New Delhi:
In exactly one week, a Distinguished Flying Cross awarded to the man widely considered the father of the modern Indian Air Force will be auctioned in London.
With just a handful of days remaining, NDTV has learnt that the Indian Air Force has swung into action to try and ensure that the unique medals awarded to Wing Commander Karun Krishna 'Jumbo' Majumdar are instead brought to India, where they will find pride of place at the Indian Air Force Museum in New Delhi.
Karun Krishna 'Jumbo' Majumdar was the ultimate flier, a hero is the truest sense of the word. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the Royal Air Force not once, but twice, for bravery during the Second World War where he flew over both the Burma front and in Europe.
But the prospects of getting back these treasures look bleak at the moment. Sailen 'Bambi' Majumdar, the late Wing Commander's son, is determined to go ahead with the auction by Morton & Eden Ltd. in London. Mr Majumdar, who was just two when his father died, is reported to have said that he does not want a situation where his relatives fight over Jumbo Majumdar's medals and would prefer seeing them in the safe hands of a private collector. The auction is expected to fetch up to 30,000 pounds or a little more than Rs 29 lakh.
Alerted by NDTV of the possibility of Jumbo Majumdar's medals being auctioned, Air Headquarters in New Delhi have instructed their Air Attache at the Indian High Commission in London to reach out to Sailen Majumdar to convince him to instead hand over the DFC to the Indian Air Force so that it can be brought back to India. So far, Mr Majumdar has resisted these efforts and has made it clear that he is not interested in speaking to anyone in the Indian media. There was no reply to an email sent by us to Mr Majumdar and repeated efforts to reach him on the telephone have been unsuccessful.
Sadly, the Indian Air Force has not been authorized by the Ministry of External Affairs to place a bid at the auction and all hope of getting possession of his Distinguished Flying Cross, his India General Service Medal (1936), original log book among other personal belongings rests squarely on the shoulders of the IAF's Air Attache in the UK.
The auction documents state, "Jumbo Majumdar's seeming disregard for his own safety on solo bombing raids and leading others against what appeared to be insurmountable odds made him a legendary figure both in the Royal Air Force and among his own countrymen. It is generally agreed that had he lived, his example and vision for Indian air power would have seen him rise to the highest level in the post-Independence Indian Air Force."
In 1942, Jumbo commanded a squadron flying Lysanders in Burma where he led two unescorted attacks to enemy airfields in Thailand and conducted attacks in support of the army in Tennasserim. He also led invaluable reconnaissance missions over the Rangoon region. On one occasion, he had to crash land in the jungle where he was eventually rescued after four days by Shan tribesmen.
Deployed in England in March 1944, Jumbo went on to fly 65 sorties in 100 days operating in densely defended airspace. His efforts were not unnoticed.
In January 1945, when he was awarded a second (Bar) to his D.F.C, the
London Gazette wrote, "His keenness for operational work and his skill on difficult and dangerous missions has always been outstanding. Before the advance northwards in France, he completed exceptionally valuable photographic reconnaissances of the Seine bridges, in the face of heavy ground defences. He has also participated in long tactical reconnaissances on which he was several times intercepted by superior formations of enemy aircraft. His skill and courage have always been outstanding."
'Jumbo' Majumdar was killed on February 17, 1945 in Lyallpur (in Faisalabad, Pakistan) in an air crash when the Hurricane fighter he was flying during an aerobatic display developed problems - one of the undercarriage legs deployed mid-flight upsetting the balance of the fighter as it was being put through tight turns. True to form, Jumbo had gone ahead with the display despite knowing that this particular Hurricane had a series of mechanical problems. He was killed instantly in the crash. The display was meant to raise public awareness to improve recruitment prospects to the Indian Air Force.
The prospect of losing what should be a considered a national treasure to a private collector comes at a time when this government has made it clear that the memory of those who served in the First and Second World War will not be forgotten and that India will publish the structured history of its armed forces. In fact, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the Man Singh Trophy, a prized possession of Sikh battalions to his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott in Canberra in memory of the Indian and Australian soldiers who had fought together in Gallipoli in the First World War.
Will the Government of India now act to bring back to India a piece of the Indian Air Force's history?