An olive green recession - The Hindu

It's February 12 and as the winter afternoon sun casts shadows across Nathowal's martyrs' memorial in Punjab's Ludhiana district, two men stand before a plaque that has the 16 names of soldiers from this village who left and never returned. The memorial is a reminder of what this village has always been: faujian da pind (village of soldiers, in Punjabi). Sudagar Singh, a retired havildar from the Sikh Light Infantry of the Indian Army, stands near the memorial as he pays his respects and remembers the sacrifice of soldiers from his village. Of the approximately 1,400 houses here, almost every second household has a member either retired or currently serving in the armed forces and paramilitary.