Meet 96-year-old ML Sharma, a World War II soldier who came out to vote in the Delhi polls

New Delhi: As this senior citizen comes out of the gate of the polling booth at Defence Colony – a locality of the rich and the powerful – a policeman on duty at the gate salutes him with a smile.

“Sir, why didn’t you take the car inside the school campus, instead of walking all the way?” the cop asked the gentleman with a grey beard and cap on his head.

“I’m fine, no problem. And, I don’t want to misuse police,” the senior citizen replied with a smile. This is 96-year old Col (retd) ML Sharma, a second generation soldier, who had fought World War II and had been a part of Hyderabad operation– annexation of the princely state of Hyderabad into the Indian Union.

“I must fulfil my duty towards the nation and so I came to cast my vote. I have great hopes for my country,” proudly said Col (retd) ML Sharma, while speaking to Firstpost.

Though accompanied by his son Suvir Sharma, this ‘young old man’ didn’t take any support to walk up to his booth and way back to his car. “Defence is in our blood. My father late Ramlal Sharma fought World War II, while I participated in 1962 and 1965 wars. I was assigned the duty to do a reconnaissance in Leh during Chinese aggression in 1962, as the Indian government was going for the first airfield over there,” he mentioned.

Sharma’s eldest son Lt Col KB Sharma is now serving Indian Artillery.

Col ML Sharma, who started as a Sepoy in the Indian Army’s Engineering Corps during the British Raj was posted as a Havaldar in Iraq and Iran for Survey of India. “My journey is from a sepoy to a colonel, and I had been a witness to pre and post Independence politics in India,” smiled Sharma.