His house in Manipur razed and pillaged, jawan earns his stripes | Dehradun News – Times of India

DEHRADUN: From the smouldering remains of Bethel, a once-vibrant village in Manipur, rose the extraordinary story of Lt Seigoulal Vaiehei.
Vaiehei, 35, was commissioned as an officer in the Indian Army on Saturday, rising from the rank of Naik to proudly don the insignia of leadership. His journey to this pinnacle, though, was marked by turmoil, resilience, and a profound love for his homeland.
Last year, when unrest swept through Manipur, Vaiehei’s family was among those who bore the brunt of the violence. Their home was reduced to ashes, forcing his widowed mother, wife, and three children to seek refuge in an Army-managed relief camp for nearly a week. “The Army took care of us at the camp, but the unrest left us homeless,” Vaiehei told TOI.
Displaced and uncertain, Vaiehei made difficult choices. He moved his wife and children to Shillong in neighbouring Meghalaya for safety, while his mother relocated to Dehradun to live with his brother, an instructor at the Indian Military Academy (IMA). “We long to return to where our childhood unfolded,” he said, his voice tinged with yearning. “Not all the youth holding guns in Manipur are militants; they are probably saving their houses and families. Peace is the only solution for Manipur.”
Even amid this chaos, Vaiehei focused on his ambition. “I had to appear in the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview while all this was happening,” he recalled. “But our mental and physical conditioning in the Army is so well that it didn’t impact my SSB interview or training performance at the IMA. And today, I am an officer despite that phase.”
Bethel, a village of 45 families, now stands eerily silent, its red-zone land enveloped in tension, and Vaiehei stands as a symbol of strength and hope for his family and community. Yet, his heart remains tethered to Bethel, where the roots of his childhood run deep. “We have land there,” he said, “but we are not sure if it’s still ours or if it has been encroached upon.”
Vaiehei’s journey is intertwined with his family’s legacy of service. He is one of four brothers, three of whom serve in the Army. His eldest brother is a Subedar posted in Kashmir, while another is an instructor at IMA. Their father, who died in the early 1990s, lived a humble life as a farmer and daily wage worker. “My father had no job; sometimes he would work as a farmer, other times as a daily wage worker,” Vaiehei said. “We three got in through our hard work, as there was none in the Indian Army in our family. We love our country, and serving in the Indian Army is the best way; therefore, we all are here.”
Despite his military commitments, Vaiehei nurtures simple joys. “I love playing the guitar, especially devotional music,” he said. Football, too, provides a welcome escape — a game that mirrors his life’s balance of strategy and resilience.