Profiles in Heroism: Archive

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ramana
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Post by ramana »

Doordarshan is broadcasting the investure ceremony right now.
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putnanja
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Post by putnanja »

Day after winning gallantry medal, Captain dies in firefight with ULFA

[quote]Day after winning gallantry medal, Captain dies in firefight with ULFA
Posted online: Monday, January 28, 2008 at 0033 hrs Print Email

MANU PUBBY & SAMUDRA GUPTA KASHYAP

NEW DELHI, GUWAHATI, JANUARY 27: A young Army Captain, who was decorated with the Sena Medal for gallantry on Republic Day yesterday, was killed in a fierce firefight with ULFA militants in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam today.

In the encounter inside the Mechaki reserve forest, 27-year-old Captain S K Choudhary of the 7/11 GR (Gorkha Rifles) led from the front. He was shot in the chest by the militants, two of whom were killed by the Captain and his men.

In fact, Choudhary was awarded the Sena medal for the bravery he showed last year when, in a similar encounter with the ULFA, he had killed two militants.

The Captain was to marry his fiancee next month. At her home, they were celebrating the announcement of the gallantry medal when news came in that Chaudhary had been killed.

Son of an Army officer — his father is a Lt Colonel posted at the Army Air Defence records office in Nashik — the Captain had already applied for leave and was due to head to Kathua (Jammu) shortly for his wedding. In fact, his Commanding Officer’s wife had spoken to his fiancee this morning to congratulate her.

A spokesman of the Army’s IV Corps Hqs at Tezpur said the firefight took place around 12.30 pm. He said Captain Choudhary succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital. His body will be flown to Kathua tomorrow.

“A combined group of Army and police personnel had proceeded to village Barpathar under Kakopathar police station in Tinsukia district at around 11.30 am today on receipt of specific information that four to five ULFA militants, including a senior leader, were hiding in a house there. But even as the security forces closed in, the militants took shelter in the dense Mechaki reserve forest following which the two sides engaged in a gunbattle,â€
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Amar Jawan -- Country Men Salute You in Full Awe !!!

Post by Sumeet »

When you go home, tell them that for their tomorrow, we gave our today.

Each year, a lot of soldiers serving the country in various forces [Army, CRPF, BSF, IAF etc.. ] die and from my observations I have noted some of them don't get a mention at BRF even. The story of their valor & sacrifice never gets the deserving platform that can be seen by many, instead dies with them.

By opening this thread I intend to provide an avenue for making an online repository of names, brief life story & sacrifice of these brave Indians. I hope this thread will get appropriate attention and by reading about them, giving them few moments of our precious time we can pay them our homage and keep them in our memory. Most importantly know that such and such individual actually existed.


ADMINs: If you feel this is unnecessary please do the needful, otherwise let it be on this forum, sticky & open to anyone who wants to see, read & post about them. Before making any decision please read this article:


58 years on, no memorial to honour martyrs
Rajat Pandit

NEW DELHI: The British thought it fit to honour the 84,000 Indian soldiers killed while fighting for the British Empire in World War I and the Afghan campaign by constructing the majestic India Gate on Rajpath.

Even as the 58th Republic Day is celebrated on Saturday, officers from the armed forces lament the country still does not have a national war memorial (NWM) to remember the soldiers, sailors and airmen who laid down their lives to guard an independent India.

First mooted in the 1960s, the NWM proposal is still stuck in the long corridors of political and bureaucratic apathy. Virtually all defence ministers, past and present, have promised it but to no avail. "It’s insulting as well as embarrassing that India is virtually the only country without a dedicated NWM. It is as if the 1947-48 J&K operation, the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars and the 1999 Kargil conflict do not matter at all," said a senior officer.


The latest "conceptual design" for the NWM prepared by the army, in consultations with several experts, basically revolves around a landscape-type memorial around the chhatri (canopy) near India Gate on the Central Vista, with "retaining walls" for inscribing the names of the martyrs.

But it’s hanging fire for the last couple of years despite a series of presentations made by Service HQs and various meetings with regulatory bodies like Delhi Urban Arts Commission, New Delhi Municipal Council, Central Vista Commission, Heritage Conservation Committee and the like.

Officials say there is "a lack of consensus" over the height of the retaining walls, with the armed forces wanting them to be 12-feet tall, while some of the regulatory bodies are adamant that they can only be four-and-a-half feet tall. The other bone of contention is apparently over a proper traffic management plan for the area.

"Such issues, however, can be sorted out if there is will to build the NWM. But despite defence ministry officials seeking time from the urban development ministry to make a presentation some months ago, the meeting has not yet materialised," said an official.

The "conceptual design", incidentally, includes a shandhanjali kaksh and an armed forces museum located at the adjoining Princess Park and Jodhpur Hostel, with the three being connected by underground sub-ways, apart from basement parking. "The proposed NWM will be simple and elegant and will not disrupt the aesthetics and architecture of the Central Vista," said an official.

That may well be true but if past history of the ill-fated NWM proposal is taken into account, then the emotive sentiment — When you go home, tell them that for their tomorrow, we gave our today — will not really mean much to citizens.
Last edited by Sumeet on 28 Jan 2008 13:52, edited 2 times in total.
Sumeet
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Post by Sumeet »

And the first posting from my side:

Hours after getting award, Capt dies fighting ULFA militants

Image
New Delhi: Twenty-four hours after he was decorated with Sena Medal for gallantry, an Army officer was killed in a gun battle with militants near Tinsukia in Assam on Sunday.


Capt S K Choudhary received the Sena Medal for his courage during a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir killing two last year.

Twenty-seven-year-old Choudhary perished after killing two ULFA militants and wounding a third in a raid, said an Army spokesman.

Based on a tip off, Army's Gorkha regiment raided Mechaki forest area at Hankhati where the militants, including hardcore ULFA rebel Joond Bhuyan, involved in serveal heinous crimes, were sheltered.

