Force behind the forces: Book captures lives of wives of slain army personnel


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 18-11-2021 16:16 IST | Created: 18-11-2021 16:16 IST
Force behind the forces: Book captures lives of wives of slain army personnel
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A soldier sacrifices his today for our tomorrow but an army wife sacrifices her tomorrow for our today, says Swapnil Pandey, a well-known defence author who has penned a book highlighting the sacrifices of army wives who lost their husbands in the line of duty.

Titled 'The Force Behind the Forces', Pandey, who is married to a lieutenant colonel, feels that the stories about the army wives who lose their husbands in the line of duty need to be told to the world as ''their sacrifice is no less than their better halves''.

''Actually, this book happened to me and as they say words control you and not the other way round. My thought process had already started shaping after I met the wife of a jawan killed in action and who had been abandoned by her in-laws,'' says 36-year-old Pandey during an interaction with PTI.

In army traditions, the widow of an army personnel is always referred as 'Veer Nari' (brave woman) and ''I thought it's time to give wings to my thoughts and the process of scripting the valour of the 'Veer Naris' started'', Pandey, who has worked with Wipro, HDFC and Lovely Professional University, said.

After penning two fictions -- 'Soldier's Girl' in 2017 and 'Love story of a Commando' in 2019 -- ''I wanted to do a book based on real life stories and I could not have found a better one than highlighting the sacrifices of army widows. The stories are akin to rising like a phoenix from the ashes,'' she said.

Pandey argues in her book that it is a myth that the wife of a soldier always lives in the shadow of her husband, and it is time to tell the world that the women behind the forces are actually their driving force.

''Writing this book was a brave decision, at least I feel so often I had to face writer's block as it is not easy to write about broken dreams, lost hopes and shattered families,'' she said.

Pandey has included seven chapters in her book about seven different army couples and made attempts to capture the untold moments of the brave women who suddenly have to take control of the families that have been shattered in a single stroke after their husbands have been killed in a gunfight with terrorists or at the border or in some crash.

''These are not reel types of love stories which are being imagined by our new generation but the real life love stories where a couple has been separated in extraordinary situations and destiny snatched them in the most brutal way,'' the author argued.

Recalling her meeting with Bengaluru-based Salma Shafeeq Ghori who lost her husband Major Shafeeq Mohammed Ghori in 2001 in an action in north Kashmir, Pandey said, ''When I asked her (Salma) what was so special about military love stories she replied that her husband was, is and will remain forever and added after a pause 'I hope the nation will remember that we (war widows) sacrificed our tomorrow for their today'.'' She said the book, which has been published by Penguin, is an attempt to tell thousands of grieving 'Veer Naris' that they are not alone and ''we respect their sacrifices''.

The comments of former Army chief Gen V P Malik are part of the book where he said the author and her book leaves the reader with pathos and great respect for every 'Veer Nari'.

''These are real life stories of brave hearts who made supreme sacrifices for the nation and their very courageous spouses. There is valour, there is grief, strength and determination,'' Gen (retired) Malik said and added that every chapter of the book, which shows interweaving of duty and romance, touches the heart.

Noted social worker and motivational speaker Vikas Manhas termed it a book with a difference. ''Libraries are full of books on our soldiers and their valour'' but kudos to the author for ''bringing out sacrifices and valour of the women behind them,'' writes Manhas who has been meeting families of fallen soldiers for the last 20 years.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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