Kargil Martyr Wrote To Family That He's Fine, Letter Reached Home 3 Days After His Body Arrived

Three days after Naik Kuldeep Singh¡¯s body arrived home in Ludhiana from Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, his wife got a letter from him. It was 18 years ago but Mandeep Kaur, 49, still remembers the heartache that pink ¡®sainik patr¡¯ gave her.

The soldier, who was killed in Operation Rakshak, flushing out intruders left behind after the Kargil war, had written the letter just two days before his death, on July 13, 2000.

Kuldeep¡¯s body arrived home on July 16 in a coffin. Then on July 19, the letter arrived. For the family, it was like a painful d¨¦j¨¤ vu. It was like living through the agony of Kuldeep¡¯s body arriving a second time.

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Written in polite Punjabi in broad strokes, it is a typical inland letter but in pink, a colour designated for defence forces. Carefully preserved by the family, the writing is still legible.

Mandeep, who works at the mini-secretariat, shows the letter she has kept in a file along with the death certificate of her husband. It starts with a mild complaint by Kuldeep about his previous letter having gone unanswered.

Told wife not to worry about him

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In the letter Kuldeep tells his wife that he is doing fine and hopes she and his two sons are well. He tells them not to worry about him.

The solider then asks his wife if she has received the Rs 2,000 money order he had sent and also whether they have yet found a decent match for her younger sister. After having shared the worldly worries, he again

asks her to give his love to their sons Ravi and Veer.

¡°Of my two sons ¡ªRavinder Singh is 25 now and has done BCA and a Punjabi course. Veerpal Singh is a BSC IT graduate. Both choose not to see the letter as often as I do. Ravinder is the silent one and was aware of the tragedy when it stuck us. The younger one didn¡¯t know much at that time. Both are now looking for jobs,¡± says Mandeep.

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¡°My husband had come home on a two-month leave in November and left for Uri sector on January 5, 2000. In July, I got a call from him that he was coming home on leave on July 16. On July 13 morning, I got a call from my uncle telling me that my husband had achieved martyrdom,¡± Mandeep recalls.

Kuldeep joined the Army in 1987 and initially served in Allahabad, then in Chamb Jourian in Jammu and Kashmir and then in Kupwara and Uri sectors.

The unit, 10 Sikh Light Infantry, is in Pathankot and every year they call the family for the Foundation Day.

If Kuldeep¡¯s last letter is Mandeep¡¯s prized possession, for the soldier¡¯s father Preetam Singh it his picture. Seeped in sepia tones, the photo of turbaned Kuldeep has him holding a rifle in one hand as he points into the distance with the other.