Tales of villages with legacies of military service

Scores of villages across India boast of a rich connection with the forces, having had people from across generations serve in them. HT chronicles four such villages, which take pride in this tradition and strive to continue it

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pushed more people towards the forces. At the centre of that transformation is the Ex-Servicemen's Association, founded in 2006. The 200-strong group trains local aspirants in everything from recruitment procedures to life in the forces, ensuring that at least 10 young people join the services each year and becoming a catalyst for the residents of the village to join the military.

Retired Subedar Virapakshappa Bagewadi, who spent his military career inside tanks — moving from the Vijayanta to the T-90s — remembers a time when the popular profession in the village was teaching. "But then came the fascination for the uniform. I joined in the 1980s, and we were just ten. Today, we're over 400."

Tucked away on the outskirts of Belagavi district, Inchal is a quiet rural village in Saundatti taluk, located about 500km from Bengaluru and around 50km from Belagavi city. Surrounded by vast fields of sugarcane, maize, and jowar, the village embodies the unhurried rhythm of northern Karnataka's countryside, where narrow lanes weave through clusters of centuries-old temples and houses with long, sloped roods.

Brigadier Yallangouda Mallur, the highest-ranking officer to come out of Inchal, was wounded during operations in the Poonch sector in 1999. "Growing up, all I saw were neighbours in uniform," he said. "Joining the army wasn't just a dream—it felt like a natural step." Even today, when Mallur returns home on leave, he visits schools, talks to students, and rekindles those early sparks in others. "We don't just want to send soldiers anymore. We want to send officers."

But the pride in uniform isn't limited to those who wear it and extends to families.

Ojappa Karikoppar, 57, has two brothers and a son-in-law in the armed forces. "War, conflict—it doesn't scare us," he said. "We've got people in the services, and a whole village behind us." His only dilemma? Whether his young granddaughter will grow up to be a teacher or a soldier.