JAMMU/HAZARIBAG: Two weddings that were never meant to be. Two soldiers who gave their tomorrows so others could have theirs.
In two different homes, one in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag and the other in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, families were preparing for April — the month when their sons, both soldiers, would become grooms. The houses were being painted, the invitations were being finalised, and dreams of a new beginning were taking shape. But fate had a cruel twist in store.
Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi, 27, and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas, 29, were on patrol when terrorists struck near the LoC in Jammu’s Akhnoor sector Tuesday afternoon. An IED blast took them away — two young lives, two unfinished stories, two weddings that would never be.
In Hazaribag, Captain Karamjit’s family was caught between anticipation and grief. Just 10 days ago, their son had visited them and broke the news of his engagement to a doctor from Army Medical Corps. April 5 was to be the beginning of his new life.
His father Sardar Ajinder Singh Bakshi, a restaurateur, had been overseeing the house repairs. His mother Neelu Bakshi had begun setting aside things for the wedding. Karamjit was their only son.
Now, instead of wedding guests, mourners would arrive. Instead of a bride’s entry, a tricolour-draped coffin would return home Thursday night.
“He had only been in the Army for five years,” said his uncle Sardar Devinder Singh. “He had so much ahead of him.” Karmajit was attached to Punjab Regimental Centre.
Far away in the border village of Bri Kamila in Samba, another family had been preparing for celebration. Naik Mukesh had spent his last holiday putting the final touches on his newly built home — meant for the wife he would bring in April. He had left on Jan 28, his wedding date nearly set for April 20-21.
His father Chagatar Singh, a retired policeman, held onto memories of a son who had served more than a decade, braving the icy winds of Siachen, the turmoil of Kashmir, the vigilance of Punjab. “Youngsters in the village looked up to Mukesh,” he said. “He encouraged them to play sports, even gave them cricket and volleyball kits.”
Mukesh had joined the Army in 2014 and his younger brother, also in the military, had always looked up to him. Now, the tradition of service in their village had come at an unbearable price.
“Almost every home here has sent its son to the armed forces,” said villager Mukhtar Singh. “It has become a tradition.”
But some sacrifices are heavier than others. In two households, wedding cards will remain undelivered. The ceremonial turbans will stay folded. The brides, once waiting in anticipation, are now bound to grief.