The point of no return

Lieutenant Sushmita Chakarborty8217;s suicide at Udhampur takes me back to this quaint town where my friend Lieutenant Colonel SSS 8212; I prefer the acronym for obvious reasons 8212; had ended his life 10 years ago.

Lieutenant Sushmita Chakarborty8217;s suicide at Udhampur takes me back to this quaint town where my friend Lieutenant Colonel SSS 8212; I prefer the acronym for obvious reasons 8212; had ended his life 10 years ago. SSS had hanged himself from the ceiling of his room in the cantonment. The proud Indian army was ashamed of his act and the case was quietly hushed up as the 8220;unceremonious end of an officer8221;.

The officer8217;s wife was devastated. For her, SSS was not only a dedicated and chivalrous officer, but a real-life hero. After all it required considerable courage on SSS8217;s part to marry a woman from another caste, coming as he did from a conservative Rajput family. As for his friends 8212; and he had hordes of them 8212; not one among them could believe that he would be driven to end his life.

SSS will be remembered by scores of journalists who covered the gory events that marked Kashmir8217;s history in the early nineties. Anyone was free to call him 8212; even if the hour was past midnight. One could safely bet that he would be in his office even at that unearthly hour writing an angry rebuttal to some news report that had an anti-Indian slant to it. Often it was a delight to watch the impish SSS lecturing journalists on the great traditions and valour of the Indian army and of secular India. He would always complain that their reporting seemed to favour the insurgents.

One day SSS, in a rather pensive mood, told me how his children 8212; a son and a daughter 8212; were missing him and were lagging behind in their studies. Somewhere deep in his heart he felt terribly guilty. Having a job done well, SSS had requested the army for a home posting for the few years he had before retirement. He got marching orders, all right, but to the Northeast!

SSS, I remember, made several appeals and finally went to court on the issue. From that day, I guess, his countdown had begun. The court verdict came in his favour. The army had to post him in Jammu. But life suddenly turned dangerous. SSS suspected that he was being stalked. He advised me 8212; and all his friends 8212; not to contact him. Later, again under court orders, SSS was posted to Udhampur. He was not given decent accommodation there. His room did not even have a fan. No work came his way. Instead he had to face constant humiliation and social ostracism.

SSS was slowly driven to the point of no return.