Martyr families continue to wait for govt’s commitment

Projects announced in memory of martyrs in Himachal Pradesh have seen slow progress. Despite being one of the states with the highest representation in the armed forces, Himachal continues to lose soldiers in militancy operations in Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and the North East. During Operations Parakram, Rakshak and Vijay, the state lost 85, 54 and 174 personnel respectively.

Six years after Sepoy Tilak Raj of Dhewa village in Jawali subdivision, Kangra district, was martyred in the Pulwama attack, several commitments made to his family remain pending. The government had announced the construction of a memorial gate, naming the road to his home and improving access to the cremation ground, along with renaming the village school. While his widow, Savitri Devi, received a government job and the school was renamed, the remaining assurances have not been fulfilled. The family eventually installed a statue of the martyr using their own resources.

A similar situation exists in the case of Kargil martyr Havildar Surinder Kumar of Dann village in Nurpur. His widow, Veena Devi, says that apart from renaming the local ITI in Jawali after him, other assurances made during his cremation on July 20, 1999, including an LPG agency and a memorial gate, were never realised. “When my husband laid down his life, my sons were just 11 and 8. We were promised support, but many commitments remain unaddressed,” she said.

In earlier years, under former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the government often reached out to bereaved families with financial assistance and jobs for widows. This practice, families say, has gradually declined and even the presence of elected representatives at funerals has become less frequent.

As the nation observes Kargil Vijay Diwas with pride, many martyr families in Himachal continue to wait for the honours and support they were promised, feeling that much of it remains limited to paperwork.