Abdul Hamid
This is class VIII. Mr. Varma, the class teacher, is telling the class a story. It is the story of a brave soldier named Abdul Hamid. He was a Company Quarter Master Havaldar in the Indian army. He was a very brave soldier. He fought in the 1965 war between India and Pakistan.
Mr. Varma: It is the early morning of 10 September, 1965. India is fighting against Pakistan. A Pakistani Regiment of Patton Tanks is marching on the Bhikiwind-Amritsar Road, in the Khemkaran Sector of India. It has reached a village named
Cheema. This village is on the border. In this Sector, the battle has been going on since September 6.
Here, Havaldar Abdul Hamid of ‘Four Grenadiers’ and the other soldiers of his company are waiting to face the Pakistani Army. Brave Abdul Hamid is sitting in a jeep. He has a special gun. The Patton Tanks of the Pakistani army are not very far from him. He could hit the tanks with his gun if he wanted to. He is a good shot. But he waits. He doesn’t want to waste his shots. He wants to hit each tank with his shot. The Pakistani tanks are very powerful and dangerous. They are coming nearer and nearer. They are firing continually. Brave Abdul Hamid marches forward. He sees a Pakistani Tank. He turns his gun and fires a shot. And wow! The tank catches fire. It goes up in flames. All the soldiers of Abdul Hamid’s company are so happy.
Ajit: Sir, was he such a good shot?
Mr. Varma: O yes! He was. He was a crack shot. Once at night he shot a bird, just hearing its sound.
Suresh: Really!
Mr. Varma: Listen further. Now he sees another tank. Abdul Hamid fires and it bursts into flames. Four more tanks are seen. They want to attack Abdul Hamid’s Company and kill him. He is their biggest enemy. They turn the guns in their tanks towards him. But before they can fire, Abdul Hamid hits the third tank also. And there it goes! It has caught fire. Flames are rising high up into the sky. But alas! One shell of the enemy hits his jeep. The brave hero falls down. He is badly wounded. But he doesn’t lose heart. He orders his soldiers, “Move forward; fight on!”
Ajit: What a brave soldier he was!
Mr. Varma: Yes, indeed. His soldiers loved him. They obeyed his orders and fought bravely. Some more tanks of the enemy were destroyed. The Pakistani soldiers got afraid and they fled away. This brave soldier of the Indian army died for his country. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously. His name will always be remembered by the people of his country. His village has been named ‘Hamid Dham’ after his name.
New Words / Phrases and their Use
1. A good shot (one who can shoot any target successfully) – He is such a good shot that he hardly ever misses his aim.
2. Continually (continuously with short breaks, over a long period) – It has been raining continually all this week.
3. Crack shot (accurate and skilled at shooting) – Abdul Hamid was a crack shot and killed many enemy soldiers.
4. To lose heart (to get discouraged or disappointed) – You must try again and not lose heart at your failure.
5. Damage (to harm or cause a loss) – Smoking can damage your health very badly.
6. Posthumously (after the death of a person) – Havaldar Abdul Hamid was honoured posthumously for his bravery.
Textual Comprehension
I. Answer each question briefly:
1. Who was Abdul Hamid?
Ans. Abdul Hamid was a brave soldier. He was a Company quarter master. He fought in the Indo-Pak War.
2. Which sector was he fighting in?
Ans. Abdul Hamid was fighting in Khemkaran Sector.
3. Where is the village named Cheema situated?
Ans. The village named Cheema is situated on the border in the Khemkaran Sector of India.
4. What sort of tanks did Pakistan have?
Ans. Pakistan had the Patton Tanks.
5. What made the Indian soldiers happy?
Ans. Abdul Hamid shot a Pakistani Tanks. It caught fire. This made the Indian soldiers happy.
6. How did Hamid destroy the enemy tanks?
Ans. Hamid had a special gun. It never missed its target. Hamid was a crack shot. He fired at the tanks with the gun and destroyed them.
7. How did Hamid fight the enemy and what happened to him?
Ans. Abdul Hamid fought the enemy very bravely. One shell of the enemy shot hit his jeep and he fell down. He got badly wounded.
