An irreplaceable police officer with hockey as his love

A.S. Dulat

One of our great police officers, Ashwini Kumar, a legend in his lifetime, passed away on October 19. Born in Jalandhar on December 27, 1920, Ashwini Kumar joined the Indian Police in 1942. His father, Dr Vishwa Nath, was a renowned physician in pre-Partitioned Lahore.

Ashwini Kumar remains one of our most highly decorated police officers: he was adjudged 'Policeman of the Millennium' in Sydney in 2000. He was also awarded Padma Bhushan in 1972. He retired in December 1978 as Director General Border Security Force. The BSF Mess in Nizamuddin (Delhi) bears his name.

He attracted Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's attention and came into limelight when he liquidated the notorious Bhupat gang in Saurashtra, where he had been handpicked and sent from Punjab in 1951.Such were his leadership qualities that in his native Punjab, the men in the force were prepared to give their life for him: no or never was not a part of his vocabulary.

Despite his tough exterior, Ashwini Kumar was an extremely sensitive man with a heart of gold. He was a connoisseur of good things -- music, art, literature, poetry and sport. An outstanding sportsman himself, he made a great sports administrator as president of the Indian Hockey Federation and vice-president of the International Olympic Committee apart from the many other sports bodies he headed. His first love was, of course, hockey: he even nicknamed Rohini, his first born, Hockey.

In his later days when he saw things going wrong, he would recite his most favourite line in Urdu: Kahan gaye who kafileh, ginpe hame naaz tha. He could forgive but never forget easily and readily burst into his favourite Urdu and Persian poetry. The Harballabh music festival in the winter in Jalandhar was closest to his heart.

Ashwini Kumar was not in the best of health in the past few years, but his will to live was strong. He had fractured his hip during the winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 which immobilised him. But he still carried on in a wheelchair and attended every Gymkhana Club election. And when pneumonia struck him a few days ago, the end seemed nearer. I met him in the ICU of Fortis Hospital where he was admitted: his family was extremely kind to allow me to meet him one last time as even doctors had discouraged visitors. He clasped my hand as hard as he always did, and shook his head vigorously as if to say he wouldn't make it this time. It still required a massive heart attack to still the great man.

There was a massive turnout at his cremation on Tuesday afternoon. His personality had touched so many lives. Conspicuous among the mourners were our former hockey greats, Ajit Pal Singh and Zafar Iqbal. And as the BSF bugler sounded the last 'post,' there were many moist eyes.

Ashwini Kumar was closest to being irreplaceable. If there is a life to be celebrated, it was his.