82-year-old Kargil martyr’s mother finally gets pension

Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Mansa, November 19

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An 82-year-old woman, Jagir Kaur, mother of Kargil martyr Naik Nirmal Singh, who attained martyrdom in operation Rakshak in J&K in 1999, has finally got her due as she has now started getting 25 per cent pension admissible to the Naik’s widow.

Army authorities took up her case and she has started getting Rs 10,300 pension from last month. The pension has been fixed for Jagir Kaur, which is 25 per cent, while 75 per cent of the martyr’s pension will be provided to his widow.

Earlier, after the death of Nirmal Singh, his widow wife was getting the entire pension.

Jagir Kaur lost her husband and another son soon after.

The other sons did not take care of her and over the years Nirmal’s widow also parted away from her. Left with no option, Jagir had to take up MNREGA work in Kusla village in Mansa to earn her livelihood.

Earlier this year, a video went viral on social media, which has brought this dramatic change in the life of this mother.

In the video, she was upset over her poor financial condition and even said I have no money and hence work as MNREGA worker. After the video, many NGOs came forward to help her.

NGO Nirvair Khalsa Aid of Yamunagar came forward to repair her house. Another NGO, Sarbat Da Bhala Trust, has started giving her a pension of Rs 5,000 per month from August onwards. Not only this, Rs 1.35 lakh has been donated in her bank account.

On August 6, the Government Senior Secondary School of Kusla village was named after Shaheed Naik Nirmal Singh. In addition, financial help of Rs 51,000 was provided by Bikram Mofar, chairman, Mansa Zila Parishad, to the old woman.

The family had got almost all facilities along with Rs 11 lakh monetary support from Army allowed to martyr’s families after Kargil war but, allegedly due to a dispute in the family, Jagir Kaur was left to fend for herself.

Nirmal was in the 15 Sikh Light Infantry and died fighting for the country at the age of 21.

Manjit Singh, Kusla village sarpanch, said “Jagir Kaur was forced to live alone due to some family dispute. The village panchayat and an NGO kept supporting her by providing wages from MGNREGS and whatever else they could.”