Since Independence, 166 soldiers from Gurugram martyred

Gurugram: The respect, affection and gratitude for the extreme sacrifice of Captain Kapil Kundu were evident on Monday night as thousands thronged to bid its brave son a tearful adieu. Captain Kundu has now become a part of rich legacy of soldiers from the Gurugram district dying defending their motherland.

Having a rich tradition of joining the armed forces since Independence, there have been 166 soldiers from the district who have died fighting for the country. Moreover, there have been over 80 soldiers from the district who have died in the wars of 1962, 1965 and 1971. Gurugram district and the regions nearby like Rewari, Mahendra Garh and Bahadurgarh Garh have had a rich military tradition for years.

A proud symbol of the valour of these regions is the Rezang la memorial in Palam Vihar Gurugram.

The war memorial had been built in the memory of 114 Army soldiers who were martyred during the 1962 war against the 5,000 strong Chinese soldiers in November 1962. Situated at an altitude of 17,000 feet around 30 km South of the Chusul valley in Ladakh, it was one of the most difficult battles fought by the Indian soldiers on the geographic front.

Based on SC Mittal's book on History of Haryana, the region of Gurugram along with Hissar, Rohtak, Karnal and Ambala contributed a great deal of soldiers to the British Arm from the period of 1915-1918. Gurugram region led with the number of soldiers in 1918 with 4869 combatants. During this period, Gurugram also had the maximum number of recruiting centers at 19 followed by Rohtak at 13 and Hissar at 7. Soldiers like Rao Balbir Singh from the region were also awarded sword of honour by the British Army.

Most of the urbanized villages of the Cyber City recount how its villages contributed a great deal to the Indian National Army and also provided martyrs for the freedom movement. There have also been various soldiers from paramilitary forces who have sacrificed their lives.

On August 27, residents of Shekhupur Majri village situated in Farrukhnagar area of Gurugram district came in huge numbers to bid adieu to their brave son Jaswant Singh. Deployed as a soldier in CRPF, Singh was among the eight security personnel who were martyred while fighting the terrorists in Pulwama district in South Kashmir.