According to data shared by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with Parliament on 8 Dec, Panjab has the highest number of widows of armed forces personnel amongst all states in India. Panjab accounts for 10.63% of the total number of such widows. The number of registered widows of ex-servicemen in Panjab is 74,253. This includes 60,261 from the Army, 4,236 from the Navy and 9,756 from the Air Force. The total number of widows of ex-servicemen in India from the three services is 698,252. Panjab is followed by Kerala with 69,507 widows and Uttar Pradesh with 68,815 widows. While this is the case, in Panjab, this year, the Armed Forces Flag Day was not observed on 7 Dec. The day is usually marked in each district by the respective District Sainik Welfare Department. No show was organized in Jalandhar — otherwise held every year on this day — by NCC cadets, school and college students, and staff. The reason for the lack of celebration was that 24 out of 25 posts of Deputy Director Sainik Welfare have been lying vacant since 2017. There are 23 posts (one for each district) besides two for the headquarters. Now there remains a lone Deputy Director Sainik Welfare in Fatehgarh Sahib — Commander BS Virk (retd). He is practically handling the work of the department in the entire Panjab. Going forward, with the new Agniveer scheme – short service commission for soldiers – the veterans will be left even more bereft in the coming years.
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