Namrata Kumari, wife of Kundan Ojha, claimed that Jharkhand government has not provided enough aid to the Martyr’s family. Kundan Ojha,26, was one of the 20 soldiers who as
sacrificed their lives in a brutal encounter with Chinese forces in Ladakh’s Galwan valley on the evening of June 15, 2020.
Ultimately, nothing can ever compensate for the loss of lives, but the Jharkhand government has made a number of pledges to the Martyr’s family in order to ensure their survival. Namrata states that nothing has been done for them other than a Rs 10 lakh ex gratia payment. “My husband died for the country. He sacrificed his life while fighting for the country but the government couldn’t do anything for the martyr’s wife,” she said. Kundan was the family’s main breadwinner.
After his death, Namrata and her daughter are reliant on her in-laws. She claims that she needs a job to raise her child independently and also to take care of Kundan’s elderly parents. “It has been a year, but I haven’t got a job. I should get a job so that I can raise my daughter well and look after my family. The government should help us and must give me a job. It is very important for me,” she added.
Namrata and her daughter Diksha were dependants on Kundan. Namrata last spoke to him when their daughter Diksha was born, only 17 days before he was killed in the line of duty. They both had made numerous vows to each other over their two years of marriage. They intended to celebrate their daughter’s birthday together. However, all promises were left unfulfilled. She said, “Kundan made a lot of promises which he couldn’t fulfill. When my husband was martyred, people remembered him for a few days. People came to meet us for 2-4 days. Now, everyone has forgotten about him.”
Moreover, Kundan Ojha and Ganesh Hansda were two Jharkhand martyrs whose families allege that even though they have been granted Rs 10 lakh ex gratia but they are yet to get the free property as was promised to them. Ganesh was also the sole breadwinner in his family.
Jharkhand government vowed to provide relatives of Galwan martyrs a free plot of land and also asked the centre to provide them with a petrol pump. Even the state governments have granted jobs to the wives and children of Galwan martyrs from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana and Punjab.
In a first, the Punjab administration deviated from the state’s current, “Policy of Appointments of Honour and Gratitude.” They accepted an alteration to the current guidelines to allow married siblings of three bachelor war fatalities from the Galwan encounter to work in state services.
