The soldiers of the 13 Kamaon regiment dealt with the Chinese without any fear. They had no fear for their lives, though their weapons did not come anywhere close to what the Chinese army had with them. Subedar Yadav said, “The Indian Army were primarily using 3 not 3, which had to be recoiled to take another shot. It was not automatic. On the other hand, the Chinese possessed SLR (Self Loading Rifle).”
There were around 123 army men from the Kumaon regiment, out of which 114 died. Lt. Col. Dhingra was the Commanding Officer of the 13 Kumaon regiment during the 1962 war. But during the operations, he was hospitalised due to ill-health. He is presently 96 years of age, but he still made it a point to come and attend the venue in his wheelchair to show solidarity and respect to the soldiers who had laid their life for the nation during the battle. He said, “A small memorial was also built at Chisul in the name of these martyrs, but I am happy with the big war memorial, which has been built here.”
There were a number of widows and family members of those who gave up their lives in the name of the nation - who attended the inaugral function. One such person was Aatma Ram, who had lost his father, Shaeed Ram Swaroop Singh in the Indo-China war from the Kumaon regiment. He was just 25-year-old during that time. His son, with wet eyes said, “I am very proud that I am his son. I feel very proud when I say that I am a son off a shaeed.” Family of the martyrs are given utmost respect by the Indian army. Aatma Ram later added, “We are invited every year on 18 November to celebrate at Rewari war memorial. We are given lot of respect.”
But, there is a serious need for such kind of many more war memorials to be built in the country as a matter respect to those people who laid their lives fighting for the country. It is such kind of memorials that encourage many to work for the Indian Army. Their heroics could be used in building a strong and a dedicated Army as well. Ex-Amry, Brigadier R Sharma said, “It is just one of the sacrifices that has been highlighted today. You will be surprised to know that certain foreign countries celebrate the victory of the Indian Army who supported the British Army. Various countries have memorials, where names of Indian soldiers are written and every year they celebrate it, but somewhere, we (Indians) got into the quagmire of politics.”
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