Amongst New York’s many oft-visited tourist attractions are the Statue of Liberty and Battery Park. But tucked into one of the piers on the Hudson River, just before the entrance to the Lincoln tunnel in Manhattan Island, is the USS Intrepid. The Intrepid was an aircraft carrier that had its heydays during World War II.
Intrepid history
It had had a chequered past, serving the United States Navy intermittently during many campaigns, including the Vietnam War, and later being the recovery vessel that brought back the Mercury and Gemini space mission capsules.
However, it was all not glory for this anti-submarine carrier during its time in international waters. It was often at dry dock for repairs and was decommissioned and re-commissioned twice, earning it the nickname ‘Decrepit’.
Today, the Intrepid is a floating museum, its history, tracing much of American history of the past 70 years, etched on its walls and standing on its flight deck. In 1986, the USS Intrepid was declared a National Historic Landmark and has since been a floating monument, putting on display some of most amazing space, military and civilian aircraft and equipment, including the Enterprise Space Shuttle, the USS Growler submarine, a Concorde and the Lockheed A-12 supersonic reconnaissance plane.
In typical US-style packaging of touristy experiences, you can actually sip on a Café Latte while sitting under the shade of a bomber or the Concorde. Imagine how amazing that would be.
INS Vikrant
INS Vikrant at the Cochin Shipyard on June 10, 2015
The INS Vikrant is the most iconic Indian air carrier that ever was. It played a pivotal role in enforcing the naval blockade on the erstwhile East Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. There was a lot of Post-Independence history that the INS Vikrant was part of. For 20 years, this was India’s only aircraft carrier and it was part of the most significant armed conflict we have had with our neighbour.
Staying afloat
Like the USS Intrepid, INS Vikrant was a floating monument, a symbol of India’s defence preparedness. It was decommissioned and converted into a maritime museum from 1997 to 2014.
The apparent similarity between the two ends there. After being decommissioned in 1974, the USS Intrepid was due to be scrapped. But it was saved by two real estate developers, who helped fund the setting up of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space museum.
Unfortunately, the INS Vikrant didn’t find any such sponsors to stay afloat. In 2014, after the Government failed to maintain the warship, the Supreme Court approved its scrapping. And last week, we heard that India’s most iconic aircraft carrier has been melted and made into motorcycles by Bajaj Auto. What a come down for a war hero!
For a generation that believes in wearing its patriotism on its sleeve, this might be the most opportune moment for buying a part of our history and parking their backsides on it with exaggerated pride.
From a warship to a bike
But for the rest, this should come across as a banal attempt at whipping up prudish nationalism. As a company that is looking to shore up its market share and its bottomline, Bajaj Auto’s new bike ‘V’ might pay dividends. However, a national treasure and brand like the Vikrant created using tax payers money shouldn’t be used for private profit.
The more suave and truly patriotic move by Bajaj would have been to help preserve the Vikrant as the national monument it deserved to be, so that future generations of Indians could have relived its glory.
What else would we consider to be an acceptable display of our patriotism — will we want the Taj Mahal to be torn down and made into marble tiles to adorn our living room floors?