Valour sold on street for pittance, soldiers too flock to flaunt honour

Ch Sushil Rao / TNN / Jan 24, 2017, 05:44 IST

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Army medals catapult soldiers into the pantheon of heroes, but these tailor-made badges of honour can be easily bought without even picking up the gun at blazing LoC or standing ground on frigid Siachen.

Valour sold on street for pittance, soldiers too flock to flaunt honour

Medals that look exactly like the original including thickness and size are called tailor copies.

HYDERABAD: Army medals catapult soldiers into the pantheon of heroes, but these tailor-made badges of honour can be easily bought without even picking up the gun at blazing LoC or standing ground on frigid Siachen. Just walk through the military stores lane at Lal Bazar in Secunderabad, shell out just Rs 2,500 and walk out as a decorated army officer with all the trappings of uniform and medals pinned on the badge.`Tailor copies' or exact lookalikes of army medals are up for grabs and can be bought for a price as small as Rs 40-180 in private outlets not just in Lal Bazar, but also at Regimental Bazar, Mehdipatnam and Golconda.
And here's the shocker.Soldiers flock to buy medals as the Army takes an abominably long time to hand over awards.Except for gallantry awards, tailor copies of practically every medal is up for sale.
This correspondent was able to buy several such medals and badges.An entire uniform set was also bought. There have been several instances in the country, particularly in Kashmir, where terrorists in army fatigues have carried out attacks. They have easy access not only to uniforms, but also to badges as well as medals for flaunting.
At a shop at Lal Bazar, this reporter had only to convince a shop-owner dealing in military goods that he needed medals. Though not on display , these were taken out from a box on the shelves.

On occasions like Republic Day and Independence Day , medals for personnel of the three services, paramilitary force and police are announced by the government.
While gallantry medals have names and army number of the recipient, others don't.
This reporter could also buy a medal for participating in the 1991 Kargil conflict, code-named “Operation Vijay“. The `Samanya Seva Medal' for designated operations and the `Uchch Tungta Medal for serving in high-altitude operations were also bought with appropriate ribbons.

“What other medals do you want,“ asked the shop-keeper.When this reporter asked for other availabilities, a Police (Special Duty) Punjab medal with a clasp was displayed.This had an engraved Ashoka Chakra with a ribbon. An original Suraksha Special Service medal was also bought, apart from a Sena Medal.
Another medal to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Independence was also available for sale and had been bought.

About the Author

Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

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