Nationalism breathes easy in this village of soldiers in Gurgaon district

Memorial of Captain Umrao Singh, who fought in the World War-II in 1944 and got the Victoria Cross award in 2005 (the year he died), is a landmark near the entry gate of Palra, a village in the Gurgaon district of Haryana. Some 21 young men from the village had joined Indian Army in 2005 to honour Singh, and Palra had shot to instant fame.

Since then, village elders say at least three to four men get selected in the Army every year. Palra has the rare distinction of having at least one army personnel or former service man in every second house. The village itself is an ‘Aadarsh Gram — Model village’ with pucca roads, well-built houses, higher secondary school and primary health care centre.

After 17 years of service in the Indian Army, D Singh retired as a naik in 2016. “But who thought I would have to fight another war to get my pension,” Singh said talking about One Rank One Pension. “Every day for a year I would travel in a bus with a group of fellow ex-servicemen and go to Jantar Mantar to protest. I am happy that the government has accepted our demand. My pension doubled to Rs 21,000 per month,” he said.

The Narendra Modi government in July 2018 approved the One Rank One Pension demand of the ex-servicemen, which was pending for close to four decades. It allowed uniform pension for the armed forces personnel retiring in the same rank, same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement. There are several others who are delighted with the step.

Palra falls under the Rohtak constituency from where Congress candidate Deepender Hooda is contesting to seek a fourth term. In this part of his constituency, people adore him. But Modi has a clear fan following.

“This country needs a leader who’s not afraid to take on the enemy,” said G Yadav, adding that Pakistan deserved the Balakot strike. Balakot incident and subsequent nationalism-evoking speeches by the PM have touched the right chords in this village known for soldiers.

There are 2,300 odd voters in the village, of which 80 per cent are Yadav, rest all other castes. There’s hardly any Jat presence. “Deepender is a very honest boy, unlike his father. He is educated and also humble. Therefore, we did not expect him to stay mum when Jats were agitating for reservation in 2016. He should have said something – for or against, but he did not take any side,” said a former Subedar of Indian Army.

O Prakash, who served in the Army for 28 years and now runs a small general store in the village, said soldiers were used to a herd mentality. “I will obviously think about who will look after my village. But this is an election to decide the fate of the nation. You tell me who the rest of the country is choosing,” Prakash said.

No one in Prakash or Singh’s family has joined army. It’s the same for Umrao Singh’s descendants. In most cases, the third or the fourth generation is choosing civil services, Police, Railways over Army. Two girls from the village got into IPS last year.

A young resident who’s preparing for the civil services has read the Constitution and believes it is under threat. “Right to religion does not allow one to interfere in other person’s faith. Look at what is happening in the name of caste, creed and religion in this country. Bright kids are losing out due to reservation. Which section in the Constitution allows giving reservation based on economic class?” he asked.

He refused to be quoted as he’s in a government job. While his family has decided to support BJP, he’s planning to press NOTA. “This is my way to protest that no government is protecting any institution in this country. The four pillars of the democracy are also being destroyed,” he said, adding that ‘’young India will choose wisely.”

His uncle chuckled, “How many of these youngsters will actually come back home to vote?”  

A group of women pass by laughing. When asked about their favourite party, one of them said, “Dada jisko bolenge. But vote denge zaroor. Kya pata kiska bhala ho jaaye hamare vote se.” (Whoever the house elder asks us to vote, we will. But we will definitely vote. You never know who our vote benefits.)