Since that day, Anil’s mother has been traumatised, barely being able to speak. Chauhan’s wife, Neena Kumari, is in deep shock. The child never leaves his grandfather’s lap. “I am proud of what my son did and since I am from the paramilitary, I can understand what his mother is going through. The only thing I can do is expect her and my daughter-in-law to be like me.”

Chauhan’s brother’s in the Army, there are seven others in the extended family with an Army background. Not surprising in Tapre village, which has 120 families and seven out of ten have men in the Army or the paramilitary.

To ease the pain of the loss, villagers and relatives gather around and talk of how Chauhan made the village proud.

“The threat posed by terrorists is far more serious than a war and we don’t know how many more Anil Kumars will die trying to fight,” says uncle Kashmir Chand. “We have at least three martyrs from the Kargil war, now Anil is the latest.”

Chauhan, a graduate from a Hamirpur college, enrolled for a degree course in human rights via correspondence and had only recently taken his exams. He was married three years ago, his wife is a history post-graduate. Says his uncle: “Anil was a daredevil in spirit but very soft at heart. Right from his childhood, he wanted to join the Army and rise to the rank of an officer.”