Shaheed Naik R. Kamaraj
Naik R. Kamaraj, 34, of 117 Infantry Battalion In his last letter to her, Kamaraj promised his wife Dhanalakshmi he'd be home by June 11, their sixth wedding anniversary. Little known to her, Death was notching up June 10 as an anniversary of another kind. "First it was the Northeast, then the north. I used to think the border he's serving is actually the border between life and death," recalls his father, M. Rajagopalan, an ex-teacher. His mother Krishnaveni admits it was his money that helped them marry off their three daughters; send their youngest son to Saudi Arabia. Now Kamaraj was looking forward to returning for good, after completing the mandatory service period on January 3, 2000. Fate willed otherwise
Kargil, like any other armed conflict has not only cut short the lives of individuals who made a supreme sacrifice for their motherland, but also nipped in the bud the flowering of many special relationships.
Behind the saga of gallantry of the Indian armed forces are little known tales of a cruel and abrupt end to beautiful relationships.
Sepoy Sanjay Singh's wife could not bear the news of her husband ''missing in action" and committed suicide. Nine-year-old Nidhi and seven-year-old Gaurav have been orphaned. The widow of Nayab Subedar Mangej Singh wants to send all her three sons to the front to defend the country. ''I shall not hesitate to send all my three sons to the front and will be proud if they die defending the country like their father," swore Santosh Kanwar over her husband's pyre.
The tales of valour, of promises kept in the most trying way, of broken relationships and dreams shattered go on. On the other hand broken hearts will continue to murmur the words: ''When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today."
