Tradition of Soldiering In Village Rudumuli

Rudumili is a small village in UP, situated on the bank of the holy river, Yamuna, 54 Km away from Agra, surrounded by small hillocks and ravines. Inhabited by Rajputs (Bhadaurias) the village has approximately 300 houses. This village has the rare distinction of having produced the maximum numbers of Officers, JCOs and Jawans of the Indian Army and is proud of its legacy of what they call soldierism. Starting from WWII up to Kargil War the soldiers of this village have taken part in every war the country fought. A small war memorial in the village commemorates the martyrdom of its heroes. Rudumili had the privilege to produce one of the officers in first batch of Indian officers commissioned in 1924, Ranbir Singh Bhadauria, who was decorated for his gallantry with a Military Cross (MC), the second highest gallantry award of the British and retired as a Brigadier. The number of officers from the village who kept the Bhadauria legacy going after the gallant Brigadier is legion. Colonels, Sher Bahadur Singh Bhadauria, Dalpat Singh Bhadauria, Ramadhar singh Bhadauria, Dinesh singh Bhadauria, Sqn Ldrs, Harender Singh Bhadauria, Narender Singh Bhadauria, and many more, since retired, solidified the foundation of a soldiering culture in the village, so did many a retired JCO like Hon. Captains, Jagat singh Bhadauria, Daljit singh Bhadaurian, Jitender singh Bhadauria, Netrapal Singh Bhadauria, Ratibhan Singh Bhadauria, Sheo Bir Singh Bhadauria, S B Singh Bhadauria, Suraj Pal singh Bhadauria, Mahesh Singh Bhadauria, Subedars, Navrang Singh, Rajendra Singh Bhadauria, Gyasi Singh Bhadauria. Some of the serving officers as of date are Maj Gen R P Singh Bhadauria, Colonels, Sameer Singh Bhadauria, Atul singh Bhadauria , J B Singh Bhadauria and Maj Vikram Singh Bhadauria. The numbers of Jawans are unaccountable as every family has at least one male member in the Army.

Rudumili has a unique tradition of the father serving as a Sepoy, the son as a JCO and the grandson as an Officer epitomizing the progressive attitude of people. In an interesting episode when Brigadier – then Colonel – Ranbir Singh Bhadauria was the Commandant of the Rajput Regimental Centre, Fatergarh, and his uncle, Sub Maj Jagat Singh, the Centre Subedar Major, the uncle saluted the nephew on parade and the nephew touched the uncle’s feet in private! Both military protocol and family – Chacha-Bhatija – ties preserved in tact! In 1965 when a soldier of this village deserted the battlefield, the whole village disowned his family for his cowardice and, branded traitors, no one would give their daughter in marriage to that family. Finally the family had to leave the village. In 1999 during the Kargil War when one soldier came on leave he was not allowed to enter the village by veterans and even his own parents declined to meet him. His father, a retired JCO, told him to ‘come only after war or come on shoulders of four soldiers in Tiranga’. In certain families, father, brother, sons and cousins are all in the in army. The jezba and dedication of the people of Rudumili are so amazing that the neighbouring villagers take pride in getting their sons and daughters married into this village.

And all this with no incentive whatsoever from authorities! It is a people’s thing: ‘Wheel must roll on with the tradition of soldiering at all times’, so they believe!

Jai Hind!!

Source: Internet