Veer Gatha Season 4 - 2026 | Day 3 session 2 | Ms Neha | D/O Hony Lt Madan Lal Choudhary

Honorary Lieutenant Madan Lal Choudhary was a deeply dedicated soldier from Bakrak village in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. He joined the Army in 1988 and served for nearly three decades in the renowned First Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry. Throughout his long career, he took on some of the toughest postings in the country, including the extreme conditions of the Siachen Glacier. On the morning of February 2018, heavily armed terrorists launched a cowardly attack on the Sunjuwan Army Camp in Jammu, sneaking into the family quarters while everyone was asleep. The moment he heard gunfire outside his home, Lieutenant Choudhary rushed to the door to protect his loved ones. Facing the attackers with his bare hands, he absorbed multiple bullets to his chest and arms, refusing to give way. His unbelievable courage and instant action blocked the terrorists from entering, saving his family's lives and preventing a massive tragedy. Before he made the ultimate sacrifice, his legacy remains an incredible testament to what it truly means to put duty and family above oneself. Today, we are honored to have Neha Ma'am with us to share the experiences and bravery of her father, Lieutenant Madan Lal Choudhary. May I now request Amrita Ma'am to formally welcome Neha Ma'am by presenting her with a Tulsi sapling. Thank you, Ma'am. I would now like to hand over the session to Vikas Sir. Jai Hind. Jai Hind. We come to today's guest. Should we proceed? We have someone with us who saw her father fighting the terrorists. If I take you back to the backdrop, on February 10, 2018, in Jammu, the Sunjuwan Military Station was a military camp, just like there are different military camps in Pune. So, terrorists arrived at the Sunjuwan Military Station early in the morning and attacked it. One terrorist entered the area where the soldiers and their families were residing. What we call the quarters. He came in and was firing bullets from his AK-47 at whoever he saw. When the sounds of gunfire and all that commotion started, her father immediately woke up upon hearing it. With his experience, he could make out that this was not practice fire. He opened the door and came out, and he saw a terrorist in the gallery who was just doing whatever he wanted to do. Honorary Lieutenant Madan Lal Choudhary rushed toward that terrorist to grab him—what we call a "gutham-gutha" or hand-to-hand fight in Hindi—to try and catch him, stop him, and snatch the weapon from him. So in that scuffle, that tussle, the terrorist fired a volley of bullets, so he may have received multiple shots. And while all this was happening, his daughter, who was also living there, she also woke up . She also rushed to see what was happening. So when she also came towards that door, one bullet that was fired by the terrorist, it came and hit her in this part of the leg. I request Neha, please come on the stage. So Neha is here with us today, who is his daughter. She is the one who has seen her father fighting, and she has also sustained an AK-47 bullet injury. Till she comes, let's clap for her. We have all heard the name, but since you took that bullet, let me talk to you quite bluntly. I know you are very brave and strong; when the bullet hit you, what did you feel? Do you realize it or not? What happens? When a bullet hits you, you don't realize it at the time; it takes 20 to 30 seconds to realize it, and until I reached the hospital, I didn't know if I had been shot or if my leg had been blown off by a grenade, because the force of the bullet is so great. My first thought was that a grenade had exploded and my leg was severed. So I fell down, I dragged myself behind the wall, and I called him and told him— there was information, I think, that a terrorist attack had occurred. But I think the location wasn't confirmed. I was badly injured. I was bleeding badly , and I told him that they had entered the quarters, and the situation was even more dire because no one sleeps with weapons in the quarters. But those few moments when my father fought with the terrorist, so many bullets were fired that everyone in the nearby quarters was alerted and saved themselves. They locked their doors. They piled furniture against the doors. So everyone got time to save themselves . Although he is no longer with us, many other daughters survived who can now spend their lives with their fathers. I was bleeding continuously. I didn't know what had happened to me. I only found out after reaching the hospital that I had been shot. I just felt there that my leg was no longer with me. And then when I went to the hospital, I still remember the doctor came, he lifted my leg, just like that he lifted it and then dropped it down and said, "It won't have to be amputated." So I was going through emotional trauma, mental trauma, physical trauma. Will you make this call? Why did you feel that I should make a phone call? Sir, I didn't even have a phone at that time. The phone was lying on the other side and I couldn't even walk. I was dragging myself. So my cousin was standing there, I told him to bend down or crawl. So what was the CO asking you, what was this about, a little bit? I told him that we had been attacked, so we were under attack, and he asked me where from. I told him where and then I gave him the location, and after a few minutes, the QRT was there. My mom was using a torch and she was...... alerting them that we are here, please come, because there was a terrorist in another quarter. He was, he was at an advantage because he was at a height. Right. On the third floor. So, he was continuously