January 15, 2026, Headquarters, National Soldiers' Association, 133 B Model Town East, Ghaziabad – Today, the National President of the National Soldiers' Association, Colonel Tejinder Pal Tyagi, said, "Would it be wrong to call a retired soldier a living martyr?" Every soldier, at some point during their service, has faced extremely difficult circumstances and has been under the shadow of death. When there are bomb threats at schools, people's hearts stop. Imagine a soldier facing the enemy in minus 15 degrees Celsius, not for two hours, but continuously for two years. What would that situation be like?

Leaders, actors, intellectuals of the country, and school principals say that we are proud of our soldiers. If that's the case, today, January 15th, is Army Day. How many people went to the Martyrs' Memorial Park to pay homage to the martyrs? Isn't it the responsibility of school principals to at least once take their students to the Martyrs' Memorial Park to instill values ??and patriotism in them? Are the 11 duties mentioned in Article 51A of the Constitution taught in schools?

The Ministry of Finance of the Government of India levies taxes on soldiers' salaries. On one hand, they say "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer), and on the other hand, farmers' taxes are waived, but soldiers' taxes remain. Most of the soldiers, whom we call jawans, are the sons of farmers.

India's population is 145 crore. The number of soldiers is 14 lakh, which is less than 1% of 1% of India's population. These soldiers protect an 8,000 km long coastline and also defend against countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and China along an equally long border. Not only that, whenever there is a natural or man-made disaster, the army is called in to control the situation. The people of this country observe the death anniversaries of their parents and their sages and saints, but they do not observe the death anniversaries of their soldiers, because of whom their very existence is preserved. The Indian Army achieved an unexpected victory in Operation Sindoor, but what did the soldiers receive?

Today, on the occasion of Army Day, all the members of the National Soldiers' Association, including veteran soldiers P.P. Singh, Gyan Singh, Chandan Singh, Ganesh Dutt, Pushkar Bisht, Anju Sharma, Sandhya Tyagi, Monika Goyal, Urvashi Walia, Krishna, and Priyanshu Kumar, participated in an online meeting and made the following demands to the government:

1. Soldiers' salaries should be made tax-free.

2. An advisory should be issued stating that all schools should take their students to the martyrs' memorial in their city at least once a year to instill values ??and patriotism in them.