The family of Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid has expressed outrage after his name was removed from the main gate of a primary school in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, where he once studied. The school, which was renamed "PM Shri Composite School" after a recent painting work, previously bore the name "Shaheed Hamid Vidyalaya." Despite the family's complaints, the school authorities have yet to reinstate Hamid's name on the main entrance, leaving the family deeply hurt. Abdul Hamid was a war hero who displayed extraordinary bravery during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, destroying three Patton tanks and forcing the enemy to retreat.
'My wife, family members as well as members of the workers will be trustees.' 'The trust will take all decisions -- no family member can individually take any decision.'
In super-human acts of valour, Havildar Abdul Hamid personally knocked out five tanks over two days, effectively derailing the enemy offensive in the 1965 Indo-Pak War. 'Decades later, I realised not only how much the nation owed to this great son of India but also that my entire family was probably alive thanks to him,' says Vijay Dandapani.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday hosted a high tea for 1965 war veterans in the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex as the country celebrated the golden jubilee of the war with Pakistan.
'A man dies and it's over for him. But we're right here, it isn't over for us,' she says cryptically. She talks about the "poverty" in which she had to raise her sons and daughter, the responsibility of today's youth to its country and how war widows should cope with their loss.