An emotional Seema Singh before receiving the posthumous award on Wednesday. (PTI)

Seema Singh, the widow of Lance Naik Jyotish Prakash being consoled by an army officer. (PTI)

New Delhi, May 15: A wail breaks out inside Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Ashoka Hall and suddenly the stiffness of a gallantry award ceremony in the presidential palace gets more human.

Seema Singh, widow of a fallen soldier, can barely get up and stand in front of President Pratibha Patil, escorted though she is by a soldier of her husband’s regiment, to receive the Shaurya Chakra, the medal given “for gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy”, according to the citation.

Defence investiture ceremonies, usually held twice a year, are a formal affair in which the President is welcomed with fanfare, the President’s bodyguard is dressed in full regalia complete with lances and riding breeches that are polished by two attendants who are specially tasked to bend down and wipe off the flecks of dust that gather on the gleaming black leather boots of the guardsmen as they march heavily from their assembly point to Ashoka Hall.

The defence secretary in black bandhgala seeks the formal permission of the President to commence and conclude the ceremony. In the audience are the Prime Minister, the defence minister, chiefs of the armed forces and cabinet ministers.

The generals, admirals and air marshals turn out with all their medals to which was added one more this Wednesday evening.

One general is escorted by his film star daughter. The senior officers are invariably winners of the Ati Vishisht and Param Vishisht Seva medals, honours that usually come the way of military brass ranking high in the hierarchy and with years of experience.

The junior officers and other ranks are wearing all their medals, too. They are present here but more important, they are alive to receive the awards, pieces of metal that shine a dull yellow or a gloomy silver to which colourful little ribbons are fixed. Many of them are escorted by their parents, wives, sons, daughters, batchmates, regimental comrades.

In a quiet corner, however, there are wives and mothers with no husbands and sons to accompany.

In the six rows to the right of the presidential throne sit the next of kin of those who are being given medals posthumously. Seema Singh is one of them. Her husband was Jyotish Prakash of the Grenadiers/39 Rashtriya Rifles engaged in counter-insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lance Naik Jyotish Prakash was among the company commander’s group when his unit was tasked to cordon and search a village in Poonch district from October 26 to October 29, 2006. Prakash spotted two terrorists, says the citation, during the search who were trying to hide behind boulders in a nullah. He sneaked up on them and killed the first one on the move.

The second moved away to another position but Prakash sensed that he was plotting to attack his comrades. “He pounced on the terrorist against heavy hostile fire and eliminated him at point blank range. Later he succumbed to his injuries,” says the citation.

His inconsolable widow, Seema Singh, a young woman, numb with shock even a year-and-a-half after the incident, was escorted to Delhi from their village in Jammu.

As she sways in front of Pratibha, wailing, an army officer’s wife and a lady officer stand next to her holding her up for just long enough to receive the award. Like A.P.J. Abdul Kalam before her, Patil walks up to the next of kin of posthumous awardees and presents the citation and medal.

Prakash “displayed indomitable courage, conspicuous bravery and made the supreme sacrifice while fighting the terrorists”, the citation concludes.

Among the audience in Ashoka Hall, there were many who empathised with Seema Singh, but acted with great restraint. The mother of Shantanu Basu removes her glasses and sheds a quiet tear as his widow, Roopa Basu, accepts the Shaurya Chakra from the President.

Squadron Leader Shantanu Basu was flying his helicopter to Amar helipad on the Siachen glacier as the leader of a two-aircraft formation on April 11, 2007. He was on an air logistics sortie.

At the final approach, strong winds forced him to overshoot the “stamp-sized” helipad which is little more than a bed of snow and rock. His helicopter lost power and height suddenly.

Basu kept his cool and tried to manoeuvre the chopper away from the current but the powerless machine kept going down. He then decided to land near the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), but with no emergency landing ground in sight, his helicopter crashed.

Yesterday evening in Ashoka Hall, eight out of 20 Shaurya Chakra awardees were given the medal after they were killed. The Kirti Chakra “for conspicuous gallantry otherwise than in the face of enemy” was given posthumously to four of six awardees.