Kargil War Hero Who Took Six Bullets For The Country Now Forced To Run A Juice Shop In Delhi

In a small house in North Delhi¡¯s Mukhmelpur village lives a Kargil war veteran, Satbir Singh, of the Rajputana Rifles, who was left disabled when Pakistan fired six bullets at him during the 1999 war.

The 53-year-old soldier limps as one of the bullets still remains in his right leg. Due to a severe injury, Singh had to take voluntary retirement from his post. A pile of letters showed that he was entitled to a petrol pump and one-acre land by the then government. However, 20 years later, Singh is running odd errands to serve a family of four as a juice-seller.

Kargil Soldier of Rajputana Rifles, Satbir Singh's residence in Mukhmelpur village, New Delhi

IndiaTimes visited Singh at his home in Mukhmelpur where he narrated his ordeal.

Singh was brought up in an environment where he was encouraged to raise slogans like ¡®Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan¡¯ as he waved Indian flags with other villagers in every lane. He was five years old when he used to participate in this chore."I felt inspired to be a part of the Indian Army," he said. Singh was an ardent participant in school parades. Later, he even became a part of the NCC (National Cadet Corps) cadre where he received training for about two years.

Due to financial instability, he had to leave his education. For the next two and a half years, Singh worked for the Indian Home Guard. Finally, he got admitted in the Indian Army. He served as an Indian Army soldier in Srinagar for eight and a half years, out of a total of 14 years. After 1989, the situation in Kupwara and Bandipora started deteriorating.

Two bullets that were fired at Singh during the Kargil war

Once the regiment received information about the battle, Singh and other warriors were given rigorous training on how to climb the Tololing mountain, due to the difficult nature of this terrain. Tololing was a dominant position overlooking the Srinagar-Leh highway. ¡°Humaare liye Tololing ke pahad ko jeetna matlab Kargil jeetna tha.¡±

Finally, on June 12, 1999 India launched an attack on the Pakistan army. Singh¡¯s unit consisted of 24 soldiers, out of which seven were killed and rest received grave injuries. Singh himself took six gun shots. One of the bullets still lies in the arch of his feet. He was admitted to the Army hospital on June 14, 1999 and was discharged on May 23, 2000 because he could barely walk.

Singh working in his juice shop

Private, government and army doctors advised him not to get an artificial limb as a natural limb would prove to be more beneficial than a prosthetic one. His fellow soldiers who got an artificial limb struggle to walk with it. "First, they have to wear proper socks then tie it properly. It is a cumbersome process. During monsoon and summer seasons, the prosthetic limb sometimes leads to blisters and pockmarks which bothers them a lot", he tells further. Therefore, ex-lance soldier uses a walking stick that is convenient for him.

When we asked him if he was promised anything post retirement, he claimed that his mates who were killed during the war, their families were immediately given either petrol pump, gas agencies or one acre land for their sustenance. "Due to my injury I was in the hospital for a long time and nobody was there in my family who would look after", he said with a sigh. His children at that time (two boys) were nine years old and nine months old respectively.

When he was discharged, he conducted an enquiry into the entitlement, he was sent off without any response. ¡°Kisi ke bacho ko naukri mil gayi, kisi ki biwi ko naukri mil gayi, kisi ko gas agency, kisi ko kheti karne ke liye zameen de di gayi.¡± He was later told that he has to survive on a given pension of Rs 4,000/month only (as of 2000). At present, he is getting a pension of Rs 23,000/month.

Later, he approached the Army headquarters and filled a form for the acquirement of a petrol pump. He submitted those documents at ¡®Shastri Bhavan Petroleum Ministry¡¯ office."Samvidhaan ke anusaar,1999-2000 mein ye niyam tha ki yudh mein ghayal fauji ko zameen ka ek tukda dekar sammaanit kiya jaayega" said a brave Satbir.

From left to right: A glimpse of letter written by Singh, A photograph of Singh standing on his farm, A newspaper cutting about Singh,Singh's residence

An action was therefore, taken by the then Central government to allot him with one acre land and petrol pump. However, his application remained buried in paperwork for around four years. He alleges, that he was allotted a piece of land later, on which he did extensive farming. However, it was snatched away from him four years later. His friends informed him that machines and bulldozers had run over the entire farm. Satbir had spent his entire savings in fertilization of that land.

He claimed that an entire package of Rs 40,332/month as pension was promised to him along with education for his children. "I am getting only half the amount as pension and no education fee for my children."

Since the past one year, he is running a juice shop in Mukhmelpur village. There is no bus stand, railway station here, so there are hardly any customers. Some 10 to 12 boys of Mukhmelpur who go to the gym visit his shop to drink juice. ¡°I barely, earn Rs 500 per day through this business. In the past 20 years, I have worked as a vegetable seller, farmer, electrician and at construction sites to earn a living.¡±

¡°I have all the documents ready. I was threatened several times that I should continue with my life as it is else, I shall face dire consequences. But I am not scared and I want to make sure that any other soldier doesn¡¯t have to suffer the same ordeal.¡±

The juice shop where Satbir Singh now works

Satbir Singh awaits justice. In 2019, the battle of Kargil will complete 20 years of victory but Singh is still waiting to exercise his fundamental rights. As he stumbles on one leg, he struggles to pull the shutter of his juice shop. In an empty lane of Mukhmelpur, Satbir is a recipient of empty promises and statements.