INA veteran's family rues lack of aid, recognition

Rajiv Mahajan

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NURPUR, JANUARY 20

Munshi Singh Pathania was born in 1914 at Lodori village in Nurpur, famous for Indian Army veterans and Army officers. He served in the Armed Force Guard of the British army and took part in the World War II.

He then joined the Indian National Army (INA). However, the veteran’s services got no government recognition even as he passed away in July 1988. The government did not extend any financial assistance even for his last rites, his family laments.

The INA veteran had five sons. The eldest, Yashpal Singh Pathania (76), told The Tribune that his father was taken as Prisoner of War (PoW) in 1942 by Germany. “As a PoW, he languished in jails for around three years. After he was released, he came in contact with Netaji Subhas Chander Bose and joined the INA. He also took part in the freedom movement led by Bose,” he said.

On the 25th anniversary of Independence, he was honoured with ‘Tamrapatra’ by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Yashpal said the government should recognise his father’s services. “A memorial gate should be build in his memory in my father’s native village or a road should be named after him so that his services can be cherished,” he said.

Abhishek Pathania, Munshi Singh’s grandson, said the government should assist the kin of freedom fighters by giving them preference in government jobs. Also, low-interest loans should be extended to encourage them to seek self-employment opportunities.