In defence of our soldiers

On Vijay Divas, HP talked to a few families of Army personnel to find out if we, as a nation, are taking enough care of our men in uniform and their families:

Ruchi Pradhan Datta

Vijay Divas (December 16) has just gone by when the nation paid homage to the martyrs who sacrificed their all for the honour of the country. However, seldom do we give a thought to those whom they left behind, not really bothering to find out if their loved ones are treated sensitively once they are gone. Once we start doing that, it will serve as a motivation to those living brave sentinels, who may have to take the ultimate call one day.

But at present, the reality is far from perfect as actual life stories indicate. The widow of war hero Abdul Hamid was living in abject penury, in a god-forsaken hamlet of UP, till the members of AWWA (now FWO) rescued her from her misery, in the late 90s. Meena, a soldier's widow, worked as a domestic help in Dehradun till recently, as the petty pension of yore could ill sustain her family of four.

Yet another widow, Madhulika Siddiqui, was made to run from pillar to post by a well-reputed open university for the change in the examination centre for her BEd examination. The fact that her husband, an Air Force pilot, had passed away while on duty and thus she had to shift residence, along with her two little daughters, from her husband's station of posting to her home town, under the most unfortunate circumstances, bore no merit before the university.

Even while in service, the best jobs, especially in schools and colleges, are shut for the wives of men in uniform for fear of instability. "While maximum instability comes from those professionals who switch jobs for more lucrative options, it is we who we pay the price, even though we move only when the government decides that we need to," rues Deepshikha Ghosh, wife of a serving brigadier. "Moreover, despite the years of experience we carry, we have to restart as newcomers every two years," she adds.

"Even the portals of the best schools are shut for our children as we move mid term and the excuse given is that there are Kendriya Vidyalayas for our children," remarks Indu Pradhan. When her husband was posted in treacherous Tanghdar, the administration of Presentation Convent, Srinagar, refused to meet her for 15 consecutive days, till the Sister relented to meet her deserving daughter.

"Don't we have a choice like the civilian population to decide which school our children should study in?" she questions.

While in Jodhpur during Operation Parakram (after the attack on Parliament), yet another lady was harassed no end by a well-reputed credit card company, who wanted to get in touch with her husband, an army officer who was deployed in remote Lundet (in Rajasthan). The executive was apparently oblivious to the harsh reality of the Army personnel who were deployed in places without any access to even electricity and running water, let alone a telephone or the internet.

The horror stories could go on and on; but rather than being reduced to a cribber's tale, let these words be a gentle reminder to the society at large, to treat soldiers and their families with dignity so that a valiant uniformed man can carry out his duty without bearing the burden of the thought of what happens to his family, while he is away or worse still, if he's gone.