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Shiv Kumar Sharma
The craze of donning olive green among youngsters of Tigra village is evident from the fact that they are being recruited in the armed forces in almost every drive being conducted in Haryana for the past several years.
Today, 40 soldiers from the village are guarding the nation’s frontiers.
With a population of about 1,700 (as per the 2011 Census), this village has people from all communities. But out of the 40 serving Army men, 38 belong to the Rajput community and two jawans are from other communities.
“Most of the youngsters of the village just have one aim and that is to enrol in the Army after completing Class X. It is not just that they can’t become engineers or doctors, but the thought that they should serve the nation from the front is engraved in their minds and that is what they want to do,” says Sushil Rana, a retired Army man.
Children of the village start dreaming to be a ‘fauji’ when they enter Class VII or Class VIII. They start running and taking part in races and indulging in other sports to keep themselves fit.
“I am very much impressed with my grandfather Udey Singh, a retired Army man and my two uncles Dushyant and Sachin, who are serving in the Army at present. I also want to join the Army. Therefore, I and other boys of the village run every morning,” says Tanuj Rana, a Class X student.
There are several people in the village, whose sons are serving in the Indian Army.
“I just have one son and I am a proud that he is serving in the Army,” says Pawan Rana.
Similarly, Sompal Singh has two sons and both of them serve in the Army.
Like Pawan and Sompal’s sons, there are several other villagers, who are serving in the Indian Army.
“We have a small village with a population of about 1,700. We hold a Tiranga Yatra on August 15 and January 26 every year to create a patriotic atmosphere in the village. Almost all people participate in these programmes,” said Narinder Rana, village resident.
The village has a three-and-a-half acre land earmarked for a stadium, which couldn’t be developed due to shortage of funds. Youngsters, who are preparing to get into the Army, said the government should develop this stadium and provide a coach, so that youngsters’ dream of joining the Army can be fulfilled.
“We didn’t get enough funds from the government to develop the stadium, so we could construct only three sides of the boundary wall on our own. The gram panchayat has also installed a hand pump to meet the requirement of drinking water,” said Om Lata, village sarpanch.
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