VARANASI: Rasoolan Bibi, the 95-year-old widow of Havildar Abdul Hamid who was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his contribution to the 1965 India-Pakistan war, died at her home in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur district on Friday after a brief illness.
HT ARCHIVE■ Rasoolan Bibi with Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in Dhamupur village of Ghazipur, UP, on September 10, 2017.
Her grandson, Jamil Alam, 34, said she was on medication but her condition suddenly deteriorated around noon on Friday and she passed on.
She was taken to a doctor in Dhamupur village a week ago after she fell ill, Jamil said. “He prescribed some medicines and advised her to consult a physician in Varanasi. We wanted to take her to Varanasi for treatment but she refused to go.”
People from nearby areas thronged their home as news of her death spread. Two years ago, Rasoolan Bibi made headlines when she said army chief General Bipin Rawat was like her son.
The occasion was the 52nd anniversary of Abdul Hamid’s martyrdom, during which Gen Rawat felicitated Rasoolan Bibi and touched her feet. His gesture was cheered by the audience.
Later, Gen Rawat had said, “I felt as if I was felicitating my mother.” During the event, Gen Rawat had saluted her as she presented him a memento and blessed him.