Housing societies in Mira Road celebrated the 72nd Independence Day by paying tributes to Major Kaustubh Rane and three others who died in Kashmir recently.
The Federation of Srishti Sector 3 in Mira Road organised an event to honour 22 former and current Army, Navy and Air Force personnel residing in the area, and to pay homage to Mira Road’s hero, Major Rane. A two-minute silence was observed as a tribute to him.
Heavy rains could not dampen the spirits of the residents as they turned up in large numbers to witness the occasion, with children having their faces painted in the tricolour and the adults dressed in the colours of the national flag. The guest of honour at the event was Colonel Nagendra Kumar Gupta, who served in the Indian Army from 1978 to 2013. He presided over the flag hoisting followed by a speech in honour of Major Rane.
Colonel Gupta said, “Kaustubh Rane laid down his life while performing his duty for the country. We are here to honour him. The people we are celebrating today are the people who risked their lives every single day in order to protect you. They gave up their family, their luxuries, to honour your life, so that you could live to see a better tomorrow. These are the people who have given their lives for Indians, and only Indians. We have completed 71 years of Independence today and that is the biggest gift any of us can ever receive.”
Lt. Commander M.M. Joshi, Major M.P. Singh, Hon. Lt. Eric James Soans and all the other former and current Army, Navy and Air Force officials, showered Major Rane’s poster with flowers as a tribute to him and the three others who were martyred in Kashmir. They were also felicitated with a memento and a shawl, with residents, in a spirit of pride and patriotism, clapping and cheering them on with chants of Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai .
On August 10, thousands marched along with the body of the braveheart major after his mortal remains were brought to Mira Road in an army truck. President Ram Nath Kovind had honoured Major Rane with the Sena Gallantry Medal on the 69th Republic Day celebrations this year. The Major had briefly visited his family in Mira Road in April before returning to the front.
