August 2, 1999

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For every soldier who lost his life in Kargil, there are many who must live with the agony of permanent disability. These are warriors who can never again do battle for India. The tragedy is that there is not much else they know to do. Some are astonishingly upbeat, others terribly depressed. But to begin their lives afresh, they all need a helping hand. In a society where disability is looked down upon, the path ahead is long and incredibly difficult. The army does look after its own, offering disability benefits, but each soldier -- often the sole breadwinner in a huge family living in a remote area -- needs much more.

Care Today, a charitable foundation set up by India Today, announces the launch of a special fund for the 10 soldiers featured here. The money will be used for these soldiers, though the list could be expanded. The magazine will acknowledge donations above Rs 5,000 and explain how each soldier is being helped. We will donate Rs 10 lakh to the fund. Contributions are exempt under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Make cheques/drafts to the "Lest We Forget Fund", India Today, Hamilton House, 1-A Connaught Place, New Delhi-110001.

HAVILDAR DURG SINGH
2 Rajputana Rifles
Lost a leg to a land mine
Singh, 31, will soon retire from service and it frightens him. There is nothing his village in Rajasthan can offer. His four brothers and sisters might give him shelter, but he doesn't want his wife, three children and himself to be dependent on them. "When you know you can't go back to the army because of disability, that's when the reality hits you," he says.
Need: To learn to use a computer, be a data operator.

SEPOY SRI BHAGWAN
12 Jat Regiment
Partially paralysed in a fall
Asked to occupy a post at 12,000 ft which Pakistan coveted, Bhagwan, 30, inched his way up the rock amidst heavy shelling. His feet slipped, he fell 50 ft, and his spine was fractured. Doctors say with physiotherapy, he may improve. Cold comfort to a man who was his family's sole breadwinner.
Need: A desk job with either the army or civilian authorities.

RIFLEMAN MOHAMMED ASAD
18 Garhwal Rifles
Lost his left hand in a firefight
Asad, 27, was stunned when he heard of the amputation and devastated when his future in-laws broke off his engagement on hearing the news. Lonely, he says his nine-member family in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, has lost an earning hand. But he will not give up on his honour. "I want to live a dignified life on my own strength," he says, "not with any pity or public sympathy."
Need: To marry; have children and tell them tales of his battles.

SEPOY AVOZOLIE ANGAMI
1 Naga Regiment
Lost hands in shelling
Life without hands frightens the young rifleman. The questions are endless: Who will marry me? Can I hold a glass of water? Will society accept me? Angami, 20, joined the army to support his nine-member family in the hills of Nagaland. His salary was barely enough to keep the home fires burning; now he doesn't know what they will do. But the spirit is strong. "I am down but not out," he says quietly.
Need: To start a small business -- with a loan, not charity.

NAIK KRISHNAKUMAR YADAV
18 Grenadiers
Lost a leg and hand in an explosion
When Yadav, 34, looked at his crushed limbs, he wished death rather than survival as a handicapped man. It would have been easier on his three young children, wife and aged parents waiting for him in Haryana. He's become cynical about life and his future. As the only earning member life was hard, it will be harder now. But the spirit within finally bursts through. If he's given help, he will survive.
Need: To start a small shop of any kind near his home in his village.

SEPOY LOK BAHADUR LAMA
4/3 Gurkha Regiment
Lost a leg to splinters
Despite a splinter, Lama, 28, stayed in battle for five hours. It was too late to save his right leg. But marvel at his optimism. "Life," he reasons, "is more important than a limb." The father of two waits for his new life. Only he can might go back home: it takes a fit person a day to hike to his village in Nepal.
Need: To get a house and any sedentary job in the plains.

GRENADIER DILIP SINGH
18 Grenadiers
Lost a hand and eye to gunfire
His machine gun blazed away even when his left hand was torn apart. Singh, 22, stopped firing only when his eye and jaw were damaged. He's calm today but doesn't know how to restart life and support his 10-member family. Recently married, Singh knows no vocation, except being a warrior. Today he just wants to go home to the quiet hills of Himachal Pradesh.
Need: A desk job near his village.

HAVILDAR SUNIL KUMAR LIMBU
1/11 Gurkha Rifles
Paralysed waist down in a grenade blast
The grenade exploded at first light. Then 27 hours later Limbu, 29, was flown to hospital to be told he had a serious spinal fracture. He will never walk the hills of Dehradun again. As he says wistfully, "I have to start my life from scratch."
Need: Modifying his house in the mountains for wheelchair use.

RIFLEMAN ASHIQ HUSSAIN KHAN
12 J&K Light Infantry
Lost an arm to splinters
A Siachen veteran, Khan used the extra allowance of his forward postings to run his home. Poverty drove him to the army. Now his Rs 4,500 salary and disability allowance is not enough. Newly married to a girl in Kupwara, he wonders how he will provide for his children's future and continue his brother's education. "The reality of such a life is much tougher than fighting in sub-zero mountain temperatures," he says.
Need: To run a telephone booth in his village, which has no booths.

LANCE NAIK RAJENDRA SINGH
2 Rajputana Rifles
Foot lost in blast
Singh, 28, hopes to stand on his own new "foot", live an independent life. His salary helped support six brothers, parents and his wife. "We see great sympathy now, but this same society will treat us as badly as they treat all disabled people," he says. His wife is pregnant with their first child and he worries: "What future awaits my child?"
Need: To learn photography and videography as a profession.

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