A martyr lives forever

Two days ago, on 25^th Nov and 100 years after World War, a small village in Punjab got the recognition which 26 of its martyred soldiers deserved.

In the Badduwal village of Moga district, Punjab, stands a slab erected in memory of the 26 Sikh soldiers from the 15th Sikh Ludhiana Regiment who fought during the Great War (World War I).

This is the effort of 70-year old Karamjit Singh Kalia, who has spent his life time in trying to find out who these martyrs and others from the village who served in the Great War were. Since 1996, Kalia led the process of ensuring that all records of Indian martyrs from their village were collected, recorded and archived. After his 22-year search, he has discovered the identities of five such martyrs.

It is very common to see most of the army men coming from Punjab and fills one with pride to know that some from India were also part of the WWI. War as such is loathsome but we cannot belittle those who have laid down their lives. Martyrs are to be celebrated forever and our salute to Kalia for taking to this effort to give names to these nameless martyrs – this is probably the biggest respect given to any martyr.