As the nation celebrates 'Swarnim Vijay Varsh' to commemorate 50 years of the Indo - Pak 1971 war and the liberation of Bangladesh there are many who have been silently doing their bit to honour the veterans of the conflict. A couple of ex air warriors of the IAF who left the service many years ago and have done admirably well for themselves in the outside world, not only did not forget the service ethos that had become a part of their lives, but also lived up to it. There are many who think, some speak, but very few actually do and ensure that it is done selflessly without vested interests.

One such small group got together a year ago and decided to reach across the veteran fraternity of the IAF and started making earnest efforts to get details of the people from the IAF who had fought the 1971 Indo Pak war. This group led by ex Sgt T Bhogeshwar Rao not only got the details of our valiant men in blue who had done their nation proud but also organised webinars on Zoom at regular intervals so that their story could be told in their own words to a larger audience. Over the last seven to eight months innumerable veterans who had long been forgotten about found themselves narrating their experience of the war, with great enthusiasm and vigour to an eager audience cobbled together by an ever enthusiastic T Bhogeshwar Rao, better known as TBR.  In addition to getting recognition for war veterans of the IAF during the Swarnim Vijay Varsh, the group also made efforts to collate information about ex air warriors who have had an illustrious career in the outside world after having hung their uniform. These included people from the corporate world to some Vice Chancellors and MLAs.

TBR in his efforts has been ably assisted by CB Rao or CBR and ex JWO Pathak. The philanthropic efforts of CBR, who left the IAF as a LAC or Leading Air Craftsman deserve a special mention. Having been unable to make it to the Flying Branch of the IAF, CBR left the IAF and started a poultry business which flourished with his dedication and hard work. He has so far donated more than Rs 20 crores for the education of women and children of the underprivileged society, sports and medical fields apart from contributing towards the Defence Fund including felicitation of 1971 War Veterans and Amazing Air Veterans who have made a name for themselves. He has the vision of starting a sports / sainik school by donating land in Shamshabad and is willing to fund the construction as well, which could then be run by a trust. These efforts speak volumes of giving back to society.

In a grand ceremony over two days, presided over by the Governor of Haryana Shri Bandaru Dattatreya at the Ravindra Bharathi Auditorium in Hyderabad all these people were felicitated and honoured for their contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as those ex warriors who have made a significant contribution to society and made a name for themselves after leaving the Air Force. The efforts made by TBR  and his team towards giving recognition to their comrades in arms has indeed been commendable and praiseworthy.  These men in blue have not only emulated the IAF credo of ‘Nabha Sparsham Deeptam’ or ‘Touch the Sky with Glory’ but also lived up to it.