Family's Plea for Martyr Status Exposes Wartime Bureaucracy The recent refusal of the Gupta family to cremate their loved one, Sagar, until their demands are met has brought into sharp focus the bureaucratic red tape that pervades India's wartime administration.
The family's plea for martyr status, compensation, and a government job for Sagar's widow is not an unreasonable one given the circumstances of his death.
Sagar, a 37 year old Merchant Navy officer, was killed in a drone attack on a commercial vessel in the Black Sea while serving between Ukraine and Russia.