The Year was 1959,

*The Year was 1959, the place was Amritsar. Some Indian Army Officers and their wives went to Railway Station to see off one of their colleagues. Some goons made lewd remarks against the women and tried to molest them. The Army Officers chased the goons who took shelter in a nearby Cinema Theatre.* _The matter had been reported to Commanding Officer Col Jyothi Mohan Sen. On learning about the incident, the Col ordered the Cinema Hall to be surrounded by troops. All the goons were dragged out and the leader of the goons was so heady and drunk with power; who was none other than the son of Chief Minister of Punjab, Pratap Singh Kairon, the close associate of the then Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru._ _All the goons were stripped to their underwear's, paraded in the streets of Amritsar and later interned in the Cantonment. Next day, the Chief Minister became furious and tried to release his son from Indian Army's incarceration._ You know what happened ? *_His vehicle was not allowed to go in to the Cantonment as VIP Vehicle, he was compelled to walk all the way to meet the Colonel. The infuriated Chief Minister, Kairon complained about the whole affair to Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru._* Those days were different, democracy was in nascent stage, leaders though powerful had some qualms and ethics. _The perplexed, the so called Bharat Ratna Prime Minister Nehru instead of questioning his confidante Pratap Singh Kairon, sought explanation from the Army Chief General Thimmayya for the conduct of his Officers._ You know what he *replied?* *"If we can not defend the honour of our women, how can you expect us to defend the honour of our Country ?"* Nehru was dumbfounded. That was the Story of a brave Soldier who defied the Prime Minister. *This article was contributed by Maj. Gen. Dhruv C Katoch in the magazine "Salute to the Indian soldier."* this needs to be shared 👌