As the Army troops approached, the militants opened fire triggering a heavy exchange of fire, which continued for nearly an hour.

In the shootout, Captain Choudhury, who was a prime target for ULFA after he shot dead two leaders last year, sustained greivous injury and was airlifted to the Air Force hospital at Roroiya where he was declared dead. According to reports, Bhuyan managed to escape.

Bhuyan's close aides, Chandan Dohotia, alias Getley, and Tutu Moran were killed in the encounter.

The troops recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, 100 rounds of ammunition, an improvised explosive device weighing five kg, timed and ready for use and two magazines from the encounter site.

The Captain was to marry his fiancee next month. At her residence, they were celebrating the announcement of the gallantry medal when news came in that Chaudhary had been killed.

Son of an Army officer — his father is a Lt Colonel posted at the Army Air Defence records office in Nashik — the Captain had already applied for leave and was due to head to Kathua (Jammu) shortly for his wedding.
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Post by Rudranathh »

Nation bids farewell to martyred Captain - Video

http://broadband.indiatimes.com/videoshow/2740867.cms
Aditya G
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Post by Aditya G »

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080126/nation.htm#4

President approves 425 gallantry awards

New Delhi, January 25
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has approved awards of 425 gallantry and service decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others, including an Ashoka Chakra (posthumous), and four Kirti Chakras (two posthumous).

The other awards include 22 Shaurya Chakras (seven of them posthumously; 18 Army, three IAF including the two pilots of the force’s Around the World circumnavigation trip, and one civilian), two Bar to Sena Medals (gallantry), 107 Sena Medals (gallantry), two Nao Sena Medals (gallantry) and three Vayu Sena Medal (gallantry).

Of the gallantry awards, it is the specialised counter-insurgency force Rashtriya Rifles, tackling militancy in J&K, that has got the lion’s share, including the Ashok Chakra to Major Dinesh Raghu Raman (Jat/34 RR), while two of his unit were awarded the Kirti Chakra (one posthumously). Half a dozen of the Shaurya Chakras, two posthumously, have also gone to the force, followed by the Para Regiment (Special Forces) units.

The awards for service include 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, three Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 52 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, a Yudh Seva Medal, three Bar to Vishisht Seva Medals, 127 Vishisht Seva Medals, four Bar to Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), 38 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), 10 Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty) and 16 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty).

A Tatrakshak Medal (gallantry), two Takrakshak Medals (Meritorious Service) and 28 Mention-in-Despatches have also been announced.

Recipients of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal include Army’s Eastern Command GOC-in-C Lt Gen K.S. Jamwal, outgoing Central Command GOC-in-C Lt Gen O P Nandrajog, DG Artillery Lt Gen A.S. Bajwa, Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff Lt Gen Hardev Singh Lidder, South-Western Command GOC-in-C Lt Gen P.K. Singh, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen M.L. Naidu, both Deputy Chiefs of Army Staff — Lt Gen Susheel Gupta and Zameer-uddin Shah.

Others include Quarter Master General Lt Gen Sudhir Sharma, Northern Command GOC-in-C Lt Gen Harcharanjit Singh Panag, Adjutant General Lt Gen Thomas Mathew, Defence Intelligence Agency DG Lt Gen Mandhata Singh, Master General of Ordnance Lt Gen S S Dhillon, Military Secretary Lt Gen P.R. Gangadharan, Signal Officer-in-Chief Lt Gen Sivasankara Pillai Sree Kumar, IMA Commandant Lt Gen P K Rampal, NCC DG Lt Gen Prakash Singh Chaudhary, Assam Rifles DG Lt Gen Paramjit Singh, Navy’s Vice Chief Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma, Navy’s Chief of Material Vice Admiral B.S. Randhawa, Strategic Forces’ Command Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar.

The IAF’s PVSM recipients include Training Command’s AOC-in-C Air Marshal G.S. Chaudhry, Vice Chief Air Marshal P.V. Naik, Commander-in-Chief of the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command Air Marshal P P Rajkumar, Maintenance Command’s AOC-in-C Air Marshal J S Apte, Southern Air Command’s AOC-in-C Air Marshal Y R Rane and the frontline Western Air Command’s AOC-in-C Air Marshal Pranab Kumar Barbora.

Ashoka Chakra

Major Dinesh Raghu Raman Jat Regiment/34 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous) Kirti Chakra

Major Shatrujeet Kotwaljat Regiment/ 34 Rashtriya Rifles Major Kumandur Prabhakar Vinay Regiment Of Artillery/34 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous) Major Subhash Chand Punia 21 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) Sepoy Suresh 16 Jat Regiment(Posthumous).

Shaurya Chakra

Major Amit Kumar Chand, 23 Rajput Regiment Major Brij Kishore Dhoundiyal, ASC, 10 Rashtriya Rifles Major Virender Singh Salaria, 10 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) Major Rajesh Kumar Singh, Dogra, 11 Rashtriya Rifles Major Anshul Shukla, Jat, 24 Assam Rifles Major Ishwar Singh Dahiya, Arty, 14 Assam Rifles Captain Lalit Kansal, 2 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) Asstt Comdt Anurag Kumar, 42 Battalion Border Security Force/16 Jat Regiment Naib Subedar Subhash, 10 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) (posthumous) Naib Subedar Khem Singh, Dogra Regiment/ 62 Rashtriya Rifles Havildar Udar Bhanudas Parvati, 21 Para (Special Force) (posthumous) Havildar Bulla Ram, 7 Kumaon Regiment

Naik Rajan Singh, 28 Punjab Regiment L/NK Narbu Sherpa, 3/11 Gorkha Rifles Sepoy Badal Hasda, 16 Bihar Regiment (posthumous) Sepoy Jugulu Sabar, Bihar, 47 Rashtriya Rifles Rifleman Abdul Hamid Chara, 162 Infantry Battalion Ta (H&H) JAK LI/18 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous) GDMN Ajesh M A, Brigade of The Guards/21 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous) Wing Commander Anil Kumar (20742) Flying (Pilot) Wing Commander Rahul Monga (20768) Flying (Pilot) Squadron Leader Shantanu Basu (22947) Flying (Pilot) (posthumous) Srikumar R, Grade-II, Superintendent Building/ Roads (posthumous).

