Karan Singh of Ghirai village in Haryana’s Hisar district might have lost his father. But he is satisfied that he could fulfil the wish of havildar Mahavir Singh of Jat regiment during the Kargil War, hesitantly expressed in his last letter.
In his last letter, Mahavir Singh had written to Karan — who was then undergoing military training in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh (UP) — that he was looking for a bride for him.
Mahavir, however, had promised his son that he would give him two years’ time to get married. Unfortunately, Mahavir attained martyrdom even as his son Karan was yet to complete his basic military training.
In his last letter to his son, Mahavir Singh had written, “I am writing this letter, as you had requested of me. Don’t worry about me, my son, I have reached my unit safely. Please take care of yourself during the training. If you don’t mind, I wanted to share with you that I have finalised a girl for your marriage. But don’t worry, we will not marry you till you complete your Class XII. Please keep on writing at home, your grandmother always worries about you. Complete your training with concentration and zeal. Don’t bother about anyone at home, all are happy.”
At that time, his son Karan was a recruit in “Multan Coy” in the Jat regiment’s training centre in Bareilly. The letter was written by Mahavir, a havildar posted with the 17-Jat regiment, on April 16, 1999.
After a few days, Mahavir’s unit moved to Mushkoh Valley in Kargil.
His unit was assigned the task of pushing the enemy out from Pimple complex (Point 4875).
In a fierce battle, Mahavir lost his life on July 5. A total of 34 men, including two officers of the 17 Jat regiment, lost their lives in Kargil. At that time Karan had not completed his military training.
According to Karan, he was given special leave from the training to perform the last rites of his father. Karan — who later left the Army to take care of his mother and younger brother — is now running a petrol pump, which was allotted by govt near Hisar cantonment.
Karan says he took the words written by his father as his last wish and, on inquiry, identified the girl. The girl was from Karsindhu village in Jind district and after two years of his father’s death, Karan married the same girl in 2001.
