Srinagar, Dec 13 (KNO): Barely ten minutes after Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s function at Lok Bhavan in Srinagar concluded, a father who had attended the ceremony stood inside hall, his eyes moist, his voice trembling.
He had just received an appointment letter for his family, but his words carried the weight of years of loss and longing.
“We have made many sacrifices, but today we feel we have received our due because of LG Sahab,” he said in a brief conversation with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), on the sidelines of a function, soon after the event.
“My son was martyred. He was the only earning member in our family. My daughters and elders stood by me in every difficult moment,” said Manzoor Ahmad Najar.
His voice broke when he mentioned his daughter, now married whose grief still lives quietly in the corners of their home.
“When she got married, she used to wish she could come home and stay with her brother for a few days,” he said, pausing as his eyes filled again. “But when her brother isn’t there anymore… what can she do?”
Clutching the appointment letter in his hand, he said the family feels a sense of respect and recognition after years of silence. “There are only my two daughters, my wife and me now. We are happy today because LG Sahab understood our pain,” he said.
The father also urged those who received government appointments during the ceremony to serve sincerely. “We must all work honestly and that is the true tribute to our martyrs,” he said. “It is our duty to honor the trust reposed on us by LG Sahab.”
His words, spoken softly inside the auditorium minutes after the event, echoed what many families inside had felt but could not fully express, that behind every appointment letter lies a story of sacrifice, a family torn apart and a pain that time cannot erase—(KNO)