Bar To Sena Medal (gallantry)

Major Sushil Kumar Pandey, Sena Medal 4 Sikh Light Infantry Captain Ankur Vashishtha, SM, Sikh Regiment/ 46 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion

Sena Medal (gallantry)

Colonel Hukum Singh Bainsla, Gorkha Regiment, 1 Assam Rifles Lieutenant Colonel Rajeev Kapur, Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/28 Rashtriya Rifles Major Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, SC, VSM, 21 Para (Special Forces) Major Sumeet Malhan, Engineers/44 Rashtriya Rifles Major Sanjay Singh, 2 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)

Major Aditya Verma, Artillery/34 Rashtriya Rifles Major Indra Singh Chauhan, Engineers/62 Rashtriya Rifles Major Maneesh Kumar Singh, Armoured Corps/4 Rashtriya Rifles Major Atul Kumar Singh, 11 Jammu And Kashmir Rifles Major Abhijit Anand Ukidwe, 19 Kumaon Regiment Major Sukhdev Singh, 17 Dogra Regiment

Major Rohit Ashok Patwardhan, Kumaon Regiment/26 Rashtriya Rifles Major Sukhdev Singh Nagiyal, Army Air Defence /34 Assam Rifles Major Abhishek Das, Assam Regiment/42 Rashtriya Rifles Major Ankur Vikas Vaidya, Army Air Defence/1 Assam Rifles Major Vikramjit Singh Sahi, Artillery/52 Rashtriya Rifles Major Naresh Chandra Gairola, Jat Regiment/34 Rashtriya Rifles Major Har Agam Pal Singh, Artillery/70 Field Regiment Major Amit Kanwar, 15 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry Major Snehanshu Sekhar Das, Artillery/35 Assam Rifles

Major Randeep Kharyal, 18 Punjab Regiment Major Amit Saxena, Mech INF, 50 Rashtriya Rifles Major Balakrishna Menon S, Engineers/34 Assam Rifles Major Sunil Kumar, Armoured Corps/55 Rashtriya Rifles Major Vipul Deswal, Armoured Corps/4 Rashtriya Rifles Major Ashish Kumar Dube, Artillery/11 Assam Rifles Major Longjam Jimkelly Meetei, Mahar Regiment/7 Assam Rifles.

Captain Ashish Rawat, 21 Para (Special Forces) Captain Kuldeep Singh, Dogra Regiment/62 Rashtriya Rifles Captain Uma Shankar, Engineers/21 Rashtriya Rifles Captain Abhishek Kumar, 15 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry Captain Shashank Singh, Engineers/42 Rashtriya Rifles Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary, 7/11 Gorkha Rifles Captain Vikas Saha, 2 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)

Captain Jayanta Sarkar, 19 Kumaon Regiment Captain Alok Pratap Singh, Artillery/41 Rashtriya Rifles Captain Ghatge Ramesh Udaysinh, 2/1 Gorkha Rifles Lieutenant Tarun Kharb, 19 Kumaon Regiment Lieutenant Vikas Guleria, 15 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry Asstt Comdt Rajib Kalita, 36 Assam Rifles Subedar Om Prakash, Brigade of the Guards/21 Rashtriya Rifles Subedar Balwan Singh, Mechanised Infantry/ 26 Rashtriya Rifles Subedar Satish Kumar, Jat Regiment/34 Rashtriya Rifles Subedar Mahender Singh, Kumaon Regiment/60 Rashtriya Rifles Subedar Mohd Rashid, Jammu And Kashmir Rifles/28 Rashtriya Rifles Naib Subedar Ganesh Singh, Dogra Regiment/62 Rashtriya Rifles Naib Subedar Tejpal Singh Bhandari, 2 Garhwal Rifles

Naib Subedar Trilok Singh, 7 Kumaon Regiment Naib Subedar Ram Datt, 19 Kumaon Regiment Havildar Mahendra Kumar Sharma, Corps Of Intelligence/ 3 Det Ec Lu Havildar Ram Awtar Singh, 23 Rajput Regiment Havildar Subhash Chand, Dogra Regiment/62 Rashtriya Rifles Havildar Manindra Kumar, Corps Of Intelligence/ 4 Det Ec Lu Havildar Hari A.R, 2 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) Havildar Anil Kumar, Mechanised Infantry/50 Rashtriya Rifles Havildar Subhash Chand, 14 Assam Rifles Havildar Gopal Singh, 21 Assam Rifles

Lance Havildar Ramachandran G, 16 Madras Regiment (Posthumous) Lance Havildar Mithun Sinjali, 4/8 Gorkha Rifles/33 Rashtriya Rifles Lance Havildar Pawan Kumar, Regiment of Artillery / 72 Field Regiment Naik Manpreet Singh, Punjab Regiment/22 Rashtriya Rifles Naik Sunil Kumar, 16 Jat Regiment Naik Sumit Dogra, 19 Dogra Regiment (Posthumous) Naik Sat Paul, Dogra Regiment/62 Rashtriya Rifles

Naik Brijesh Yadav, 19 Kumaon Regiment Naik Parshotam Singh Chib, 15 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry Naik Mohammed Amin Bhat, Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry/62 Rashtriya Rifles Naik Sumat Rai, Gorkha Rifles/15 Rashtriya Rifles Naik Firender Kumar, Artillery/306 Field Regiment Naik Desh Raj, Artillery/34 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous) Naik M Sarat Chandra Singha, Corps of Intelligence/ Ec Isg Lance Naik Uday Thaikar, 11 Maratha Light Infantry Lance Naik Bhoyar Vithoba Namdeo, 22 Maratha Light Infantry

