Lt. Gen. B.S. Raju, appointed next Vice-Chief of the Army Staff, is a native of Baggavalli in Ajjampur taluk of Chikkamagaluru district. The residents of the village were in a joyous mood on Saturday after they learnt that a person from their village was in a senior position in the Indian Army.
Lt. Gen. Raju is one among four children born to B.S. Somashekhar and Vimala. His younger brother is in the U.S., while his sisters are in Bengaluru. They all visit the native place occasionally and hold activities that benefit the locals.
Lt. Gen. Raju’s father Mr. Somashekhar worked as the principal of government diploma colleges in different places. He had an ambition that one of his sons should join the Indian Army. He got Lt. Gen. Raju admitted to Sainik School in Vijayapura. “My uncle Somashekhar did not spend his retirement fund on his family. He fought with the government to get a high school sanctioned in the village and he spent his savings for the development of the school,” Lt. Gen. Raju’s cousin B.P. Prabhu Kumar told The Hindu.
Lt. Gen. Raju did not cut his ties with the village after his father passed away eight years ago. “He comes to the village thrice a year. Each time, he brings books and mementoes for meritorious students. His siblings, one of whom is a doctor, conduct health camps for the villagers. We are happy and proud that he is from our village,” Mr. Kumar said.
Many villagers gathered at Mr. Kumar’s place on Saturday and greeted the family members. “We are proud that he is from our village. He keeps returning to help our students,” said B.G. Gurumurthy, president of Baggavalli Gram Panchayat.
