to confer the same on Gill.
Yeah! You say lions are kings - beyond the pale of awards! But we say Governance is a dirty joke. That's why you can't honour him even posthumously. In this context, it is pertinent to recite an anecdote from the American civil war history. Envious of the success of General Ulysses S Grant, some of his colleagues from the General staff approached President Ab Lincoln and told him that General Grant did nothing but spent most of his time on drinking whiskey and smoking cigars. Amused by the complaint, Lincoln advised them to find out the brands of whiskey and cigar consumed by Grant, so that they could start consuming the same to acquire his sharp strategic and tactical sense. What happened subsequently is anybody's guess.
Late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao proved to Gill what Ab Lincoln was to Grant. A temporary PM, Chandrasekhar, had done away with the services of Gill, seeing himself as a great problem solver. However, his brief rule reignited the Punjab problem with daily massacres becoming common. Luckily, Rao became PM in 1991 and he redrafted the services of Gill to handle the Punjab situation. What the former Punjab did then has become the subject of textbook studies in counter-insurgency operations. He wasn't a military man but he followed what General Grant had said long ago: "The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on".