Lance Naik Devi Prasad Singh, 16 Rajput Rifles Lance Naik Gurlal Singh, 16 Sikh Regiment Lance Naik Lalit Mohan Singh Rawat, 21 Para (Special Forces) Lance Naik Nandan Singh, Kumaon Regiment/13 Rashtriya Rifles Lance Naik Vikram Singh, 19 Kumaon Regiment Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar Yadav, 2 Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) Sepoy Sombir Singh, Grenadiers/55 Rashtriya Rifles Sepoy Rakshe Shashikant Jagannath, 7 Maratha Light Infantry Sepoy Pol Nitin Subhash, 11 Maratha Light Infantry Sepoy Rajesh Kumar, 16 Jat Regiment (Posthumous) Sepoy Daljit Singh, Sikh Regiment/6 Rashtriya Rifles Sepoy Manoj Mehra, 17 Dogra Regiment Sepoy Narinder Singh, Dogra Regiment/11 Rashtriya Rifles Sepoy Bhupinder Singh, Dogra Regiment/62 Rashtriya Rifles

Sepoy Vikash Kumar Singh, 16 Bihar Regiment Sepoy Tarsem Singh, Mahar Regiment/30 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous) Sepoy Abdul Hamid, 153 Infantry Battalion (TA) Dogra Sepoy Abdul Hamid, 156 INF BN TA (H&H) Punjab/58 Rashtriya Rifles Sepoy Qumer-Ud-Din Beg, 156 INF BN TA (H&H) Punjab, 58 Rashtriya Rifles Sepoy Bal Mukunda Mishra, 5131 Army Service Corps Battalion Sepoy Samir Kumar Patro, Army Service Corps/41 Rashtriya Rifles Rifleman W Romesh Singh, 3 (NH) Battalion Assam Rifles Rifleman Ishtiaq Ahmed, Jak Light Infantry/18 Rashtriya Rifles

Rifleman Mehmood Ahmed Itoo, Jak Light Infantry/33 Rashtriya Rifles Rifleman Mohd Yousaf Lone, 161 Infantry Battalion TA (H&H) Jak LI Rifleman Mazafar Iqbal, 14 Assam Rifles Rifleman Jasbir Singh, 19 Assam Rifles Rifleman Balaji Vaka, 21 Assam Rifles Rifleman Tangbo Aboh, 1 Assam Rifles Sapper Uma Shankar Joshi, Engineers/42 Rashtriya Rifles Sapper Ramdas, Engineers/47 Rashtriya Rifles Gunner Surender Kumar, Artillery/306 Field Regiment Guardsman Prasanth SP, Brigade of The Guards/50 Rashtriya Rifles Sowar Chaudhari Rajesh Kumar Virsang Bhai, Armd Corps/53 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous)

Nao Sena Medal (gallantry)

Surgeon Lieutenant IB Udaya Lieutenant Mohit Gupta Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) (03) Wing Commander Nilanjan Biswas Wing Commander Ajay Shukla Flight Lieutenant Amit Sharma (Posthumous).

Param Vishisht Seva Medal

Lieutenant General Kuldip Singh Jamwal, Avsm, Vsm**, Arty Lieutenant-General Om Prakash Nandrajog, Avsm, Vsm, Inf (Gds) Lieutenant-General Ajeet Singh Bajwa, Avsm, Vsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Hardev Singh Lidder, Uysm, Ysm, Vsm, Inf (Para) Lieutenant-General Parmendra Kumar Singh, Avsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Milan Lalitkumar Naidu, Avsm, Ysm, Inf Lieutenant-General Susheel Gupta, Avsm, Ysm, Inf Lieutenant-General Zameer Uddin Shah, Sm, Vsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Sudhir Sharma, Avsm, Ysm, Vsm, Inf (Gds) Lieutenant-General Harcharanjit Singh Panag, Avsm, Mechinf Lieutenant-General Thomas Mathew, Avsm, Inf Lieutenant-General Mandhata Singh, Ysm, Vsm, Inf (Gr) Lieutenant-General Sarabjit Singh Dhillon, Avsm**, Vsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Puttammadam Rajah Gangadharan, Avsm, Vsm**, Inf Lieutenant-General Sivasankara Pillai Sree Kumar, Avsm, Signals Lieutenant-General Pitamber Kishore Rampal, Avsm, Inf Lieutenant-General Prakash Singh Chaudhary, Avsm, Sm, Vsm, Inf Lieutenant-General Paramjit Singh, Avsm, Vsm, Inf Lieutenant-General Saibal Mukherjee, Avsm, Amc Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma, Avsm, Adc Vice Admiral Birender Singh Randhawa, Avsm, Vsm Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, Avsm Air Marshal Gurnam Singh Chaudhry, Avsm, Vsm Adc Air Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, Vsm Air Marshal Packiam Paul Rajkumar, Avsm Air Marshal Jayant Satchidanand Apte, Avsm Air Marshal Yeshwant Rao Rane, Avsm, Vm Air Marshal Pranab Kumar Barbora, Vm Air Marshal Ajit Vishwanath Vaidya, Vm Air Marshal Jai Krishan Gupta, Avsm Phs.

Bar To Ati Vishisht Seva Medal

Lieutenant-General Manbir Singh Dadwal, Avsm, Vsm, Inf Lieutenant-General Mukesh Sabharwal, Avsm, Vsm, Inf Major-General Vinod Chopra, Avsm, President’s Secretariat, Inf.

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal

Lieutenant-General Narinder Singh Brar, Vsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Samer Pal Singh Dhillon, Vsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Chandroth Kunnumal Suchindra Sabu, Vsm, Arty Lieutenant-General Balraj Singh Nagal, Sm, Inf Lieutenant-General Bharat Singh Sisodia, Vsm, Aoc Lieutenant-General Kashyap Sundaram Sivakumar, Vsm, Inf Lieutenant-General Girija Shankar Misra, Vsm, Amc Major-General Amarjit Singh Bakshi, Signals Major General (Retd) Jose Joseph Manavalan, Engineers Major-General Kammula Ramachandra Rao, Vsm, Arty Major-General (retd) Anil Kumar.

