Village gave nation 2 Kargil martyrs, one yet to get dues

Nathowal (Raikot): Nathowal village, some 50-odd kms from Ludhiana, has become popular as Faujiyan Da Pind over the years and more so since its two brave sons — Naik Surjeet Singh and Naik Kuldeep Singh — laid down their lives for the nation in the Kargil war 20 years back.
But as the nation takes pride in celebrating Vijay Diwas as a mark of India’s victory over Pakistan in the war, the village feels that the successive state governments have failed to give one of the martyrs — Naik Surjeet Singh — his due.
Though the village has got a government senior secondary school named after Naik Kuldeep Singh, there is no memorial or institution in the village to pay tributes to the bravery of martyr Surjeet Singh.
Naik Surjeet Singh of 5 Sikh regiment was just 33 when he attained martyrdom on August 13, 2003 in Kupwara Sector.
According to his family and villagers, Surjeet was a good volleyball player and a keen sports enthusiast.
“My father would always talk of how our village needed a mini stadium as the youth in the village had the potential to make it big in sports. During the two months in a year when he would come on leave, he used to play volleyball every day. We wish the state government would have honoured him by constructing a stadium in the village named after him,” said Kamaldeep Singh, adopted son of the martyr, who works as farmer. He said if not the sports stadium, the state government should name any other institution in the memory of his father.
A village elder said tales of Naik Surjeet’s bravery are still alive in the village. He said there should be some institution in the village named after him so that the future generation get to know about him and feel proud of their village for producing Kagril martyrs.
Manpreet Singh, former sarpanch of the village, said though they have Shaheed Kuldeep Singh Memorial Government Senior Secondary School named after Kargil hero Naik Kuldeep Singh, but there is nothing named after Naik Surjeet Singh. He said they would request the village panchayat to pass a resolution for naming an institution after the great martyr as he has made the village proud by sacrificing his life for the country.
Balbir Singh, husband of sarpanch Jasvir Kaur who manages her day-to-day work related to panchayat, said the village panchayat would consider such a resolution.
‘Faujiyan Da Pind’
Nathowal, with a population of around 4,000, has sent about 500 men to the Army since the Indo-China war of 1962. The villagers say at present150 villagers are serving in the Army. Many ex-servicemen say the government has failed to come up with a martyrs' memorial.