Jaipur: It was a chance discovery of a lunch box given to her husband by the Army that gave Raj Kanwar a new hope to receive her husband’s pension. With a number marked on the lunch box, a renewed effort was launched to trace her husband Chunni Lal’s Army service record. Finally, she started receiving monthly pension of Rs 4,000 in December last year. The lunch box was spotted during cleaning of the house in 2016, 64 years after her husband Chunni Lal’s death. It is a story of ignorance, neglect and officialdom that army veterans have to go through after leaving the service.
For 65 years, Raj Kanwar struggled to get pension because she didn’t have papers to prove that her husband was an ex-Army man. Chunni Lal had joined the Armed Corps division in 1942. He fought in the Second World War. He retired after completion of his service in 1950. However, he died one and half years later. His widow, Raj Kanwar, had approached Sainik Kalyan Board for her pension where she was asked for papers, which she didn’t have. She was then asked to bring any identity proof that could establish her claim.
The family struggled without success till the lunch box bearing an Army number was found and helped traced his service record and the pension finally started. A similar incident happened to Eshwar Ram’s family. A native of Mandawara, he was in Mahar Regiment and fought in the 1965 war. He had even received a medal. He died eight years ago but his widow, Bhanwari Devi, was denied pension due to lack of paperwork. During cleaning of the house the family came across the Ram’s medal. The soldiers’ welfare board was informed the same and they said they will start his Devi’s pension soon.
