THIS Diwali, Kaushalya lit only one lamp before her martyr son Sahab Singh’s memorial here. Sahab, an Army officer, died in an encounter with the militants in Surankote area last Diwali. This is not the lone memorial here. Over 100 such memorials in the Chhamb Sector are not only places of worship for the villagers but also a source of inspiration for the local youth to join the Army. Interestingly, the government hasn’t constructed any of these memorials. In fact, the administration does not even provide any financial help for the purpose. Relatives and villagers jointly constructed them in the memory of their men. ‘‘My husband died a few years ago. Sahab was the only bread-winner of the family. We spent money from his arrears to construct this memorial. For us, this was more important than our bread and butter,’’ says Kaushalaya. These memorials are not only places of worship for the villagers but also a source of inspiration for the local youth to join the ArmyVillagers want the government to provide financial help in such constructions. ‘‘After all, they are also the heroes of the nation,’’ says Gyan Chand, a resident of Chhamb sctor. Baldev Singh, who constructed a memorial for his brother Havaldar Dharam Pal Singh (killed in Srinagar on June 3, 1993), said apart from cost on purchase of land, the expenditure on a memorial goes up to Rs 50,000. ‘‘Whenever one leaves the village to join the Army, he does not go to a temple, but comes here,’’ says Anil Singh at Platon. He adds that most youth of this Rajput-dominated village are educated but unemployed. ‘‘We dream of joining the Army. This is our first preference,’’ says Ashwani Kumar, an aspirant. In fact, joining the Army is a tradition or culture among youth in these villages on the Line of Control (LoC), and not just a source of income.
