Flags of Honour aims to foster the spirit of patriotism and service towards the nation by the armed forces. The organisation remembered the lost souls in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, with its founder Rajeev Chandrasekhar speaking about the day and the measures taken for the future
Bengaluru: Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan fought the terrorists during the 26/11 attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. He was martyred in the operations and was awarded the Ashok Chakra for his valour and sacrifice.
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan’s parents are his only kin and were the first beneficiaries of the organisation Flags of Honour, an initiative started by Member of Parliament, Rajeev Chandrasekhar. An amount of Rs 25 lakh was given to his family. With that money, they set up a brave heart trust in his name.
In remembrance of the brave Bengaluru-based Sandeep Unnikrishnan, the then Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, named the Mother Dairy Double Road stretch on Doddaballapur Road in his name - Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road.
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A board of granite slab was erected on a brick structure at New Town, Yelahanka, Bengaluru. The board was damaged in September this year.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar had called the mishap as a shameful one and demanded the current government to erect it back to its former glory before November 26.
Ten years after the attacks of 26/11, Rajeev Chandrasekhar in his Facebook post, wrote about the changes he wishes to see in the country on how to effectively deal with the national security and Pakistan sponsored terror that affects us as a nation.
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These included questions on the steps taken by the government for making coasts fully secure and the status of the Mumbai attacks’ investigations and the Uri terror attack of September 18, 2016.
These were the issues raised by him in the Parliament in 2009 and some of his recommendations were taken into consideration. He said that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack have escaped justice and accountability.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP
10 years after 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks: We will never forget Today, 26/11, 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai Terror Attacks in which 166 innocent people including women and children...
Speaking on the measures taken by Flags of Honour, he said, "I set out to co-author a report on Internal Security with the current National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and other security experts like Lt Gen Satish Nambiar (Retd), Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy (Retd), Ved Prakash Marwah, and the legendary B Raman. The report underlined the need for a ‘national counter-terrorism architecture’ which establishes a national counter-terrorism agency, a national intelligence grid, a ministry of internal security with a Cabinet minister and a new intelligence agency dedicated to non-state actors and suggested a line of action steps to counter terrorism from across the border. It was no surprise that soon after its release, the report had created outrage in Pakistan."
Remembering the 26/11 attacks and the martyred soldiers, he said, "Let us resolve that never will we allow Pakistan or any nation to consider India a weak and vulnerable nation as it was on that day in 2008, but rather a nation that will do everything to be secure and protect all its citizens."
Criticising the then government’s actions, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the UPA government was reluctant to answer questions.
To honour the death of the soldiers, Flags of Honour collected tributes and welfare wishes from the people. They created a big greeting card remembering all the lives of those affected by the Mumbai attacks to be handed over to the National Security Guard (NSG).
Also read: 26/11 survivor called 'Kasab ki beti' despite walking on crutches to testify against Mumbai attacker
Rajeev Chandrasekhar founded the Flags of Honour, a non profitable organisation in 2009 to foster to the needs of families of the martyrs, who lost their lives while serving the country. The platform is dedicated to foster to the spirit of patriotism and service towards the nation. The foundation’s main philosophy lies in ‘serving the nation’.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar is the founder and Principal Donor of Flags of Honour. He started the establishment to advocate the causes of the armed forces - men, women and veterans alike. Through his initiative, he hopes to give recognition to the lost martyrs and support their families in terms of financial assistance.
The advisors of the establishment include Air Chief Marshal Fali Major (Retd), Air Marshal MC Mohan (Retd), Air Commodore MK Chandrasekhar (Retd) VM, VSM, Commodore Franklin (Retd) Lt. General Satish Nambiar (Retd), Manvendra Singh, Member of Parliament, Sajan Poovayya, an eminent lawyer and Subhasini Vasanth.
The organisation has worked towards uplifting the families of soldiers in the Kargil War, in fighting for causes like giving pension to the widows of martyrs and veterans.
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