Gurugram, Nov. 7 -- When wing commander Radhey Shyam Pandey bought a plot of land in New Palam Vihar in 1999, he saw it primarily as an investment. Gurugram, with its open spaces and fields, seemed a promising place to own property. He had also heard that several veterans from his community were choosing to settle in the city after retirement.

What he had not anticipated was how deeply he would eventually become involved in the everyday concerns of the city and its residents.

In 2016, two years after retiring from the Indian Air Force, Pandey moved to Gurugram with his family. After 38 years of service that had taken him across the country, he was looking for a place where they could finally put down roots.

A decade later, the 70-year-...