Every year on Kargil Vijay Diwas, memories of Grenadier Manohar Lal Mawalia return to his family in Fatehabad’s Dhani Dulat village. Twenty seven years after his sacrifice, his parents still recall the day their son came home wrapped in the Tricolour.

His father, Rameshwar Das Mawalia, and mother, Harkori Devi, said Manohar Lal had dreamt of serving the nation from childhood. After completing Class 10 in the village, he joined the Indian Army at the age of 19. While the family was preparing for his marriage, fate had other plans.

On June 13, 1999, during Operation Vijay in the Dras sector of Kargil, the young soldier was killed while fighting enemy forces. Five days after his martyrdom, the family received his appointment letter as a Lieutenant, a moment that filled them with both pride and grief.

His younger brother Rajesh Kumar Mawalia and other family members say he remains their greatest inspiration. They remember him every day by lighting a lamp before his photograph.

The family said the government honoured the martyr by allotting a gas agency and providing a government job to his younger brother. The government school in Dhani Dulat has been renamed after Manohar Lal, and a library also bears his name. However, the family has long demanded a grand memorial, park or educational institution in Fatehabad district headquarters in his honour.

Meanwhile, the demand has received a boost. On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, Fatehabad Zila Parishad member Ramniwas alias Mitthu Jhajhra announced that memorials for Martyr Manohar Lal Mawalia and Martyr Krishna Kumar Sevda will be built in Dhani Dulat village. Construction will begin on Sunday after the district council approved funds for the project.

The memorials are expected to honour the soldiers’ sacrifice and inspire future generations with their courage, patriotism and dedication to the nation.