Hero of 1965 war still fights a bitter battle with life

Wounds from the past — he was injured and burnt severely — have returned to torment this brave jawan from the 4 MLI (Maratha Light Infantry), now all of 62 years. He has been confined at home for four months now, afflicted with general weakness, an agonising body ache worsened by abad fall.

Two months ago Jadhav lost his balance and fell, dislocating his left shoulder. Besides, the monthly expenditure, since the last four years to the tune of Rs 1,000 for medical expenses, the fall cost him a good Rs 4,000.Surprising that a soldier should actually pay from his pocket, when the Southern Command hospital is at his command! But Jadhav has a tragic and heart-rending tale behind it.

States K R Gaikwad, former havaldar of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and his neighbour, “Since the last four years, Jadhav is in tremendous pain. He cannot sit for long at the paan shop. His legs ache even if he sits for more than half an hour and he has spasmodic attacks in the parts where splinters had entered his body.”

“At the Military Hospital, you don’t get treatment under one shelter. First, he had to wait in a queue for a long time, to see the first doctor. If he asked for a blood report, he had to walk to another building. By the time, he got his report, the doctor would begone. So he would be called the next day. This long drawn schedule, making him run from pillar to post for treatment each time, took further toll of his health. Finally, he was compelled to seek the services of private practitioners,” recalls Gaikwad.

With a pension of Rs 1,300 and sale of paans, cigarettes and related items at the paan shop which used to be jointly run by Jadhav and his son, the relatively high amount of Rs 1,000 per month for Jadhav’s medical treatment for various ailments steadily drained the finances of the family. To such an extent, says Jadhav, that “we were unable to refurbish the goods for the shop. One by one, they depleted, until I had nothing to sell, four months back. Now, it is impossible for me to garner Rs 25,000 which is required to replenish the shop, full-fledged.”

Frustrated by the hand-to-mouth existence, bordering on starvation, Jadhav’s son went back to his wife’s village to chance his luck in the agricultural occupation.

Now, Jadhav, despite his fatigued body,is ready to give another try at the paan shop with the help of his friendly neighbours. It is impossible to run the family of a wife and three sons, one of them only married.

It was indeed sad to see this soldier totally helpless. He needed help to be put in a sitting position and his voice has become weak. But even through this physical and mental agony, the heart of the soldier cried out when he assured us that, “I am very happy with whatever help I have got from the government and I will always be glad that I gave a part of me, for the honour of my country.”