Vijaya (R) with mother Ujwala at their home in Maharashtra’s Satara.

DEGAON, SATARA: Vijaya Nikam was born on the day her father died - June 26, 1999. Sepoy Mahadev Yeshwant Nikam of the Maratha Light Infantry was killed while out on patrol in Jammu & Kashmir as the Kargil war raged. His last call home was sometime around 5.30 in the morning. Baby Vijaya was born six hours later. Everything the child has learnt about her father since has come from someone's memory.

"I can never celebrate my birthday," says the 20-yearold, who was named after Operation Vijay . Twenty years after her father's death and the conflict that claimed the lives of over 500 Indian soldiers, she is now an undergraduate student at Satara's Shivaji College, and part of the National Cadet Corps.

She is determined to follow in her father's footsteps. "I grew up listening to stories about how brave he was, how he fought valiantly for the country and how he died doing something he loved. Someday, I hope to become just like him."

Mahadev Yeshwant Nikam was born in Aantwadi village, part of Karad tehsil of Satara district in western Maharashtra. He was recruited into the 7 Maratha Light Infantry battalion of the Indian Army on August 24, 1994. An obituary from June 27, 1999 describes him as a "cheerful, hardworking and disciplined soldier".

His wife Ujwala remembers June 26, 1999, like it was yesterday. She was nine months pregnant and staying with parents in Rahimatpur, about 20 kilometres from Satara city. "He used to call at odd hours. On that day, he rang at around 5.30 am. The conversation was short: He asked about my health, our parents and our general wellbeing. When I asked how things were over at his end, he simply said the situation was 'tense'."

Three hours after Vijaya was born, Ujwala's uncle got a call that Sepoy Nikam had been martyred. "I was desperate to tell him about the baby. But we just couldn't reach him on time," says Ujwala.

Her family, left reeling by the news, tried to soften the blow on their widowed daughter.

"I was not immediately told about what had happened. They took me to my in-laws' village saying they were ill. And it's there I saw the coffin draped in the flag. I lost consciousness. I was rushed to a hospital, where I spent two days recovering," says Ujwala, her eyes welling up with tears.

Several relatives urged her to marry again. They wanted her to have a husband, and Vijaya to have a father. "But I am an army widow. My husband died sacrificing his life for this country. So, I decided to sacrifice my youth for our daughter," she says, while leafing through a photo album. The pictures show a happy couple, all smiles and holding hands at family events and other occasions.

"Had I remarried, I would not have been able to bring up Vijaya with single-minded focus. I am happy to continue living with these photographs for company. To see Vijaya in her NCC uniform fills me with pride. She became my reason to live."

For the first five years after her husband's death, Ujwala stayed on with her parents until it was time for Vijaya to get enrolled at an English-medium school in Satara city. She used the ex gratia from the government to pay school fees and raise her daughter.

Vijaya has been part of several NCC events over the past two years. And she's preparing for an upcoming selection camp for next year's Republic Day parade.

"My father would have loved to see me in uniform during the march-past," she says as she walks home from one of the NCC camps that was held at her college.

Her name is not the only thing that evokes the memory of the soldier who died fighting a thousand kilometres away. The home Ujwala built using her husband's pension and some savings has been named 'Shahid Mahadev House'.

The Kargil War began on May 3, 1999, after Pakistani troops infiltrated across the Line of Control in Kargil district of Jammu & Kashmir. The conflict ended after nearly three months with India's Operation Vijay, in which troops cleared the Kargil sector of infiltrators and gave India victory over Pakistan. More than 500 Indian soldiers were killed and about 1,300 wounded. The war ended on July 26, which is commemorated as Kargil Vijay Diwas .