Vishisht Seva Medal

Lieutenant General Ranbir Kumar Chhabra, VSM, Inf Major General Anil Chandra Chait, VSM, Armd Brigadier Venkatesh Siddalingappa Somanagoudar, VSM, Mli Vice Admiral Krishna Raina Rear Admiral Shekhar Kumar Sinha, Nm Surgeon Rear Admiral Vinod Kumar Saxena, VSM Rear Admiral Rajender Singh, Nm,VSM Rear Admiral Pradeep Chauhan, VSM Rear Admiral Harisimran Singh Malhi, VSM Rear Admiral Niranjan Kumar Nadella, VSM Air Marshal Pramod Vasant Athawale, VSM Air Vice Marshal Trichinapoly Subramanyam Raghu Raman Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Narayanan Vijayakumar, VSM Air Vice Marshal Vijay Kumar Dayalu, VSM & Bar Air Vice Marshal Anil Chopra, Vm, VSM Air Vice Marshal Chinnabhandar Narasingara Ranganath, VSM Air Vice Marshal Anil Kumar Khosla, VSM Air Vice Marshal Ravi Kant Srivastava Air Vice Marshal Raj Kumar Vashisht Air Commodore Ujjal Prabhat Biswas Air Commodore Devinder Singh, Vm, VSM Air Commodore Gurvinder Jeet Singh Cheema, VSM & Bar Air Commodore Shamsher Jang Bahadur Air Commodore Amarsingh Ganpatrao Patil Yudh Seva Medal Group Captain Atanu Guru Vr C Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal Brigadier Surindra Hari Kulkarni, VSM, Armoured Corps Brigadier Pakianathan Albert Philip Samuel, VSM, Sikh Regt, 15 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Velu Nair, VSM, AMC Vishisht Seva Medal Lieutenant General Yatindra Singh Panwar, Signals, Mcte Mhow Lieutenant General Anil Kumar Lamba, Arty Lieutenant General Pradeep Khanna, Armoured Corps Major General Vickas Kapur, Arty Major General Sunil Kumar Sinha, Aad Major General Mahesh Chander Badhani, Engineers Major General Gurdeep Singh, Arty Major General Jasmohan Sidhu, Armoured Corps Major General Sisir Subhra Sengupta, Engineers Major General Manjinder Singh Buttar, Arty Major General Maninder Singh Ghai, Engineers Major General Dalbir Singh Sidhu, Armd Corps Major General Surinder Kumar Dhawan, Signals Major General Yugal Kishore Sharma, AMC Brigadier Sunil Govind Gokhale, Arty Brigadier Manvendra Singh, Brigade Of The Guards Brigadier Athmanathan Venkata Subramanian, Eme Brigadier Samarjeet Singh, Rajput Regiment Brigadier Bhal Chandra Bapusaheb Patil, Jakli Brigadier Nariamparambil George, Garh Rif Brigadier Vinayak Ramanayan, Aad Brigadier Raj Nandan Singh, Sm, Assam Regt Brigadier Sandeep Singh, Jakrif/Hq 13 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Anil Kumar Srivastava, Jag Dept Brigadier Harvinder Pal Singh Dhillon, Rajput Regt, Hq Delhi Area Brigadier Gajendra Nigam, Hq Cif (K) Brigadier Ashok Kumar Singh, Punjab Regiment, Hq Cif (V) Brigadier Man Mohan Singh Rai, Engineers Brigadier Kanwaljit Singh, Mechanised Infantry Brigadier Sasi Dharan Nair, Rajputana Rifles Brigadier Tara Kant Sinha, Kumaon Regiment Brigadier Kuruppasseril Subramanian Venugopal, Jat Regt, Hq 10 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Anil Kumar Ahuja, Arty, Hq 11 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Gurmit Singh, Assam Regt Brigadier Ghanshyam Singh Katoch, Jammu & Kashmir Rifles Brigadier Sanjay Motiramji Holey, Maratha Light Infantry, Hq 4 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Apurba Kumar Bardalai, Rajput Regiment Brigadier Nameesh Singh Jamwal, Inf, Hq 1 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Iqbal Singh Singha, Rajputana Rifles Brigadier Suryakant Shivaji Jadhav, Madras Regt, Hq 7 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Palepu Ravi Shankar, Arty Brigadier Har Gur Vinod Singh, Sm, Gorkha Rifles/Hq 5 Sector Assam Rifles Brigadier Amit Sarin, Sm, Aoc Brigadier Devendra Kapur, Guards, Hq 8 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Kuldip Singh, Infantry, Hq 12 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Rakesh Mohan Painuly, Kumaon Regiment, Cijw School Brigadier Devendra Nath Asija, Corps Of Intelligence Brigadier Ravinder Narain Masaldan, Engineers Brigadier Abhimanyu Raut, Madras Regiment, Hq 9 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Sunil Kumar Razdan, Kc, Parachute Regiment Brigadier Sanjay Kulkarni, Sc, Sm, Kumaon Regiment Brigadier Rana Kashmir Singh, Sc, Sm, Sikh Regt, Hq 2 Sector Rashtriya Rifles Brigadier Sunil Kumar Virmani, AMC Brigadier Rajendra Prasad Choubey, AMC.

