Colonel Pushpender Singh, who has been fasting since August 17, poses in the hospital with his daughters and granddaughter.
New Delhi:
Seventy-eight-year old Bishambar says he doesn't use his last name much - everyone here refers to him as Grenadier Bishambar. His old regiment is his only identity.
For nearly 70 days, the old Grenadier has been praying intently every night before he tries to sleep. Sleep is a luxury. There are many thoughts in his mind. When will he return home? When will the protests over One Rank, One Pension finally end? Will he get a few thousand rupees more every month as pension? Will the government finally give his fellow ex-servicemen the respect that he feels has been denied to them?
Alongside Bishambar, are a handful of ex-servicemen who may not be on a fast unto death but who will not leave the side of the men who are fasting like Havaldar Major Singh, who has not eaten a morsel of food since August 17. Major Singh, who refused to be hospitalised on Wednesday, is now so weak that he will be shifted anytime. The Havaldar tells us, "Until our aim is achieved, I will stay here. If I have to die here, then I will die here. No problem."
Colonel Pushpender Singh, another officer retired from the Grenadiers, had begun his fast with Havaldar Major Singh. He had been shifted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital on Monday, after his condition deteriorated. But even in hospital, he has refused to ear and continues to be on drips.
Joining in on the protests on Wednesday was AK Sharma, a former Commander of the Indian Navy. He laughs as he asks me whether I would like to join him on a fast unto death. I don't have the courage, I tell him. "Try it, you will find courage" he says. I ask the Commander how he intends to spend the night. "We'll talk. We'll try and rest as much as we can. And let us see how it goes. My family backs me, which is why I am here."
Jantar Mantar has an eerie silence now. Gone are the other protesters. Gone is the constant cacophony of loud speakers jostling for the attention of the passers-by. All that is constant now is the occasional autorickshaw that passes by this route and a handful of OROP protesters who refuse to leave.
They are true soldiers, tasked to hold the line. That's what they are doing here. Old military habits die hard. An order is an order and they will not budge until that is carried out.
For nearly 70 days, the old Grenadier has been praying intently every night before he tries to sleep. Sleep is a luxury. There are many thoughts in his mind. When will he return home? When will the protests over One Rank, One Pension finally end? Will he get a few thousand rupees more every month as pension? Will the government finally give his fellow ex-servicemen the respect that he feels has been denied to them?
'Grenadier' Bishambar, 78, is among the ex-servicemen who are sleeping out in the open to support his colleagues in the protests demanding One Rank, One Pension.
Colonel Pushpender Singh, another officer retired from the Grenadiers, had begun his fast with Havaldar Major Singh. He had been shifted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital on Monday, after his condition deteriorated. But even in hospital, he has refused to ear and continues to be on drips.
Joining in on the protests on Wednesday was AK Sharma, a former Commander of the Indian Navy. He laughs as he asks me whether I would like to join him on a fast unto death. I don't have the courage, I tell him. "Try it, you will find courage" he says. I ask the Commander how he intends to spend the night. "We'll talk. We'll try and rest as much as we can. And let us see how it goes. My family backs me, which is why I am here."
Jantar Mantar has an eerie silence now. Gone are the other protesters. Gone is the constant cacophony of loud speakers jostling for the attention of the passers-by. All that is constant now is the occasional autorickshaw that passes by this route and a handful of OROP protesters who refuse to leave.
They are true soldiers, tasked to hold the line. That's what they are doing here. Old military habits die hard. An order is an order and they will not budge until that is carried out.
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