In a nation short of heroes, let's celebrate a real one
The terrorists were armed with AK-47s, grenades, pistols, knives, many rounds of ammunition.
Sepoy Jagdish Chand's weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. Sepoy Jagdish Chand unmindful of his own safety ran after the closest terrorist, chased and overpowered him.
Sepoy Jagdish Chand snatched the terrorist’s weapon to shoot him dead. In the process, two more terrorists in vicinity opened fire on Sepoy Jagdish Chand killing him on the spot. He attained Veergati, but not before he had felled one of India's enemies.
The great presence of mind, unmatched bravery, and valour by Sepoy Jagdish Chand minimized further loss of lives and gave time for the quick reaction teams in the vicinity to react. Sepoy Jagdish Chand’s actions was also a setback to the terrorists. For his unparalled act of bravery Sepoy Jagdish Chand is awarded ‘KIRTI CHAKRA (POSTHUMOUS)’.
Sepoy Jagdish Chand, 48, died battling terrorists at the Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on January 2. He was in the cookhouse when terrorists launched an attack and killed three of his mates.
Unarmed, the trooper Jagdish Chand didn't have to but he ran after one of the terrorists and wrestled him to the ground. The terrorist was armed with an AK-47, grenades, knives, many rounds of ammunition. Sepoy Jagdish Chand's weapons were his bare hands and enormous courage. He turned the terrorist's own rifle on him and shot him dead. Tragically, he was felled by another terrorist's bullet.
Sepoy Jagdish Chand had served 25 years in the Indian Army's 7 Dogra Regiment and was re-employed by the Defence Security Corps after retirement from the army. He had served in Srinagar, Leh and with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka, where he had won two medals for duty, says his family.
Martyred soldier Sepoy Jagdish Chand served in the Indian Army for two-and-a-half decades and served in Indian Peace Keeping Mission in Sri Lanka.
The family in Basa received the news of his passing at 10.30 the following morning. They had seen him just a couple of days ago when he had stopped en route to Pathankot where he had been posted from Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.
"He was very particular about his attendance and very proud of the fauj," says his daughter Kiran Bala on the telephone.
"He spent that day going to the post office, transferred some money into our account and in the evening called some relatives over for a meal. He loved his food and enjoyed inviting our relatives who lived nearby," says Kiran who is doing an MA in Economics.
Martyred soldier Sepoy Jagdish Chand had visited his family a couple of days before his death.
At 6 the next morning, the soldier bade his family goodbye. His wife quickly packed his tiffin and he was off with another fauji friend who was also returning to base.
In less than 48 hours Sepoy Jagdish Chand attained veergati. The news of the Pathankot siege had started coming on television and the worried family called his mobile phone several times only to find it switched off.
As a trooper for the Defence Security Corps, which is entrusted to guard military installations, he was stationed at the Pathankot airbase, one of India's frontline airbases. He was posted at the DSC mess when the terrorists opened fire.
As his family followed the news, their hearts raced in anxiety. His phone went unanswered repeatedly. "We called his friend there and were told that he was alright. So we thought of nothing untoward," says daughter Kiran. "On the first day the press was reporting the names of two other soldiers who had been martyred. My father's name was not among them," she adds.
The next day someone called from the Pathankot Air Force Station and when she answered the phone, the caller asked for a male member of the family. The girl called a cousin who was given the sad news.
"It's a day we never want to remember. It's the day the world ended for us."
"Three generations of my family have been in the army. My grandfather, father and now us -- among we four brothers, three joined the army," says retired soldier Piar Singh, 58, Sepoy Jagdish Chand's elder brother.
One brother is still serving in the Indian Army.
In every other house in the village, he says, resides a retired soldier. At one time every house sent a soldier or two to the armed forces. "There are only a few serving jawans in the fauj now. Nowadays our boys are not able to qualify in the selection process and are getting rejected," says Piar Singh.
The family of Jagdish Chand, the other martyr in terror attack, had demanded that the road to their village should be metalled. The residents of Goha village, most of whom were serving in the army, had to walk about two km to reach their village. However, despite announcements by various politicians the demand remains a distant dream.
Two jawans atrained veergati in the Pathankot attack were from Himachal Pradesh. Last year, seven of the state's soldiers from the 6 Dogra Regiment were among the 18 killed in a terrorist ambush in Manipur.
Himachal Pradesh has had a long tradition of sending its men to the armed forces. Three Param Vir Chakra awardees, including the first Param Vir Chakra recipient Major Somnath Sharma, hail from the state. Fifty-two soldiers from Himachal Pradesh died in the Kargil War of 1999.
But “Politicians forget the promises made to the families of martyrs. They come to hog limelight at the time of cremation of martyrs and make announcements,” said Komal, daughter of Sanjeevan Rana, a soldier who attained martyrdom in 2016 on this day while defending the Pathankot Indian Air Force (IAF) base from terrorists.
Sanjeevan Rana from Siyunh village in Shahpur area of Kangra district and Jagdish Chand from Gola village in Sihunta area of Chamba district were two soldiers from Himachal who attained martyrdom on January 2, 2016 while fighting terrorists who had attacked Pathankot IAF station.
Ironically, on the Martyrdom Day of the bravehearts these are just the families that remember the martyrs.
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