On Saturday, 14 revenue villages in lower Assam’s Dhubri district did not celebrate Diwali. Instead every household in these villages lit a diya in memory of 39-year-old jawan Hardhan Chandra Roy, who was among the five soldiers killed in Kashmir on Friday due to heavy shelling by Pakistan.

A condolence meeting was also organised in the evening by a student union in front of Roy’s home at his native village Futkibari-Medhipara, around 230km west of Guwahati.

Roy with his wife and son. Sourced by The Telegraph

Villagers and acquaintances said Roy, a havildar in the army, was “socially” very active and was always thinking about the “development” of his village when he was at home on leave. He came home for three months during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. He left in June for Punjab where he was posted. After serving his quarantine period, Roy was sent to Jammu and Kashmir, a posting which turned out to be his last.

“We are shattered. He was liked by all since he used to mingle with everyone when home. The Futkibari panchayat decided this morning there will be no Diwali celebrations, no bursting of crackers. Instead all households in the 14 revenue villages with about 10,000 population will light a diya in his memory. Everybody was informed through the public announcement system around 10am. That is the least we can do for his supreme sacrifice,” Jashawanta Barman, a school teacher and Roy’s cousin, told The Telegraph.

Mourners made a beeline to Roy’s Assam-type residence since morning to offer their condolences. Roy’s body will reach his village on Sunday. He leaves behind his wife, son, his parents and sisters.

Barman had last spoken to Roy during Durga Puja but he used to call his family every day. “He used to video call every day, sometimes two-three times, and talk to us and his son who is not even two. He had called on Thursday but there was no call on Friday. And there will be no more calls from him now. He was everything to us,” Gitika, his youngest sister, a graduate, said.

The family got a call around 3pm on Friday from a major saying Roy passed away at 12.20pm.

He was the pillar of his family who are completely shattered, said Barman. He married three years ago but only after getting two of his sisters married. He also built a four-room house.

The condolence meeting in front of Roy’s house in Futkibari-Medhipara village on Saturday. Sourced by The Telegraph

The All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) not only organised a condolence meeting in front of his home on Saturday evening but also appealed to the government to provide jobs to his wife and sister as Roy was the principal bread-earner of the family.

“Apart from the financial assistance he will be receiving, we request the authorities to properly rehabilitate the family and give him a fitting farewell,” AKRSU general secretary Jibesh Roy told this newspaper.

There are about 100 households in Roy’s village which is dependent on farming. There are two more men from the village in the army and the Sashastra Seema Bal, while three are in Assam police, Barman said.

In a condolence message, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said Roy, who died in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir due to heavy shelling by Pakistan army in violation of the ceasefire, “left behind a glowing example of patriotism and valour”.