8. How was Hamid honoured for his bravery?
Ans. Hamid was honoured with the Param Vir Chakra after his death. His Village was also named ‘Hamid Dham’ after his name.
9. How do you feel about Abdul Hamid after reading the story of his bravery?
Ans. After reading the story of Abdul Hamid’s bravery, we feel proud of him. Such patriots are always remembered with respect.
II. Find from the lesson lines which show that:
1. Hamid was a crack shot.
Ans. Once at night he shot a bird, just hearing its sound.
2. He was a brave soldier.
Ans. Abdul Hamid was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously.
3. He did not lose heart.
Ans. He is badly wounded. But he doesn’t lose heart. He orders his soldiers, “Move forward; fight on!”
4. His soldiers loved him.
Ans. His soldiers loved him. They obeyed his orders and fought bravely.
5. His name will always be remembered.
Ans. His Village has been named ‘Hamid Dham’ after his name.
III. Tick (✓) the correct option to complete each sentence:
1. Hamid could hit the tanks with his gun if he wanted to, but he waited because______
Ans. 1. he did not want to waste his shots.
2. the enemy soldiers were coming nearer.
3. the tanks were powerful and dangerous.
2. Hamid was their biggest enemy because_____
1. his soldiers loved him.
2. he was a brave soldier.
Ans. 3. he was destroying their tanks.
3. Hamid could shoot a bird at night guided by its sound because_____
Ans. 1. he was a crack shot.
2. he did not like birds.
3. he loved shooting at night.
4. Though Hamid was wounded badly, he wanted his soldiers
Ans. 1. to fight on.
2. to reach Cheema.
3. to remember his name.
IV. Choose words from the box to complete each sentence:
1. Abdul Hamid was awarded Param Vir Chakra for his bravery.
2. One shell of the enemy hit Abdul Hamid while he was destroying the enemy tanks.
3. The Pakistani Army had got Patton tanks.
4. Abdul Hamid died fighting for his country in the Khemkaran Sector.
5. The war between India and Pakistan was fought in 1965.
• Patton tanks.
• was fought in 1965.
• Param Vir Chakra for his bravery.
• his country in the Khemkaran Sector.
• Abdul Hamid while he was destroying the enemy tanks.
|
Vocabulary Enrichment
I. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their opposites in column ‘B’:
A | B |
far die fall war down brave biggest forward dangerous | Up Rise Live safe near peace smallest cowardly backward
|
Ans.
A | B |
far die
fall
war
down
brave
biggest
forward
dangerous | Near
Live
Rise
Peace
Up
Cowardly
Smallest
Backward
safe
|
II. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’:
A | B
|
Obey
afraid
award
special
border
Soldier
Damage
Posthumously
| Prize
cause harm
feeling fear
to do as told to do
member of an army
happening after death
a line dividing two countries
not ordinary; different from usual |
Ans.
A | B
|
Obey
afraid
award
special
border
Soldier
Damage
Posthumously
| to do as told to do
feeling fear
Prize
not ordinary; different from usual
a line dividing two countries member of an army
cause harm
happening after death
|
III. Choose a suitable adjective for each blank:
crack
brave
machine
powerful
posthumous |
1. A machine gun
2. A powerful tank
3. A crack shot
4. A posthumous award
5. A brave soldier
IV. Fill in the blanks, selecting words from the following:
fire
guns
huge
army
curse
shells
orders
flames
forward |
War is really a curse. On receiving the orders, the troops have to march forward. They have to carry a lot of war material with them. This
material includes guns, shells and a lot of other equipment. The battlefield is a great scene of fire and flames everywhere. The defeated army loses ground and suffers huge losses. The gunfire goes unabated till the orders for ceasefire arrive.
V. Complete this table for the Present, Past and Past Participle forms of the given Verbs:
Present Past Past Participle
1. sit sat sat
2. do did done
3. go went gone
4. hit hit hit
5. fight fought fought
6. die died died
VI. Make as many colour words from the box as you can:
W | B | G | G | M | Q | B |
H | L | R | R | E | D | L |
I | U | E | E | N | R | A |
T | E | Y | E | O | O | C |
E | P | I | N | K | S | K |
O | R | A | N | G | E | D |
P | Y | E | L | L | O | W |
Ans.
