By Shankar Raj*
Bengaluru/New Delhi: The tragedy and reality of the war in Ukraine came knocking at India’s doors when Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagowdar, 21, a final year medical student from Karnataka’s Chalageri village of Haveri district died in a shelling operation by Russian forces in Kharkiv.
Naveen had risked his life to get some grocery and water for his friends who were desperately short of food from a store nearby when a Russian missile rammed into the Governor’s house adjacent to the store. He reportedly died on the spot along with others who were in the line to buy grocery items.
A Ukrainian woman picked up his phone, said student coordinator Pooja Praharaj, while speaking to TV channels. “Speaking from his phone, the woman said the owner of this phone is being taken to the morgue”, Pooja said.
His father Shekhar Gowda and mother broke down hearing the tragic news even as the agent who sent Naveen to Kharkiv initially confirmed his identity. Naveen’s father said he had spoken with his son in the morning over the phone and he used to call up twice or thrice every day.
An official in Delhi said it was impossible to get the body of Naveen back to India immediately. “It is a war zone. We are making our best efforts. His body is at present in the morgue,” the official told TV channels.
“With profound sorrow we confirm that an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv this morning. The Ministry is in touch with his family. We convey our deepest condolences to the family,” tweeted the External Affairs Ministry.
The ministry added that Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla “was calling in the ambassadors of Russia and Ukraine to reiterate India’s demand for urgent safe passage for Indian nationals who are still in Kharkiv and cities in other conflict zones. Similar action is also being undertaken by our Ambassadors in Russia and Ukraine.”
It is imperative that Russia and Ukraine respond to the need for safe passage urgently, said sources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Shekar Gowda and offered his condolences.
In the wake of Naveen’s death, Modi called his fourth meeting in three days on the Ukraine crisis even as pressure mounted on the government to rescue hundreds of students from Kharkiv, Kyiv and other cities that are under a barrage of bombardment by Russia.
“The deteriorating situation in Kharkiv is a matter of grave concern. The safety and security of Indian nationals in that city is of utmost priority to the Government,” government sources said.
On Tuesday morning, the Indian Embassy advised all citizens, including students, to leave Ukraine capital Kyiv “urgently today, by trains or any other means available”. However, students told news channels and posted their plight on social media stating that it was impossible to leave the bunker and go to the nearby railway station. “Even there, Ukrainians are given the first preference to board trains and Indian students are pushed out,” students said.
Around 16,000 Indian students are still stranded in Ukraine. Many students have shared photos and videos on social media from underground bunkers, metro stations and bomb shelters, where they have been hiding since the Russian attack started last Thursday.
Expressing his condolences over the death of Naveen, Chief Minister Bommai spoke to Naveen’s father Shekar Gowda. “It is a big blow. May the almighty bestow eternal peace on Naveen. You must be brave to bear the tragic happening. My deep condolences to the family. May his soul rest in peace,” Bommai said.
Naveen’s friends who are stranded in Kharkiv were shattered by the news of his demise when a Russian missile hit him while standing in a line to buy groceries. They described him as a kind person who went out of his way to help juniors. In fact, Naveen’s friends said he had postponed his plan to travel to India Monday and was supposed to fly back Wednesday so that his juniors are not left behind in the war torn country.
Naveen’s friend Amit and Vaishyar spoke to the media on telephone and said, “A team took the risk to travel towards the Hungarian border Monday and left. Naveen suggested waiting and taking along juniors as they are less than a year old in Ukraine. It was his idea to leave Kharkiv Wednesday morning.” Both Naveen and Vaishyar are from Karnataka.
Amit said “I am in the fifth year and we have known each other for four years. We spent six days inside a bunker after the war broke out. Whenever the curfew would be lifted to buy groceries, we would go out together to buy essentials. On Tuesday early morning, I slept around 3.30 am and woke up late. By 6 am Naveen had left out to bring food for all of us.”
According to Amit, the market is 50 metre away from the bunker. “Around 7.58 am, he sent a message to one of us saying he is facing a shortage of money to pay and asked us to transfer some money to his account. One of us called his phone at 8.10 am and some Ukrainian national, who had picked up the call, said he was no more.”
Amit said, “The embassy has given up on the students living in Kharkiv and have left us saying they cannot provide any kind of transportation but will only help if we reach the Hungarian or Romanian borders.”
“We were shattered hearing about Naveen’s death but were not allowed to go to the market as explosions and firings kept continuing,” he said. Amit’s father Venkatesh Vaishyar demanded the Union government to help students who are in danger.
Sources said as soon as the news of Naveen’s death spread, panicked students started to leave Kharkiv. Speaking to select media, Anaina Anna, a native of Mangaluru, who is presently studying medicine in Kharkiv, said she is taking a risk just like many other Indians. “I tried to reach my agents to get my passport but they refused to hand it over to me. The situation here is getting worse by every minute. There are no trains from Wednesday. So, I decided to leave today (Tuesday). I am going to the border without my passport,” she said.
Anna said that she lived in a bunker which is a kilometre away from the market where Naveen got killed. “Till date, we were living eating chocolates and biscuits and even the supply chain has been hit really badly and we are out of cash. Either we will die of hunger or get hit by Russia’s fire so we decided to take the risk and leave. More importantly, we don’t have a choice. It will be a 30-40 hours’ journey.”
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