Farmers Movement Archive

Bengal mourns death of two brave hearts in Ladakh faceoff

West Bengal on Wednesday mourned the loss of two of its brave sons—Rajesh Orang of Birbhum and Bipul Roy of Alipurduar—who were killed in clashes with Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.“My son served the country and gave his life for it,” was all that Subhas, Orang’s distraught father, could say.The brave heart’s mother, Mamata, was so overwhelmed with emotion that she could hardly speak. The family was hoping to get Orang married when he came home on his next leave from duty.Orang, who joined the Army in 2015, belonged to the Bihar Regiment.Subhas was informed by the Army authorities on Tuesday evening about the death of his son, who was in his early 20s.“From his childhood, my brother wanted to serve the country,” Orang’s sister Shakuntala said.“He came home on leave a few months ago and talks about his marriage were on,” she added.Subhas, a marginal farmer in Birbhum district’s Belgoria village, raised his children amid poverty.Roy was a native of Bindi village in Alipurduar district’s Totopara. He lived in Meerut with his wife and five-year-old daughter.Roy (36) had joined the Army 19 years ago and was a havildar in the Bihar Regiment.“He had come home about five months ago and had plans to construct a pucca house for the family here,” Roy’s brother said.Orang and Roy were among the 20 Indian Army personnel killed in a fierce clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation between the two countries in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already-volatile border standoff in the region. PTI

The Tribune

2020-06-17