Who gets money in the family of Shaheed Jawan? Why does Captain Anshuman's father want a change in the rule?

Captain Anshuman Singh, who was martyred in Siachen on July 19 last year, was honored with Kirti Chakra during a function organized at Rashtrapati Bhavan a few days ago. The honor was received by his wife Smriti and mother Manju Singh. A video of Anshuman's wife Smriti also surfaced after the event in which she narrates how she met Anshuman Singh and became a widow after just five months of marriage.

After a few days of this ceremony, the pain of Anshuman Singh's parents has come to the fore. He has said that Martyr Anshuman Singh's wife Smriti has gone to her home in Gurdaspur along with her husband Anshuman's photo album, clothes and other mementos along with Kirti Chakra given by the government. According to the allegations, she not only took the medal of her parents' martyred son but also changed their home address in her documents.

Anshuman's father wants a change in NOK rules

Martyr Anshuman's father Ravi Pratap Singh said, 'When a son received Kirti Chakra for his indomitable courage, the rule was that both mother and wife went to receive the honour. Anshuman's mother also went along. The President awarded Kirti Chakra to my son for his martyrdom but I could not touch it even once.

Captain Anshuman's father further said that he wanted a change in the NOK (next of kin) rules, as his daughter-in-law Smriti Singh was no longer living with him. He has spoken to Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi about this.

After his statement, the debate regarding the rules of this NOK has started once again. Even before Ravi Pratap Singh, many martyrs' families had demanded a change in these rules.

What are the NOK rules?

NOK (Next of Kin) means a person's spouse, relative, family member or legal guardian. When a person joins the army, his parents or guardians are registered as NOK. As per Army rules, when a cadet or officer gets married, his/her spouse's name is nominated as his/her next of kin (NOK) instead of his/her parents.

In such a situation NOK gets all the benefits

As per rules, if something happens to a soldier/officer during service, all military facilities including ex-gratia are given to NOK. That is, if the soldier is married then the entire amount is given to the wife and if he is not married then this ex-gratia amount is given to the parents. Ravi Pratap Singh wants to change these rules so that apart from the widow of the martyr, the parents also get a share of the ex-gratia amount or help.

State governments have changed their rules

Many cases have come to light where families of martyrs, especially parents, have alleged that after their son's martyrdom, whatever money was given by the government or the army, he took it or remarried. However, regarding the financial assistance provided by the state governments to the martyrs, many state governments have changed the rules of assistance provided at their level, in which apart from the wife of the martyr, the parents are also taken care of.

Madhya Pradesh : The BJP government of Madhya Pradesh took an important decision regarding financial assistance to the families of the martyrs after the cabinet meeting last month. According to the decision, in case of martyrdom of security personnel including army, paramilitary forces and police forces, the financial assistance given to the family will be shared equally between the wife and parents of the martyr, i.e. 50 percent of the amount. will go to the wife and 50 percent of the amount will be given to the mother. Earlier, only the wife was getting 100 percent of the amount.

Uttar Pradesh: In June 2020, the Yogi government of UP took a decision regarding the dependents of martyred soldiers. Subsequently, the government increased the ex-gratia amount from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh to the families of the martyred personnel of the central and state paramilitary forces and all three wings of the Indian Army. It has been decided that if the parents of the martyr are alive, they will also get this assistance, out of which Rs 35 lakh is given to the wife of the martyr and Rs 15 lakh to the parents. In case the parents are not alive then the entire amount is given to the wife.

Haryana: Taking an important decision in 2017, the Haryana government said that a part of the 100 percent honor given to the wife of a soldier after martyrdom will also be given to the parents. As per the revised norms of Haryana government, where ex-gratia grant is not given to the parents of the martyr, 70 per cent of the total assistance amount is given to the widow and children of the martyr.

Apart from these states, states like Uttarakhand and Rajasthan also provide financial support to the parents of martyrs at their own level.