India
Family of 1962 martyr finally get a photo to remember him by, thanks to a security guard | India News
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SURAT: Six decades after a braveheart, Pioneer Sujan Singh, was martyred in the 1962 India-China war, his family members in Rajasthan finally have a tangible link to him — a photograph from the Indian Army records. Thanks to efforts made by security guard Jitendra Singh Gurjar, the martyr’s family can now hope to get his statue erected in their village in Rajasthan where he is revered and spoken of even today.
Gurjar, a security guard at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) in Surat, has a treasure trove of information pertaining to the wars fought by India and the selfless soldiers who laid down their lives for the nation. Son of a jawan himself, Gurjar feels deeply for the Indian Army and often writes letters to the families of martyrs to express his gratitude. Many a time, he also hands over their photographs and other records to the families. This, he says, is his contribution towards keeping them alive in public memory.
One day, Gurjar found Sujan Singh’s photo in his collection. He contacted Santosh Kanwar, a former sarpanch of Dabri village in Jodhpur, who introduced him to the martyr’s family members.
“I couldn’t realise my dream of becoming a soldier. But I write postcards or make calls to martyrs’ families after officially collecting their details from the armed forces. When I contacted Singh’s family, they informed me that they did not even have his photo,” said Gurjar.
“We were surprised when Gurjar informed us that he had a photo of my uncle. In our village, we worship martyrs. It is a matter of pride for us that someone from our family sacrificed his life to serve the nation,” Durga Singh Rathore, a nephew of Sujan Singh, told TOI.
“Sujan Singh was martyred at the Arunachal Pradesh border in the 1962 war. The details of Indian martyrs that I have collected date back to World War I,” claimed Gurjar, who has the collection at his home in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.
Gurjar, a security guard at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) in Surat, has a treasure trove of information pertaining to the wars fought by India and the selfless soldiers who laid down their lives for the nation. Son of a jawan himself, Gurjar feels deeply for the Indian Army and often writes letters to the families of martyrs to express his gratitude. Many a time, he also hands over their photographs and other records to the families. This, he says, is his contribution towards keeping them alive in public memory.
One day, Gurjar found Sujan Singh’s photo in his collection. He contacted Santosh Kanwar, a former sarpanch of Dabri village in Jodhpur, who introduced him to the martyr’s family members.
“I couldn’t realise my dream of becoming a soldier. But I write postcards or make calls to martyrs’ families after officially collecting their details from the armed forces. When I contacted Singh’s family, they informed me that they did not even have his photo,” said Gurjar.
“We were surprised when Gurjar informed us that he had a photo of my uncle. In our village, we worship martyrs. It is a matter of pride for us that someone from our family sacrificed his life to serve the nation,” Durga Singh Rathore, a nephew of Sujan Singh, told TOI.
“Sujan Singh was martyred at the Arunachal Pradesh border in the 1962 war. The details of Indian martyrs that I have collected date back to World War I,” claimed Gurjar, who has the collection at his home in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh.
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