Kashmir saviour house is now a cow shed

One has to literally trudge through a dung-filled pit of a verandah to reach the house of the brave soldier. Banyan trees with large roots dangle from what once used to be a ceiling, while wild grass and filth make up for what used to be a living room or a kitchen.

Four years ago, Defence Minister George Fernandes, during the centenary celebrations of Brigadier Singh, had made a statement to renovate his house and convert it into a library or museum. Till date, nothing has been done. The roof of some rooms that was in place then has also collapsed.

The State Education Department, which is in possession of the building, is least bothered. About 15 years ago, villagers said, the family of Brigadier Singh (five daughters who are now settled abroad) had sold the house to the department for running a primary school.

On finding the condition of the building deteriorating, the department shifted the school to another house nearby. Ever since, the martyrs’ house is being used as a cow shed.

The president of the Ex-Servicemen’s League, Goverdhan Singh Jamwal, says he had offered Rs 2 lakh from his constituency fund for the renovation of the house but the government is yet to finalise a plan for the same.

‘‘I am sick of sending reminders to the sections concerned,’’ says Jamwal. The main stumbling block before him is that he can’t start renovation work till the government hands over possession.

The government alone is not to be blamed. Even the people of the area, who describe the Brigadier as a brave son of the soil, have not bothered to care for his house. ‘‘If they can’t donate money for the renovation, at least they can stop feeding their cattle inside the rooms of a great soldier,’’ says Maj Gen Jamwal.

Colonel Rachpal Singh (retd), nephew of Brigadier Singh, says he was posted in Jhanghar area of Rajouri when he got the news of his uncle’s death. ‘‘We were at war. I could not attend the last rites as my Company was then moved to Skardu,’’ he says.

It was Brigadier Singh’s timely decision to blow up a vital bridge in the Uri sector on October 23, 1947 that saved the entire state from coming under Pakistani occupation. Singh died fighting the Pakistani forces and was later awarded the Mahavir Chakra posthumously.