She loved a boy, lost a soldier: Rifleman Hilal Ahmad Bhat honoured with Sena medal

Key Highlights

• The couple had been married for nine years.
• On Saturday, thousands of miles from home, in the national capital, Marifa stood not only as a grieving ‘veer nari’ but also as the custodian of a nation’s gratitude, receiving the Sena Medal (Gallantry), the final, solemn reminder of the boy she had fallen in love with and the soldier who laid down his life.
• The bravery award was presented posthumously during the Western Command Investiture ceremony, held at the Manekshaw Centre.
• “He fought the world to marry me and today I stand here alone,” Banoo said with tears welling up in her eyes.
• “My husband was a son of the soil and he died safeguarding it against the enemy.