FLAG-BEARER: Jyotsna Dwivedi at home. (Photo: Rajesh Kumar)

It was a sultry August evening and Jyotsna Dwivedi was watching Shahadat ke Badle Badhali, a programme on war widows on Star News. Among other things, the show highlighted the plight of Shakuntala Devi, the widow of Naik Chaman Singh who had died fighting for his country on June 13, 1999, at Torling Peaks during the Kargil war. Earlier in the day, the widow had attempted self-immolation before the bungalow of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister after her desperate attempts to avail of the different welfare packages in the past five years had failed.

Her immediate reaction, Dwivedi recalls, was to do something. ?And as a law student, I could only think in legal terms,? she says. Later that night, the 27-year-old final-year student from Delhi University?s law faculty discussed the matter in detail with her lawyer father, Rakesh. And on September 6, after scanning newspaper reports and Internet websites to check out the welfare packages being offered by the government, she filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court.

Moreover, Dwivedi argued her own case. Not a regular event, considering she is still a student and it was her first appearance in court. ?But I was confident I could present my case properly,? she says.

According to the petition, over 40 per cent of Kargil war widows have not benefitted from any rehabilitation package promised to them. Many feel that apart from naming roads and squares to honour those who laid down their lives for the country, the government has done little in real terms. ?In many cases, there is scant evidence that the government has taken concrete steps to help the war widows and their families,? says Dwivedi.

The petition said that army personnel dedicate their entire lives to the service of the nation and do not even flinch when sacrificing their lives to protect the security and integrity of the nation. ?The least that any government can do to show respect and gratitude to them is by assuring them and their families that in case of any misfortune that may occur in their lives, the government will stand by their families,? the petition said.

Dressed in a simple white churidar kurta, Dwivedi presents a picture of poise and speaks with quiet determination. Says the law faculty student, ?Soldiers die for us. If we don?t give them this minimum assurance that their families would be taken care of if they are gone, then there is little motivation for them to fight for their country. This is the least that we as a nation and a government as a welfare state can do.?

Dwivedi?s petition has been taken seriously by the country?s apex court. A division bench of Justices . Santosh Hegde and S.B. Sinha has issued notices to the Centre and to the Uttar Pradesh government on the petition citing the case of Shakuntala Devi.

Since her husband?s death, the hapless widow, who also has two young children, had been running from pillar to post to avail of the welfare and the rehabilitation packages promised by the state. Worse, there was no earning member in Devi?s family.

Of the promised 25 bighas of land, she had got only 10 bighas, that too spread over different areas. And there was no sign of the petrol pump that had also been promised earlier. ?It seems as if the Kargil widows are being punished for the honourable deeds of their late husbands,? the petition said.

The petition also requested the court to order the government to produce before the court all the relevant materials on the subject at hand for scrutiny, set out the names of widows of the Kargil martyrs and the benefits so far given to them as per the welfare package, as well as the reasons for the delay.

While going through Dwivedi?s petition last week, the Supreme Court asked her to expand the range of her canvas. ?Why do you restrict yourself only to the Kargil widows? All war widows are yet to get full benefits,? the judges observed. Now, Dwivedi is working to enlarge the scope of her petition. ?People have already started contacting me independently,? she says.

Born and brought up in Allahabad, Dwivedi grew up in a legal background: her grandfather was a Supreme Court judge and her father is constitutional expert advocate in the apex court. ?For me, law is a potent tool to help the socially backward and the economically disadvantaged people,? she says.

Like most other Indians, she had followed the Kargil war closely. Like many others, she had been dismayed by the reports of government bunglings such as the coffin scam. But the Star News report hit her so hard that she decided to take the most eventful step of her career. Says she, ?As a lawyer, I want to experience all streams of law. But whatever I do, one agenda will be constant. I will try to help out the disadvantaged.?

In the coming months, many will be hoping Jyotsna Dwivedi succeeds in her first public endeavour.