‘Take Back Shaurya Chakra’: Martyr Vivek Saxena’s 80-Year-Old Mother Urges Govt to Fulfil Land Promise or Take Back Medals

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80-YEAR-OLD Savitri Saxena, the mother of martyr Vivek Saxena, has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to take back the Shaurya Chakra awarded to her son after years of waiting without any fruitful response from the government regarding the promises made to her family. Vivek Saxena died while fighting terrorists in Manipur in 2003, and more than two decades have passed since then. Savitri said that she is exhausted from running from one office to another for the benefits promised to her family. 

As per India Today, Savitri raised this issue at a grievance redressal event held in Lucknow. She said that the government should either provide all the benefits promised after her son’s death or take back the honour given to him. The family was promised land and a memorial by the Uttar Pradesh government. But even after two decades, the promise of land has not been fulfilled.

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Vivek Saxena, the Martyr

On January 8, 2003, Vivek Saxena died while fighting militants in the Chandel district of Manipur. His family lives in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. His father was a flight lieutenant, and his brother, Ranjit Saxena, is in the Indian Air Force. After completing his education, Vivek joined the Army and went on to work with the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He later joined the Border Security Force (BSF) and worked in Manipur.

During ‘Operation Jwala’, which lasted for seven days, Vivek, a former Assistant Commandant, lost his life. After his death, he was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra and the President’s Police Medal for his courage. Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for exceptional bravery. Apart from this, the family was promised a plot of land and a memorial after his death. According to the family, the land allotment is still incomplete, even after continuously following up for more than two decades.

Vivek Saxena’s Mother Offers to Return Shaurya Chakra

Vivek Saxena’s brother, Ranjit, asked the government why the promises regarding the land had not been fulfilled. The issue was also raised earlier in 2016 by the then Lucknow District Magistrate, Raj Shekhar. Officials were directed to examine the family’s applications and start the process for land allotment and the memorial. However, the process later stopped when the family was asked to provide proof of their ‘original residence’ in Uttar Pradesh. 

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While speaking to India Today, Ranjit said, “We grew up here, studied here, and my brother's memento is at Air Force Station Memora. Yet we were asked to submit an affidavit stating where our mother lived before her marriage.” He said that the officials asked for an affidavit, and when the family submitted it, they questioned whether they were original residents of Uttar Pradesh. After this the officials informed them that the benefits could not be provided.

Ranjit also said that the family later found an old receipt from the Uttar Pradesh government showing that it had issued a ₹75,000 cheque to the family at the same address. The family then questioned why they were being asked to provide a domicile certificate for the land when the cheque had previously been sent to the same address. Apart from the land, the monetary award associated with the Shaurya Chakra was also received by the family in 2024. 

Savitri Saxena, 80, said that she is done with the matter as she is getting old and cannot keep running from one government office to another. She therefore asked the government to take back the Shaurya Chakra, medal and other monetary honours that were given to her son. She said the family has been constantly struggling because of the unfulfilled promise of land, and sought an audience with President Droupadi Murmu and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

(Edited by Agniva Ray)

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