The Atoos battalion

Every evening from 4pm to 6pm, the National Highway 2 link road that connects Mathura and Delhi sees a group of boys jogging and exercising, unmindful of the heavy traffic passing by. They come in different sizes and from different communities, but all of them have the same goal—to join the Indian armed forces. These boys hail from Atoos village, about 35km from Agra city. Here, the villagers say, almost every family has or has had a member in the armed forces, especially the Army.

The Jat-dominated village has a population of 6,000, and 1,200 houses. Villagers say at least 885 men are serving in the armed forces, and 200 in paramilitary forces. There are 250 retired personnel, too.

Currently, about 30 men are posted on the border in Jammu and Kashmir, and eight on the China border. “The Army offers respect and reasonably good pay, besides providing the golden opportunity to serve the nation,” says Rahul Singh, whose cousin Nagendra Singh is with the Army in Sikkim.

It is a matter of pride, says Jagveer Singh, whose two sons are in the Air Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. “It certainly makes you feel proud when you tell others that your sons are in the armed forces,” he says. Jitendra Singh, 17, is the latest cadet from the village. He was picked by all three services, but chose the Navy.

“I grew up seeing people joining defence forces,” he says. “Here no one talks of anything else. I am happy I made it.” Pradeep Kumar, 24, who is with the Signal Corps in Leh, joined the Army in 2012. “It is a great opportunity to serve the nation, and gives life a new perspective,” he says. In 2015, while he was posted in Nagaland, militants attacked his convoy which was heading to Manipur. Eighteen jawans died. “I saw death from close quarters. After that, I started valuing life more,” he says.

Amir Singh, who retired as honorary captain from the Signal Corps in 1996, is one of the oldest villagers to have joined the Army. “I get a good pension and my son, after the Seventh Pay Commission, is getting a good salary,” says Singh, whose son Jaiveer is with the Signal Corps in Mathura.

Singh joined the Army in 1964. Those days, he says, Atoos had no such ‘military tradition’. The trend started after Pakistani militants beheaded a soldier named Dashrath Singh from Atoos in 2000. The 26-year-old’s body was so badly mutilated that the Army performed his last rites on the border. The thirst for vengeance was what motivated youths to join the armed forces in droves.

Dashrath Singh has been the only martyr from the village, and it has not yet won any gallantry medals. “In the Kargil war, at least 50 people from this village fought on the border, but, fortunately, there were no casualties,” says Rahul Singh.The military trend has helped improve the economic profile of Atoos. It boasts pucca houses with televisions, coolers and refrigerators. Some families own cars, too.

However, the villagers are upset that no high-profile official or politician has honoured the village. There is not even a proper military memorial, they complain.

“All that we have is a stone installed by Congress leader Raj Babbar in honour of Dashrath Singh,” rues Harveer Singh, whose brothers Jaiveer and Pawan Veer are in the Army. The villagers also demand an upper primary school, and a training ground for military aspirants.

Another interesting facet of Atoos is its strict booze ban. Culprits are publicly slapped and fined Rs 500. Crime rate, too, is almost zero. As I leave the village, Jagdish Singh Chokar, 46, tells me eagerly: “I have a son studying in Class 6. I will send him to the Army.”