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Journalism of Courage
In violence-torn Haryana, caste lines blurred for a few hours as residents of Jind stepped out in large numbers to bid adieu to Captain Pawan Kumar, who died fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Army officer’s sacrifice proved to be a unifying force as people lined up the road leading from Jind to his native village Badhana to pay their last respects.
Capt Pawan Kumar (23) of 10 Para (Special Forces) was killed on Saturday in a gunbattle with militants in Pampore. After completing his schooling from DAV School, Jind, he had joined the National Defence Academy. His father is headmaster of Government Senior Secondary School in Badhana and his mother Kamlesh is a school teacher. He was the only child of his parents.
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On Monday, as the body arrived, there was a heavy rush of visitors at the family’s residence. The motorcade that left Jind for the family’s village stretched for nearly a kilometre on the road. People showered petals on the vehicle carrying the soldier’s body as it moved along.
Captain Kumar’s last rites were performed with full military honours. Jind resident Sudhir Malik said all 36 communities had turned out to pay their last respects.
“He would not even take leave to come home. With him, all support for old age has gone,” said the officer’s mother, Kamlesh. She added that for the officer, the nation came before everything else.
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