Albert Ekka Chowk, Ranchi, Jharkhand.
Famous sons of Ranchi.
Surrounded by an unrelenting stream of maddening traffic that makes navigating one of Ranchi’s busiest intersection a living nightmare, the dark statue of a grim soldier holding a semi-automatic rifle with bayonet jutting out stands silent testament to the exceptional courage a common soldier can display for comrade and country beyond the call of duty.
Posthumously awarded India’s highest wartime award for gallantry, the Param Vir Chakra. The twenty-nine-year-old Albert Ekka had hailed from Jharkhand’s impoverished tribal community – several of whom continue to scratch a living from farming and other odd jobs. At the age of twenty, he had enlisted in the military with the hope of a better life, and within a few years earned the rank of a Lance Naik (Lance Corporal) with the Brigade of the Guards – India’s first regiment to embrace men belonging to all classes and communities.
Param Veer Albert Ekka, a Lance Naik of the Brigade of the Guards, Indian Army.
During the pitched battle of Gangasagar, a major conflict and turning point in the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, and one that eventually led to the creation of the country of Bangladesh. Ekka, upon witnessing enemy fire mowing down his fellow soldiers had charged headlong and alone into fortified positions. He had fought his opponents in hand-to-hand combat and with his bayonet – before succumbing to injuries.
Albert Ekka: A Farbound.Net Wallpaper
On the 30th of November in 2015, almost forty-four years after his death and burial in Bangladesh. His urn was brought back to his home state and handed over to his widow after an elaborate ceremony organized by Chief Minister, Raghubar Das (see Hindu article Albert Ekka’s urn handed over to his family)
Ekka’s real-life portrait can be seen on a postal stamp issued by the Government of India in 2000 and his story view in the popular television serial Param Vir Chakra – starring Indian actor Annu Kapoor.
In present-day Ranchi, Ekka is an inspiring and heroic figure almost everyone from the electric auto-rickshaw drivers to shopkeepers and students are familiar with. Details of his exploits can be found in an Indian army citation on the Indian Army Website.
