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The Artillery Regiment of the Indian Army had increased the tension of the Pakistani army. Ram Bilas Singh Yadav, posted in 59 Field Regiment, was raining bullets on the enemies in Dras sector. Guns were roaring from both sides. More than 20 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the attack.
Ram Bilas was moving forward pushing the enemy back. It was getting dark too. Then a bullet hit Ram Bilas in the chest. He felt as if some sharp stone had hit him. He kept on moving forward. The entire uniform was covered in blood. Slowly he started to suffocate and Veergati was attained.
Ram Bilas Singh Yadav was born on 4 July 1966. While protecting the country, Veergati was attained at the age of only 33 years.
This story was told to his wife Pushpa by friends involved in a fight with him.
The Kargil war ended on 26 July 1999. In this war that lasted for 3 months, 527 Indian soldiers were martyred. In the third part of the story of Kargil War Heroes, we will talk about Ram Bilas Singh Yadav, the brave soldier of Ghazipur.
Wife Pushpa said, “Was doing daily chores on September 22, 1999. In the evening, when the telephone rang, I picked up the phone in extreme curiosity. I thought Ram Bilas was on the line. But then a stranger’s voice reached my ears and He said, ‘Ram Bilas has attained martyrdom while protecting the motherland’.
Just the opposite of the eagerness with which she picked up the phone, she was completely numb. Everything was over in an instant. 15 years of companionship was passing like a movie scene in 15 seconds. On the other hand the innocent faces of the 3 children were staring at me, trying to read the sorrow of my mind. There was mourning in the whole family.”
Ram Bilas with wife Pushpa Yadav. Even after 23 years of martyrdom, the moments of 15 years spent together are in Pushpa’s mind like a film.
Took a friend for recruitment, brought a joining letter
Recalling the memories, Pushpa said, “Ram Bilas had taken his friend Gopal Yadav from the village to the recruitment center Varanasi for recruitment in the army. The friend went for a run with clothes and a bag. Ram Bilas was sitting on the side of the ground. And staring at the friend running in a crowd of hundreds.
Then the commanding officer of the battalion caught sight of Ram Bilas. He called a soldier to him, going to the officer, Ram Bilas stood in a careful posture. The officer saw the stature of Ram Bilas and then asked- son do you want to join the army? For a few seconds Ram Bilas could not understand what to answer. Then he nodded his head and said in a low voice, Yes sir.
The CO said to come after two days to run. Ram went to Bilas, ran and passed. The next day after document verification, he was given a joining letter.
The family started crying as soon as they got the information about joining the army.
Wife Pushpa said, “Ram Bilas first told the news of his joining the army to his mother as soon as he returned home. On this the mother started crying. She too started crying. Her father was also in the army. He came home to everyone. Explained that the boy is going to serve the country, what will be the work of greater virtue than this. You all bless him. Then the family members agree, then he went to Hyderabad for joining.
First posting in Sikkim
The wife said, “The post of radio operator was posted in 59 Field Regiment, Artillery. The first posting was in Gangtok, Sikkim. After some time the deployment was done in the Leh area. Most of his service tenure was several thousand feet high in Leh. For his excellent service there, he was awarded the Siachen Glacier Medal by the Army.
In this photo Ram Bilas Yadav is with his friends. Most of his postings were in the region of Leh and Kashmir.
When the war started, the unit was sent to Kargil.
Pushpa Devi said, “When the Kargil war started, he was posted in Chandimandir Cantonment in Panchkula district of Haryana. Then his unit was deployed in Dras sector of Kargil.”
Recalling her last meeting with her husband, Pushpa Devi said, “Before his martyrdom, Ashwani Kumar, a soldier of Ghazipur, was martyred. It was his duty to take his body to his home. Came home for an hour at the time of return. The whole family was emotional while leaving. He also became emotional after seeing us.
Pushpa Devi says, “The pain of losing him will go on for the rest of my life. But I am proud of his martyrdom. Everyone dies, but not everyone is a martyr. There is a difference between a normal death and this death. The body draped in tricolour is an example of supreme sacrifice on the motherland.”
Wife is Pushpa in a red and blue sari. She says, “The body draped in the tricolour is an example of the supreme sacrifice on the motherland.”
On September 26, 1999, the body of the husband reached home, on that day the whole area was closed, he became blessed, on that day the whole area was deployed to pay respect to him as if his own son was coming home.
When the body reached home after the martyrdom, people had gathered to bid a last farewell to Ram Bilas.
Daughter wants to be a teacher, a son is a doctor
Ram Bilas left behind 2 sons and a daughter. Elder son Ravi Kumar Yadav is a doctor in Lucknow. He runs his own clinic. On the other hand, the second son Rahul Kumar Yadav is preparing for a government job after studying engineering. Daughter Snehlata Yadav wants to become a teacher, she is busy preparing.
Old mother refuses to install son’s statue
Gulabi Devi is the mother of martyr Ram Bilas Yadav. His age has crossed 85 years. Gulabi Devi says, “After the martyrdom of the son, the district administration wanted to put up the idol in front of the house. But it refused. Tears would continue to flow every day seeing Lal,” says Gulabi Devi.
Ram Bilas Singh Yadav’s son Rahul Yadav, mother Gulabi Devi and wife Pushpa Devi are in this photo.
(This story is done by Vikas Singh. Vikas is doing an internship with Dainik Bhaskar.)