Latest news with #N.Ramachandran
The Hindu
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Pahalgam terror victim's daughter lauds attack on Pakistan
The Indian armed forces must carry out attacks similar to the ones they conducted pre-dawn on Wednesday at multiple targets in Pakistan (and POJK), if innocent civilians continue to be killed in terrorist attacks in India, Arathy, the daughter of Edappally native N. Ramachandran who was gunned down by terrorists at Pahalgam in front of her and her children, said here on Wednesday. 'While none can compensate us for the loss, I feel proud of our men in uniform who braved adversities and attacked the terrorist hideouts. It came as a relief, and the news came as a comforting moment, since what the terrorists did were acts of cowardice. I am praying for more strength for the armed forces,' she said. On the attack being christened Operation Sindoor, she said that there is no name that is more apt than this, especially so since the dastardly attack by the terrorists led to many women, including her mother having to erase their 'sindoor' after their husbands were killed.
The Print
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Pahalgam survivor returns to Kerala with flashes of panic, death & Kashmiris who came to her aid
'Musafir and Sameer took care of me like a sister and stood with me at the hospital, with all the identification I needed to show at the hospital, till 3 am. Yesterday (Wednesday), when I was saying bye to them at the airport, I told them: 'I have two brothers in Kashmir and may Allah keep them safe',' Arathi Thursday told media persons. Two local Kashmiri cab drivers, Musafir and Sameer, helped her the entire night when she had to go through hospital procedures around her father's demise, Arathi said, a day after returning to Kochi. Thiruvananthapuram: 'Local Kashmiris treated me like a sister', said Arathi R. Menon, the daughter of N. Ramachandran, a native of Kerala's Kochi and Gulf returnee, killed during the Pahalgam terror attack. N. Ramachandran was one of the 26 people killed Tuesday in the terror attack in Kashmir. His body was flown into Kerala late Wednesday night. Arathi, her twin sons, and her mother survived the attack, but one of the terrorists shot dead her father, N. Ramachandran. On 21 April, they landed in Kashmir for a family tour. Arathi said they encountered the terrorists in Baisaran, known as 'mini-Switzerland', within 10 minutes of reaching the popular tourist spot for adventure rides. 'I heard a gunshot far away and understood that it was a terror attack. I asked my father and my children to lie on the ground. After some time, we started running. It was a fenced area, and everyone was running in all directions,' Arathi said. 'After some time, a man, who was not wearing any army uniform, came and asked us to lie down again. We did not hear what he was asking others. We remained frozen on the spot. Then, they (terrorists) came towards us. They just asked one question—Kalma? We said in Hindi that we did not understand what the terrorists had asked. Within five seconds, my father was shot in front of us,' she said. Ramachandran's funeral is scheduled for Friday. Also Read: NDA faces Pahalgam heat from within: JDU MP slams 'intelligence failure', BJP leader points to 'lapses' 'Did not inform mother until later' The Kerala government set up a Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) help desk to assist Keralites still stranded in Kashmir. NORKA CEO Ajith Kolassery told ThePrint that by Thursday, 51 groups, including over 560 Malayalees, had registered with the NORKA. From the state, MLAs M. Mukesh, K.P.A. Majeed, T. Siddique, and K. Ansalan, and Kerala High Court judges Anil K. Narendran, P.G. Ajith Kumar, and g. Girish remain stuck in Kashmir, according to the chief minister's office. 'Of them (560 Keralites in Kashmir), 291 have already left Srinagar, and 104 will reach the state between today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday). Others will also be back by 27 April,' Ajith said. Arathi said she did not inform her mother, who was not present with the family at the time of the attack, about her father's death until much later. 'I told the police officials not to inform my mother. I had to take care of my children and mother and come back. I did not entertain any calls from the media, as well, because of my responsibilities. I had asked the staff at our hotel to remove TV connections from our room so that amma would not see the news. I told her that achan was hurt and in treatment. I had to pretend to be strong,' she said. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: India can keep the Indus Waters Treaty 'in abeyance', unilaterally. Here's why