Colonel Sudhir Kumar Sakhuja, Madras Regiment, Pro (Army) Colonel Virendra Singh Bhalothia, SM, Colonel Indupuru Narayana, Arty Colonel Ajoy Bakshi, MLI Colonel Parminder Jit Singh Pannu, MLI Colonel Rakesh Raina, 13 Sikh Regiment Colonel Naresh Jethwani, Intelligence Colonel Andrew Abraham, 369 Intelligence And Field Security Unit Colonel Gurvinder Singh Kular, SM**, 21 Para (Special Forces) Colonel V Manivannan, Signals/HQ Victor Force (Posthumous) Colonel Pankaj Chib, Intelligence/357 INT & Field Security Unit Colonel Prakash Singh, AMC Colonel Manoj Kumar Unni, AMC Colonel Gurvinder Singh Chopra, SM, AMC Colonel Manmohan Singh, AMC Colonel Avnish Kumar Seth, AMC Lieutenant Colonel Ishwar Singh Thapa, SM, 4 MLI Naik Hanuman Singh, 66 Engineer Regiment (Posthumous) Commodore Ratan Kumar Okhandiar Commodore Harendra Singh Chopra Commodore P Murugesan Commodore Anil Kumar Sharma Commodore Rajinder Singh Duggal Commodore Girish Luthra Captain Lg Panse Captain Kkl Chary Captain Sri Prakash Lal Surgeon Captain Mohan Waman Malse Captain Anil Kumar Captain Kalidoss Srinivas Commander Sujay Nadir Desh Raj, Mcme I Om Prakash Verma Mcpor(Tac)Ii Lumba Ram, Mcpo I (UC I), Nbcdi Air Commodore Ajit Singh Air Commodore Swapan Samaddar Air Commodore Har Kamal Jeet Singh Sokhey Group Captain Praduman Singh Group Captain Arun Kumar Kapur Group Captain Dinesh Dhawan Group Captain Mahesh Kumar Malik Group Captain Anoop Kumar Ghosh Group Captain Chambala Karai Ranjan Group Captain Pradeep Ranjan Sinha Group Captain Jabali Chandrasekhar Group Captain Surendra Kumar Ghotia Group Captain Govindharaj Karthikeyan Group Captain Pramod Kumar Tayal Group Captain Anil Kumar Gupta Group Captain Richard John Duckworth Group Captain Inder Bir Singh Sadana Wing Commander Ashok Kumar Upadhyaya Group Captain Kanjithanda Bopanna Karumbaya Group Captain Dinesh Kumar Awasthi Wing Commander Jonnalagadda Rajendra Wing Commander Sanjay Nathak Wing Commander Nirmalendu Rath Wing Commander Navjodh Singh Wing Commander Dewraj Sitpal Wing Commander Biju Jacob Kiliyileth Easo Master Warrant Officer Jagdish Chander Warrant Officer Indu Bhushan Mishra, Electrical Fitter Mohan Lal Superintending Engineer (Civil) Fs Brigadier Sarvesh Dangwal Army Physical Training Corps Colonel V S Kandari Army Physical Training Corps Brigadier Ramachandran Suresh, Arty Brigadier Rajeevan Gopalakrishnan, Arty Brigadier Datla Satya Chander Varma, Grenadiers Brigadier Sanjeev Vashisht, SM, Engineers Commodore S C Joshi Commander R K Srivastava Group Captain Zia Ahmad Rizvi Group Captain Chandramouli Bar to Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty) Colonel Prashant Sarjerao Nikam, SM, 7 Rajput Rifles Colonel Paramvir Singh Sehrawat, SM, Brigade Of The Guards/21 Rashtriya Rifles (Guards) Colonel Ravindra Singh, SM, Sikh Regiment, 45 Assam Rifles Colonel Deepak Bakshi, SM, 2 Parachut Regiment(Special Forces) Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty) Brigadier Om Prasad Gurung, VSM, Mahar Regiment/High Altitude Warfare School Colonel Rajiv Kanwar, 4 Gorkha Rifles/7 Assam Rifles Colonel Mahendra Bhatnagar, 13 Garhwal Rifles Colonel Rajeeva Kumar, 4 Sikh Light Infantry Colonel Anil Kumar Rohilla, 5 Jat Regiment Colonel Pradeep Kaul, Arty/172 Field Regiment Colonel Bubesh Kumar S, 6 Rajput Regiment Colonel Narender Kumar, 38 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Narendra Singh Pal, Garhwal Rifles/14 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Mohan Singh Shekhawat, Kumaon Regiment/50 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Harjinder Singh, 22 Maratha Light Infantry Colonel Steve Muzaffar Ismail, 2/1 Gorkha Rifles Colonel Guljeet Singh Jamwal, 11 Sikh Light Infantry Colonel Harjinder Singh, Jat Regiment/34 Rashtriya Rifles Colonel Virendra Vats, 19 Kumaon Regiment Colonel Vignesh Mahanti, 4 Engineer Regiment Colonel Pramit Saxena, 7/11 Gorkha Rifles Colonel Vinay Khosla, 6 Jakli Regimental Centre Colonel Sahi Harjeet Singh, 23 Rajput Regiment Colonel Ravi Kumar Radhakrishnan, Artillery/ 174 Field Regiment Colonel Jagdeep Singh Budhwar, 15 Jammu And Kashmir Light Infantry.

Sena Medal (devotion to duty)

Brigadier Yeggina Vishnu Mohan, VSM, EME Lieutenant Colonel Amod Chadha, Engineers Major Amit Soni, 8 Jakli Regimental Centre Captain Dharmjot Singh, 7 Maratha Light Infantry Subedar Khandagle Maruti Narayan, 5 Maratha Light Infantry Subedar Mohd Ilyas, 3 Jakli Regimental Centre Havildar Jagtap Nandkumar Nivruti, 4 Maratha Light Infantry Havildar Dayanand Dhali, 4 Maratha Light Infantry Havildar Khem Chand, 6 Parachute Regiment Havildar Balwant Singh Negi, Dogra Regiment, Dogra Scouts Havildar Tejpal Singh, 4 Garhwal Rifles Havildar Amar Dev Bhatt, 15 Garhwal Rifles Havildar Mingmar Gurung, 5/4 Gorkha Rifles Havildar Tsering Angchok, 2 Ladakh Scouts Lance Havildar Ram Bahadur Mall, 13 Garhwal Rifles Lance Naik K Sivaji Rao, 4 Engineer Regiment (posthumous) Sepoy Patil Sachin Ravsaheb, 5 Maratha Light Infantry

