Flags of Honour Foundation, a Bangalore-based organisation, has taken up the cause of renovating posthumous Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awardee, Abdul Hamid’s memorial in his village of Dhamupur in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh.
The memorial was built in 1999 by the Uttar Pradesh government to honour Indian Army’s Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid who had died defending this country in
the Indo-Pak war of September 1965. The memorial had since fallen victim to neglect.
“The battered lawns, the bruised statue and the broken walls of the memorial showed the lack of respect for the memorial and towards the memory of this soldier,” said a spokesperson for Flags of Honour Foundation.
“When we found out about this, we decided to do something. On contacting the local authorities in the village, we found out that they were unable to take up renovation work because of lack of funds. We have contacted the horticulture department and they have given a green signal for the restoration of the memorial. The family of the martyr has been trying to maintain the place, but there is only so much they can do,” he said.
“The exercise is to ensure that the memory of Shaheed Abdul Hamid is retained. The PVC is the highest military award. Considering today’s scenario when the nation is constantly under threat from external as well as internal forces, low intensity bombings, terrorist attacks, and so on, the role of the army becomes especially significant. Moreover, to neglect the memorial of a person who died fighting for us is utterly disrespectful,” he said.
Apart from restoring the statue, other works include maintaining the lawn, repairing the gate as well as the compound wall of the memorial premises.
Rajeev Chandrashekar, founder of the Flags of Honour Foundation, said that as a nation it was important to keep the memory of fallen soldiers alive, in order to inspire future generations.
The foundation will also be looking into the maintenance of various other memorials that were built to honour the services of the soldiers, and provide any help that may be required.
