India lost 18 army personnel in a deadly attack after four terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad group attacked the battalion headquarters of 10 Dogra regiment in Uri on Sunday.
Among them was Havildar Ashok Kumar who, incidentally, had lost his elder brother Kamta Singh in a terror attack 30 years ago. Kamta Singh was a 23-year-old sepoy in the Indian Army, who was martyred in a terror attack in Bikaner.
The brothers’ 78-year-old father Jagnarain Singh, who lives in Raktu Tola village in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, says he wants to himself fight terrorists now.
Last rites of Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh:
#WATCH Bhojpur, Bihar: Last rites of havIldar Ashok Kumar Singh, who lost his life during #UriAttacks pic.twitter.com/gRxhiiyV6x
— ANI (@ANI_news) September 20, 2016
“I still have some strength left in me to fight Pakistan alongside the Indian Army to avenge my son’s death. The way terrorists slayed our soldiers, we should do the same,” Jagnarain who has been blind for the last 20 years told the Indian Express.
Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh’s family is mourning his martyrdom and they want the government to give a befitting reply. “Iss buzdil akraman ka desh badla le (the country should avenge this cowardly attack),” his wife Sangeeta Devi told the Times of India.
But his wife is not demanding anything from the government.
“I have no demand from the government. I lost my gold. I want no trash in return,” she told India Today.
The two tragic incidents have not however deterred the other family members who are also in the Army. Ashok’s grandfather, Rajgrih Singh, and his two uncles, Shyam Narayan Singh and Ramvilas Singh, were army personnel. Presently, his two nephews are serving in the army.
In fact, Havildar Ashok Kumar’s elder son Vikas Singh too recently joined the Indian Army as a sepoy. His youngest son Vishal also wants to follow the footsteps of his father and uncles.