101-Year-Old Freedom Fighter, Mistakenly Declared Dead, Fights for Pension

A 101-year-old freedom fighter in Haryana is running from pillar to post to secure a pension he says he has never received. The irony: The administration had declared him dead nearly three years ago.

Nadar Singh, a resident of Hijrawan Kalan village bordering Fatehabad, reached the office of the Hisar Deputy Commissioner on Thursday seeking help to get his freedom fighter pension sanctioned. 

He said repeated appeals to the Fatehabad administration over the years have failed, forcing him to approach the Hisar authorities.

His son Swaroop Singh said Nadar Singh fought with the Indian National Army (INA) and came to India from Pakistan after Partition. 

However, documents proving his identity and freedom fighter credentials were destroyed in a tent fire in Alwar, leaving the family struggling for decades to establish his credentials.

Adding to his ordeal, the Fatehabad administration had mistakenly declared Nadar Singh dead around three years ago. Although the error was eventually corrected, the 101-year-old says he continues to struggle to get his pension recognised.

The administrative embarrassment resurfaced on Independence Day when a memorial installed in the village carried Nadar Singh's name with the word "Late" before it. The centenarian subsequently walked to the memorial himself to prove that he was alive.

The family says the episode amounted to an insult to a man who fought for India's freedom. The village sarpanch's representative, Karan Singh, said the memorial was installed under an administrative scheme and that the word "Late" was added to the plaque by mistake. It was removed after the family pointed out the error.

Now, at 101, Nadar Singh's fight is not just to prove that he is alive, but also to get the recognition and pension he says are due to him as a freedom fighter.