Students of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School were in for a rare treat on Tuesday. Not only did they learn the importance of International Humanitarian Law but also met a soldier who had strictly followed it despite the adversities.

“The strength of a human being is not gauged by the size of his biceps, but by his service to humanity,” said Lieutenant Colonel DPK Pillay, who addressed the students and shared his experiences on the battlefield.

He also told students how important it is to handle situations on humanitarian grounds.
“No matter what caste, religion, race or country one belongs to, what matters most is to be human,” he said.

Lieutenant Colonel DPK Pillay is a Shaurya Chakra awardee and an alumnus of the Bangalore Military School. Col Pillay, who had suffered fatal injuries in an insurgency operation in Longdi Pabram village at Tamenglong district of Manipur in 1994, explained students how he sent two children in the evacuation helicopter and stayed back in the village despite injuries.

The school, as part of its sesquicentennial celebrations, had organised a workshop to educate students on world affairs and the importance of humanitarian efforts, organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

ICRC personnel conducted a series of interactive sessions with the students and educated them on Humanitarian Laws and the importance of following rules during war.

“What would you do if you were part of a group whose leader has asked you to abduct a person who happens to be your own brother?, this was one of the questions posed by the ICRC to students of Class XI and XII, showing a picture of a man blind folded and being taken away by a group of armed men. In response, one of the students’ said that he would try to negotiate.

A short film on the history of the ICRC was also screened on the day and students also got the opportunity to look at a series of photographs showcasing work done by the ICRC across the globe.

DH News Service