Military part of every family tree in this Haryana village

In 1984, a war memorial was built in Kosli. Hundreds of names are etched on the white marble monument

- Deepak.Yadav timesgroup.com

About 35km from Rewari city in Haryana is a village that has sent hundreds of soldiers to battlefields since WW-I. In Kosli, which has fewer than 6,000 houses, three of every four households have at least one serving member in the armed forces.

Rewari district itself has a strong martial tradition – it has 5,040 active members in the forces at present. But Kosli’s record is especially distinguished. It has produced every rank, from a sepoy to a major general. Over the years its heroes have been awarded one Mahavir Chakra, one Kirti Chakra, one Shaurya Chakra and one Military Cross (during British rule).

Personnel from Kosli played a vital role in WW-I and have fought in all major wars since then. It even had representation in Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army, and one of the INA soldiers, Mandal Singh, still lives in the village.