Nao Sena Medal (devotion to duty)

Commodore Sudhakar Thurumalla Commodore Sujeet Samaddar Captain Balvinder Singh Parhar Captain Dalbir Singh Sodhi Commander Vikram Bakshi Commander Ashim Kumar Majhi Commander Balakrishnan Sunil Commander Balachandran Ayyappan Nair Commander K. Mittal B N Bhushan, POR (TEL)

Vayu Sena Medal (devotion to duty)

Group Captain Rajat Sharma Group Captain Gurinder Pal Singh Wing Commander Narmdeshwar Tiwari Wing Commander Nagesh Kapoor Wing Commander Awadesh Kumar Bharti Wing Commander Aman Nautiyal Wing Commander Kenneth Allen Wing Commander Rajiva Ranjan Wing Commander KS Suresh Kumar Wing Commander Sunil Kashinath Vidhate Wing Commander Shailendra Sharma Wing Commander Deep Raj Sirohi Wing Commander Inderpal Singh Walia Wing Commander Amitabh Raja Shendye Wing Commander Sandeep Bansal Wing Commander Lalit Kumar Chawla

Tatrakshak Medal (gallantry)

Commandant (Junior Grade) Narendra Singh.

Tatrakshak Medal (meritorious service)

Commandant Narendra Kumar Unnikrishnan Shankar, Sahayak Engineer (Engine Room).
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Post by Babui »

"Tatrakshak Medal (gallantry)" - never heard of this medal before? Anybody have an idea what it is awarded for and where it falls in the line of peacetime gallantry awards?
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Post by Rakesh »

Babai: Tatrakshak is the Indian word for Coast Guard.
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Post by Sanku »

A tribute to Naib Subedar Chunni Lal

A soldier who was the bravest of the brave

Read his exploits; and if you have before; read it once more. Unbelievable guy. We should be making movies about him.
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RIP Naib Subedar Chunni Lal

Post by achit »

Sanku wrote:A tribute to Naib Subedar Chunni Lal

A soldier who was the bravest of the brave

Read his exploits; and if you have before; read it once more. Unbelievable guy. We should be making movies about him.
Jai Jawan, Jai Hind,
Rest in Peace.
Army Wives Welfare Association is also going to help -- those who want to help should write to AWWA or the Welfare and Resettlement directorate at Army HQ and mention the lady and that we want to help her out.
Has any one tried to help via AWWA or Army HQ?

* I am not a fan of Rediff.com but it is the only news organization to care and inform about our Real Heros.
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Post by JaiS »

From enemy to India's hero


Image


His war first began against India but he died as India's pride - a hero. Jawan Abdul Hameed was first a J&K militant, who later surrendered and became a soldier in the Indian Army, made the supreme sacrifice for his nation last June (2007).

The brave soldier, who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously on January 26 (2008), was today (February 11) honoured by his hometown Lolab in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. In an extremely emotional ceremony, the Indian Army felicitated Hameed's family with a touching tribute.


People turned up in large numbers to pay their last respects to their hero Abdul Hameed, who first started out as a militant with the terrorist outfit Al Barq in 2001 and later, surrendered himself to the police in 2003.

Hameed joined the Rashrtiya Rifles in 2004, and was also part of an extremely risky operation in June last year. Hameed died after he was gunned down by many militants.
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Post by sunilUpa »

X Posting, posted by Shetty.

[quote]Courage under fire on INS Jalashwa
New Delhi: Lieutenant Commander Shwet Gupta could have spent Valentine’s Day with his wife. It would have been the couple’s first. But he died on February 10 after trying to save five sailors trapped on the INS Jalashwa, where a gas blast occurred on February 1.

Gupta, 28, chose not to wait for a gas mask and leapt to the rescue of the sailors, who were inhaling poisonous hydrogen sulphide.

“His last words still echo in my ears.... agar mask ka wait kiya to woh mar jayenge... aise hi chal,â€
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Stirring stuff

Post by kaangeya »

The battalion will be monitoring the education very closely and arrange for some coaching classes for the National Defence Academy -- we all want to see him as an officer in the battalion. We will feel very happy if he commands the battalion one day.

His daughters -- Arti, 11 and Manju, 9 -- are in school. When the family shifts to Jammu, we will get them admitted in a primary school in the cantonment. The girls also want to join the army -- if everything is fine we will try for the Officers Training Academy for them.
Naib Sub. Chuni Lal's children are barely in their teens and they are already talking of joining the fauj, and the paltan is all set to support them! What a fine institution we have.
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Post by kancha »

Someone please guide me as to how i can post the scanned copy of a letter written by Capt Manoj Kumar Pandey, PVC, to a friend of his from the battlefield in Batalik. the size of the file is approx 2.9 MB

Regards[/img]
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Post by pradeepe »

kancha wrote:Someone please guide me as to how i can post the scanned copy of a letter written by Capt Manoj Kumar Pandey, PVC, to a friend of his from the battlefield in Batalik. the size of the file is approx 2.9 MB

Regards[/img]
Pls try imageshack and we can view a scaled down version of it, or load the document on a free hosting site like rapidshare.
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Post by kancha »

Finally managed to do it ... thanx for the guidance.

this letter was written by Capt M K Pandey,PVC one of his friends in Luncknow, from the battlefield. It gives out the traits of the martyr who (as i see it) comes across as a rather down to earth young man on the road to self discovery. mind you ... he had joined the battle after a stint in the valley and one in the glacier, where he had volunteered to man one of the most difficult posts - Pahalwan.

Image
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Post by sunilUpa »

On martyr’s birthday, son to light his funeral pyre

[quote]The first thing little Siddhant would have done on Tuesday would have been calling his father’s mobile in Kashmir to wish him Happy Birthday. But he will never make that call. An ironic twist of fate has severed forever that connection between the father and son.

