Pride conquers relatives8217; grief

SHIMLA, JUNE 17: My son has done what I could not. He is lucky to have shed the last drop of his blood for the nation. He will be remembe...

SHIMLA, JUNE 17: My son has done what I could not. He is lucky to have shed the last drop of his blood for the nation. He will be remembered for all time to come, said the proud father of gunner Yaswant Singh of 15 Field Regiment, whose body reached here from Kargil on Wednesday.

His eyes dry, Ram Sain, who retired from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, stood beside his son8217;s body. 8220;Had there been another son of mine, even he could not have got the honour equal to Yaswant Singh,8221; he said. He spoke of his desire to Shimla Deputy Commissioner Ram Subhag Singh for a memorial at the site where the cremation is scheduled at Kewali village in Rohru, 110 km from here, today.

Thousands of Shimlaites and tourists converged on the historic Ridge Maidan to pay tribute to Yaswant Singh. The response of the people was so instant that the entire Ridge Maidan was converted into a sea of humanity much before the body arrived and even the shopkeepers kept their shutters down.

Slogans of 8220;Yaswant Singh amar rahe8221; rentthe air as the coffin carrying the body was taken to the Ridge by pall-bearers.

It was the first time that a war hero was accorded such a welcome in Shimla. Governor V S Rama Devi was the first to place a wreath on the body. Maj Gen Jitender Singh ARTRAC, former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, Cabinet ministers and senior civil police and military officials were present.

Ram Sain said, 8220;On Tuesday, when I saw Rohru Sub-Divisional Magistrate Rajeev Sharma coming to my house with a grim face, I could read it even before he could say anything8221;. The news, however, came as a shock for his wife, Bimla Devi. 8220;She has become a statue ever since she got to know and so has my daughter, a year elder to Yaswant,8221; he said. About himself, he remarked, 8220;Look, my eyes are not wet even now. I wonder why?8221;

Yaswant joined the Army in December 1997, before he could take his Plus Two examinations. Last January, he was with his parents, the first time after completion of his training at Hyderabad. His father says,8220;Such an opportunity comes rarely in life. I retired after 20 years, like many others, without picking up the gun even for 20 days and now look at him, having fought against the enemy for days together and having shed every drop of his blood for the country8221;.

Story continues below this ad

In Tarkanwali, Sirsa, 8220;I8217;m the proud father of Krishan,8221; said 70-year-old Jai Singh. His son belonged to 17 Jat Regiment.

His wife joined him to say, 8220;We wish and hope that we will be able to see the body of our martyr son8221;.

People from all walks of life, including politicians, made a beeline here to offer sympathy to the Bandar family, whose youngest son died for the nation. The village has sent at least a dozen youths to the Army, out of which at least four are at present on the Jammu and Kashmir border.

Krishan8217;s family was told that he died on May 30. But there was no information about the body.

Story continues below this ad

Twenty three-year-old Krishan8217;s sacrifice has encouraged the villagers in general and his ex-serviceman and veteran of three wars uncle,Subedar Narain Dutt, in particular, to send more sons into the Army. Instead of wails, there was a sense of pride in the village. Men and women sat in separate groups to pay their respects to the dead.

Krishan married Santosh 19 about two years ago. They had no children.

In Meerut, thousands of people from all walks of life bade a tearful farewell to Maj Manoj Talwar of the 9th Mahar who was cremated at Suraj Kund with military honours. As the hearse wound its way through the city. 8220;Vande Mataram8221; and 8220;Maj Talwar amar rahen8221; slogans rent the air. Cinema halls were shut and RSS activists fired guns in the air.