He may be no more but for 16-year-old Rukhsana from a remote village in Kashmir, Kargil martyr Captain Vijayant Thapar is still alive.
He may be no more but for 16-year-old Rukhsana from a remote village in Kashmir, Kargil martyr Captain Vijayant Thapar is still alive.
Rukhsana, now a student of standard nine in a school in Kupwara district of North Kashmir, fondly remembers this "messiah", who was awarded the Vir Chakra after the Kargil conflict, as a "tall man with whom she played on the school premises and who gave her handful of chocolates".
While braving the Pakistan army intruders at the icy heights of Knoll and Three-Pimples of Drass sub-sector in Kargil, the 22-year-old Captain Thapar had a virtual premonition about the ultimate fate and had penned down his last letter to his family members asking them to continue sending Rs 50 to a girl in Kupwara.
Thapar, who was conferred captain's rank posthumously, had his first posting with 2-Rajputana Rifles and had met Rukhsana, a five-year-old girl in a school near an Army camp in Kupwara.
Captain Thapar in his last letter had written, "by the time you get this letter I will be observing you all from the sky enjoying the hospitality of apsaras (angels)...donate some money to orphanage and keep giving Rs 50 to Ruksana per month."
"All we want is to keep cherishing "Robin's" (Captain Thapar's nickname) memory and see Rukhsana growing up," recalls his father Colonel (retd) VN Thapar.
"...my son came across Rukhsana in Kupwara district where he had gone to accomplish a mission. We came to know about her when he asked us to send some girl clothes to him. We were surprised with the mention of a girl...but then we got to know she was a little kid," Thapar's father said.
It was a long wait for Thapars before they met Rukhsana this year. "We met her (Rukhsana) for the first time in 10 years, just two months ago. She is a very pretty girl and studying at a government school. She can read and write and speak English, Kashmiri and Urdu language," he said.
For the old parents, who had lost their son at the age of 22, they could see Vijayant living in Rukhsana's eyes, heart and mind.
"Her father was killed by unknown assailants and after the incident she developed withdrawl symptoms and always kept mum. She would not mingle with anyone...but now she is quite chirpy," he recalled.
Thapars gave her a mobile so that they can "stay in touch with her".
"We had never seen her as a meeting with her never materialised.... her life was also said to be under threat as her father was accused of spying," he said.
Recalling Vijayant's first meeting with the six-year-old girl, Captain's father said his son had landed in Kupwara in early 1999 for counter-insurgency operations and there he developed a friendship with the little girl. He would meet her in the school building that was close to his army camp and spend his free time playing with her and would shower her with small gifts and chocolates.
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