The family Wing Commander MA Afraz (retired) comes from, has a history that is entwined with the Armed Forces, with more than one generation having devoted their lives in the service of the nation. Having known the struggles of soldiers at a personal level, Afraz was surprised that there was no one memorial in the country that paid tribute to all the nation’s martyred soldiers. “We have India Gate and the Amar Jawan Jyoti, but nothing that caters to all martyrs,” he comments. “I did some research and found that in other countries, there were online memorials for such purposes.”
Afraz set about finding partners for such a venture, and was soon joined by Wg Cdr LK Choubey (retd) and Wg Cdr Rajendra Prasad (retd), and together, the trio set about building a portal which would acknowledge and honour the deeds of many who had fallen in the line of duty.
Honourpoint.in, which launched in April 2017, contains over 10,000 records of martyred soldiers. Afraz states that around 24,000 soldiers have been lost since 1947, and his team has collected and published the details of almost half that number (10,217 as of writing). Each martyr gets a profile of sorts, which Afraz likens to an online shrine for them, where friends, family and well wishers can pay tribute. The profile includes details such as service and service number, unit, last rank held and date of martyrdom. The profiles also cite sources of information and allow families of the soldiers to take over its maintenance, adding details about their personal lives. “The information about their operations and so on are collected from official publications, newspaper articles and available records, while the families are given the option of updating supplementary information,” says Afraz, adding that the intention behind Honourpoint is twofold. “We want to create awareness about these martyrs and do something for their families. Of course, the Government does what it can, but more than financial help, the families want to know that the country remembers those who did the supreme sacrifice for them, and cares for them. Every tribute written on a martyr’s page goes directly to their family.”
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Afraz admits that in the long run, once they have established some credibility and found support, they would like to use it to help the families of martyrs that are in need.
Afraz stresses that the memorial is a way for the average citizen to reach out to the families of martyrs and show that they are not forgotten.