Write up by Ash
Inder Pal Singh Bindra had that rare compassion, by which he could look into the centre of his soul, right at where the spirit met the bone, discover what all could ever give pain, and then refuse, under any circumstance whatsoever, to inflict that pain onto anybody else. His sense of compassion for everyone he met had that unquestioned genuineness, a soothing gentleness – the very nobleness of spirit defined him. The ever so polite Sikh from Meerut joined Hunter and then came to Fox and left his imprint on not only both but on the whole of the 55th. If ever a person came closest to the saintly gentleness that all faiths profuse, then in its most sublime humility, it would be him.
To me, remarks made by Seneca, a Roman stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, continue to haunt, “Ponder for a long time whether you shall admit a given person to your friendship, but when you have decided to admit him, welcome him with all your heart and soul”. To then lose a friend who has earned such wholehearted admission into your soul is one of life’s most devastating sorrows. Whatever shape the loss takes whether by death, distance, the various desertions of loyalty – it hollows out the heart. It is also one of life’s most absolute inevitabilities that we will each lose a beloved friend at one point or another, to one cause or another.
Sanjeev Sekhri remembers Bindra as a guy with a fantastic sense of humour and a real happy go lucky guy. Also that Bindra wasn’t fond of cabin cupboards and liked to live with a degree of freedom unencumbered by orderliness. After one such inspection, he got to the squadron and started spreading things all over. When we saw him doing it, we asked him, ’बिन्द्रा कभी कभी तो तेरी कैबिन अच्छी लगती है क्यों खराब कर रहा है!
He would reply with a 😃, “यार ये रहने की जगह है, अस्पताल नहीं!
During POP his Mother and Uncle were to attend. In the form to be filled up for guests he wrote in food preference, “Pure Non-Veg”.
The imprint of him in the NDA passing out journal very briefly narrates, “A smiling sardie who was known to have calculated the arrival of tea and eats to the second. As reliable as the weather in Tantland. Specialised in nothing”. To Bindra, life was enjoyed as a blessing in which there was no evil, the minor imperfections were only human ones, easily overlooked where the overall goodness of the other was what that really mattered.
The brutalities of the riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi claimed him – his gentle smile will however, forever be a constant in our memories.
Ladies and gentlemen of the course, this day is IPS Bindra’s birthday. He was a bachelor and the youngest in his family and is survived by his older siblings, both sisters – one of whom is settled in Mhow, she and her husband often interact with Murali. They are aware of the Pachpan Association and wish all of us well.
Penned with inputs from Sanjeev Sekhri
🙏 May his soul rest in peace 🙏