Lest they are forgotten
Kulwant Singh was a handsome young man of our village. After the 1962 and 1965 wars, as the country was high on patriotic fervour and in awe of the brave deeds of our soldiers, he got motivated and joined the Army. He was the only child of our neighbours, Mohinder Singh and Jeeto. Married thereafter, he returned to his regiment. The 1971 war took place soon.
Mohinder Singh and Jeeto were all prayers for the safe return of their son. As the war was nearing the end, a telegram was received announcing the news of the death of Kulwant Singh. It was a huge setback for them. The young bride returned to her parents and was later married off somewhere. Some months later, someone pointed out that the telegram read, ‘Missing in action, presumed dead’. The belongings of Kulwant Singh were brought home later by a soldier of his regiment, who could not give any satisfactory reply on the circumstances of Kulwant Singh’s death. People started saying that may be he was just ‘missing’ and might return along with the other PoWs held in Pakistan. This kindled some hope in Mohinder Singh and Jeeto.
As the PoWs started announcing their well-being from Lahore Radio, Mohinder Singh and Jeeto were all ears. But the announcement regarding Kulwant Singh was never heard and he never returned. Every time the PoWs returned from Pakistan, they looked forward to some positive news about their son, but none came.
I joined the Army in the late 1970s and Jeeto would often visit our home and ask me to find the whereabouts of her son. Kulwant Singh’s name also did not figure on the list of the missing defence personnel as there was no evidence of his being seen ‘alive’.
As the years passed, the hope of seeing their son ‘alive’ kept fading. I still remember Mohinder getting up at night and crying loudly. Piercing the darkness of the night, his wails were chilling and people would join hands in prayers. No words from a crying Jeeto would console him. One day, Jeeto died, and a few years later, Mohinder too left, hoping to unite with his son. His house was locked. With time, it started crumbling.
On one of my visits home, a few years later, I saw the house demolished and someone starting a new construction there. The last remains of the memories of Mohinder Singh, Jeeto and Kulwant Singh got obliterated.
As we celebrate India’s victory in the 1971 war, let us also remember the heavy price paid by the families of those killed in the war.
Postscript: A few months back, during my visit to the village, I saw two cemented benches placed on a turning towards their house with the name of Kulwant Singh, the martyr of 1971, etched on them. It was indeed heartening to see that at least someone had remembered him.
