Include history of soldiers from state in HP school, college

The Himachal Pradesh Ex- servicemen League today demanded that syllabus of schools and colleges in the state be amended to include the history of soldiers from the region who laid down their lives for the country.

The league at its annual conference here also requested Governor Acharya Devvrat, who was chief guest at the event, to urge the Centre to allot a National Defence Academy (NDA) to Himachal Pradesh.

"The syllabus of the state's schools and colleges must be amended to include the histories of great soldiers from the state who lost their lives fighting for India," the league's state chief Maj (retd) Vijai Singh Mankotia said.
 

Members of the league also reiterated their request that the Centre move the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of Army Captain Saurabh Kalia.

During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors who later handed over his mutilated body to India.

"Kalia's case can also be taken to the ICJ, the UN's highest judicial body, to get justice on the lines of Kulbhushan Jadhav, " Mankotia said.

The governor honoured the families of four Paramvir Chakra (PVC) awardees from the state, including that of Captain Kalia, Major Som Nath Sharma (the first PVC awardee of India), Lt Col Dhan Singh Thapa, Captain Vikram Batra and Subedar Sanjay Kumar.

Thefamilyof Ashok Chakra awardee Major Sudhir Walia was also honoured.

Describing Himachal Pradesh as 'Veer Bhoomi' (the land of the brave), Devvrat assured ex-servicemen that the Centre will be urged to allot a NDA to the state.

"The institute should be given to the state on the basis of merit and bravery of the youth, and not on population in recruitment for the armed forces," he said.

Earlier, Mankotia had also requested the governor to raise the issue of increasing the recruitment quota from Himachal Pradesh with the central government.

"The Army is major sector for employment in the absence of industries in the state. The state's youth have a record of bravery in the armed forces and the demand of raising the quota is genuine," he said.

If the government desires, a 'Himachal Regiment/Corps' can also be raised, Mankotia said.

"Himachal Pradesh has the honour of having 940 gallantry awardees. This may be a small state but it is a brave state," he said.

According to the league's state chief, at present, of the state's 68.56 lakh population, around 2.5 lakh are serving soldiers and 1,11,508 are ex-servicemen.

"The state also has 1,208 martyrs and 940 war widows," Mankotia said.

Praising the Centre's One-Rank-One-Pension scheme, he said, "The Narendra Modi-led government is the only one that has cared about the rights of soldiers by bringing OROP and implementing the 7th Pay Commission's recommendations."

The national head of the league Lt Gen (retd)Balbir Singh was also present at the conference.