firing from there. And it became very difficult to evacuate us. So for four to five hours, I was in constant touch with them. They were worried that it could be a hijack too. Maybe the terrorists are still inside. Right? So anything could happen, and if they went in, they could also be attacked. So I told them that there is nothing like that. Please come and save us. And they were also in trouble because the terrorist was continuously firing on them from above. Continuously, and then they came, the full team came, and then a Chesu uncle was there. He picked me up on his shoulders and then, hiding and dodging bullets, they took me to the car. We could have been hit at any time, I could have been hit, he could have been hit, crawling. Crawling, my mom, me, and they took my father, and then I saw him. They laid him down and everyone was just saying, "Save the girl, save the girl." So I came to know that, please do. When you reached the hospital, what was it like there, what was the atmosphere, how good was the hospital, how good were the doctors, how good were the politicians, how good was everything in the hospital during the initial few days? Sir, the hospital staff was very good because at that time it was Papa's funeral and everything. I could not attend his funeral because I had a lot of infection. I had lost all my blood. And how the treatment happened, what happened, the hospital oversaw everything. My family had no idea at all what was going on. I was in the ICU and went through three surgeries at that time. And after that, I had to have two surgeries again. So, in total, I had five surgeries, but now I am fine and I can walk. So, I started using that stand after my third injury, after my third surgery. It took six months to walk properly, and my mother also supported me a lot. I mean, I was bedridden for a few months. So, she took care of everything. In our Hindu religion, when somebody is gone. Then, whatever rituals we perform for one year. My mom used to do all of that, along with the responsibility of taking care of me. Plus, she was also injured. She had splinter injuries. She didn't get them operated on because it was my father's funeral. So, she still has splinters in her leg. Now, if I talk about Ankush, how and when did he come to know about all this? Sir, initially he was told that an attack had happened . But that Papa was injured in the leg and my sister had some minor injuries. Everything else is normal. But when he was coming, he received a call before boarding his flight. So, he then came to know that our lives are shattered now. But he handled himself very well. Not a single tear has rolled down his eyes to this day. What is he doing right now? My father wanted to become an army officer, but now my brother is fulfilling his dream; at that time he was undergoing training, but now he is serving in his unit as a Captain. And when you see my brother, he is just like my father. I want to say one thing , even though Papa is no more. But still, even after he left, there hasn't been a single moment in life where we felt the need for him and didn't feel his presence. We lived on after him. We faced so many difficulties, but every time a difficulty came, we found a solution and felt that yes, he is there , he is still here. None of us know how brave we are, until life puts us in that situation. I also didn't know that I would handle this situation in this way. But when I went through that situation, that strength came out on its own. So, never underestimate yourself. So, what message would you like to give to all these children? So, I want to say that whatever you do, do it with full honesty. And sometimes, what we think doesn't get fulfilled. And never dishearten, what I have realized is everything, whatever happens to us, it happens for a cause. I want you to share one of your favorite moments with your father. The last night before the attack, some guests were there at our home, my aunt and my cousin, so my father told me to go sleep with them, so I went but I couldn't sleep that night. So I got up and I went to my father and I slept by his side. And in the middle of the night, Mom woke up and she said, "Neha, when did you come?" So Mom said that she can't sleep without you. And that was the last night. I mean, my father is gone, but God gave me every chance to live with him. A traumatic event. How did you hold your family together? And how did you hold your family together during the event, like before you were hospitalized and while the terror attack was going on and before they were neutralized? See, during the attack, uh My mom was crying badly, so I told her, "Nothing has happened, stay calm." After two-three hours, when I was not able to breathe, my vision was blurred, I could not breathe. I could not walk. So my mother kept bringing me water from the bathroom in the room because my mouth was completely drying up. I was not able to speak. So it was not that I held them together. It was mutual. They supported me. I supported them. So, a major role was my brother's . He was not there with us. He came for some time. But after my dad, he played my father's role. Jai Maa Kali. Jai Maa Kali. Bharat Mata Ki. Jai. Bharat Mata Ki. Jai. Bharat Mata Ki. Jai. Jai Hind. Jai Jai Hind. As a small token of our deepest respect and appreciation, I request Amrita Ma'am to kindly present a memento of gratitude to Neha Ma'am. The story should be heard, it deserves to be heard. Every sacrifice deserves to be remembered. And this is the best way we can keep those memories alive. And I am very grateful to the school for organizing such kind of events, and by seeing all these kinds of events, we feel like their sacrifice does not go in vain.