White, blue, grey, green, red,
black, pink, orange, yellow
Grammar in Use
Form of the verb that shows the time of the action, is called the Tense.
We have three main tenses in English:
1. Present
2. Past
3. Future
Each tense can have four different forms:
1. (i) Present Indefinite (write / writes)
(ii) Present Continuous (is / am / are + writing )
(iii) Present Perfect (has / have + written)
(iv) Present Perfect Continuous (will / shall + have + written)
2. (i) Past Indefinite (wrote)
(ii) Past Continuous (was / were + writing)
(iii) Past Perfect (had written)
(iv) Past Perfect Continuous (had been writing)
3. (i) Future Indefinite (will / shall + write)
(ii) Future Continuous (will / shall + be + writing)
(iii) Future Perfect (will / shall + been + written)
(iv) Future Perfect Continuous (will / shall + have + been + writing)
I. Say the Tense of each sentence. Then change the sentence into the corresponding Past form:
1. Soldiers are fighting at the border.
Ans. Soldiers were fighting at the border.
2. War has been going on since long.
Ans. War had been going on since long.
3. Abdul Hamid fires at the Pakistani tanks.
Ans. Abdul Hamid fired at the Pakistani tanks.
4. They want to attack our country.
Ans. They wanted to attack our country.
5. One shell hits his jeep.
Ans. One shell hit his jeep.
6. Then four more tanks come.
Ans. Then four more tanks came.
7. The soldiers are moving forward.
Ans. The soldiers were moving forward.
8. Our army has won the battle.
Ans. Our army had won the battle.
We have four main kinds of sentence:
1. Assertive: An assertive sentence can be affirmative or negative, as –
1. She goes to school daily. (affirmative)
2. She does not go to school daily. (negative)
2. Interrogative: An interrogative sentence asks a question, as –
1. Does she go to school?
2. Where is she going?
3. Imperative: An imperative sentence indicates some request, wish, prayer or order, as –
1. Switch on the lights.
2. Always tell the truth.
4. Exclamatory: An exclamatory sentence expresses some sudden emotion of surprise, joy, sorrow, etc. as –
1. What a lovely rose it is!
2. How brave Abdul Hamid was!
II. Write two sentences of your own for each of the above kinds:
1. He helps the poor.
2. Ram does not tell a lie.
3. Do you like sweets?
4. Who is helping you?
5. Do not smoke.
6. Never tell a lie.
7. What a beautiful picture!
8. May God bless you!
Composition Writing
I. Relate, in your own words, the story of Abdul Hamid’s bravery.
Ans. Abdul Hamid was a brave Indian soldier. He was a crack shot. He fought against the Pakistani army in 1965in the Khemkaran sector. Of India. He was sitting in a jeep. He had a special gun. The Pakistani army was coming with Patton tanks. Abdul Hamid turned his gun. He fired shots. He destroyed three Patton Tanks one after the other.
Suddenly one shell of the enemy hit his jeep. Abdul Hamid was badly wounded. He did not lose heart. He ordered his soldiers to fight on. The Pakistani soldiers were afraid. They fled away in fear. Abdul Hamid died for his death. His Village was named ‘Hamid Dham’ in the memory/.
II. Imagine you are Ramesh. You meet Ram Singh, a soldier from Abdul Hamid’s company. Write an imaginary dialogue you had with Ram Singh.
Ans.
Ramesh: Hello, Mr. Ram Singh
Ram Singh: Hello, Ramesh.
Ramesh: Where did you fight against the Pakistani army in 1965?
Ram Singh: I fought in the Khemkaran Sector of India.
Ramesh: How many Patton Tanks did Abdul Hamid destroy?
Ram Singh: He destroyed three Patton Tanks.
Ramesh: What happened when the enemy shell hit his jeep?
Ram Singh: Abdul Hamid fell down because he was seriously wounded.
Ramesh: What did he order his soldiers?
Ram Singh: He ordered them to fight on?
Ramesh: Which award was given to him for his bravery?
Ram Singh: He was awarded the Param Vir chakra after his death.