Instead, Siddhant will now be lighting his father’s pyre at their native village Sarambal in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra on Tuesday. Siddhant and his mother Captain Smita Kadam, an ex-short service army officer, were enjoying the relaxed pace of Sunday when Lieutenant Colonel M.S. Kadam (37) was in a deadly firefight with Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) terrorists at a village near Sopore in Baramulla.

Kadam and his men belonging to 22 Rashtriya Rifles were on the trail of LeT’s J&K commander Hafiz Hamza alias Hafiz Hayder alias Hafiz Nasir, a prized but elusive target for the Indian Army. After writing a blazing script of gallantry, Kadam got Hafza but Siddhant lost his father.

Terrorists’ bullets also tore Sepoy Pradeep Kumar’s body in the same operation, aside from critically injuring four security personnel.

Smita received Kadam’s body, flown to New Delhi in a special air force plane on Monday. Even in her moment of grief, 36-year-old Smita epitomised the strength of a soldier’s wife. She told the Hindustan Times: “He is gone… but the sense of pride he has left us with will live and grow in our hearts forever. When Siddhant grows up, I will tell him about his father’s achievements.â€
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Post by Sanku »

For everything we have we owe thee; I salute you O brave warrior son of India the true son of Sivaji; but dont rest in peace the mother calls you again be born again in this holy land and bless us all.

'He led from the front, even when he didn’t have to'
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Post by sunilUpa »

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Post by Tilak »

X-Posted :

Stand up for the Indian soldier
Harsh V Pant
June 06, 2008
It is with a sense of disbelief that one hears the Indian minister of state for defence, sitting in his cozy air-conditioned seminar room, pontificating that 'it is unbecoming' of former soldiers to protest against the treatment meted out to them by the government. So here's a non-soldier making a public protest. One hopes that it is not below the dignity of the minister to read this.

The minister would not have dared to make such a comment had the protestors been a part of his or his party's vote bank. The fact that the Indian armed services do not go public with their grievances does not mean that they do not have any concerns and the fact that they have been forced to come to the streets should make the minister and his government acknowledge how desperate the situation might be.

The Indian government is fooling itself if it thinks that by dragging its feet on the issue of the armed forces dissatisfaction with the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, it can make the issue go away.

A country that refuses to respect its armed forces will eventually end up getting forces that will not respect the nations' aspirations. A country makes a sacred contract with its soldiers that while he/she will lay down his/her life when called upon to do so, the nation will take good care of his/her and his/her family's needs to the extent its resources would permit.

This contract underpins the very survival of a nation as when its territorial integrity and political independence are under threat, the nation looks upon the only instrument that can protect it -- its armed forces.


While all governments have to look for a considered bargain between their commitments and power and between power and resources, a responsible government will always be aware of the serious implications of not spending adequate resources on defence.

The debate as it has been made out to be in some quarters between defence and development is a spurious one. Unless adequate provisions are made for defence, no state will be able to pursue its developmental agenda. This is much more important for a country like India that faces a unique security environment with two of its 'adversaries' straddling it on two sides of its borders and problems on all sides of its periphery.

A government can keep spouting pious rhetoric about global peace and non-violence but it realises fully that force is the ultima ratio in international relations. Politics among nations is conducted in the brooding shadow of violence. Either a state remains able and willing to use force to preserve and enhance its interests or it is forced to live at the mercy of its militarily powerful counterpart.

Even Nehru, after neglecting defence for all the years after independence had to eventually concede in 1962 that India's military weakness 'has been a temptation, and a little military strength may be a deterrent.'

The Indian public and press remain apathetic on defence issues. We make Kargil into a television spectacle, an opportunity for our journalists to try to show their temporary bravery by going to the frontlines for a few hours and getting the excitement of covering a war from the inside. And then when it is all over, our soldiers have been interred into their graves, we move on to new and more exciting spectacles -- to our song and dance reality shows and saas-bahu sagas, forgetting that soldiers are still on guard.

This is a nation that will cry with Lata Mangeshkar [Images] when she sings Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon but will not make any effort to understand the real problems and concerns of its soldiers. It is a sign of the highly skewed priorities of the Indian media that the rising turmoil and dissatisfaction within the ranks of nations' armed forces is being given only perfunctory coverage.

It is an issue of nation's very survival yet the media seems busy with its devotion of superficialities. Every rave and rant of Bollywood actors is religiously covered, detailed dissection of seemingly never-ending cricket matches are conducted, exorbitant pay rises in the corporate sector make it to the headlines but the one issue that can make or break the future of this country is consigned to the margins.

We continue to pray at the altar of our false heroes while our real heroes continue to face neglect and scorn.

The armed forces feel they have never got their due from various pay commissions over the years but the government in its wisdom decided to keep the armed forces away from any representation in the latest Pay Commission. The dominance of bureaucrats meant that while the interests of the bureaucrats were well-recognised, the armed services once again ended up getting a raw deal.

The discontent is so serious that some of the best and brightest in our services have refused to go for the Higher Command Courses and more and more are seeking an early retirement. Indian armed forces are desperately trying to fill vacancies as other professions are luring the young of the country.

Against the sanctioned strength of 300 per batch, the National Defence Academy finds that it can only attract 192 cadres this year. The same story repeats itself in the Indian Military Academy. A country that purports to be a rising power is facing a shortage of more than 11,000 officers.

The reason is pretty obvious: One can't think of any major power in the world that treats its soldiers the way India does. It is indeed a sorry sight when India's bravest have to literally cry out for help from a callous politico-bureaucratic elite.

Our politicians remain more than willing to waste tax payers money by routinely boycotting Parliament and have never shied away from increasing their own pay and allowances, claiming that they remain underpaid. Yet those who defend the sanctity of Parliament are given a short shrift.

The abysmal knowledge of defence issues that pervades the Indian political class probably gives them an illusion that the country is being protected by divine blessings.

Political apathy and bureaucratic design are rapidly eroding the self-esteem of our forces. A functioning liberal democracy needs a loyal soldier that can take care of the state's security, allowing the state to look after its citizenry. In India, the State is gradually withering away, all that's left is the loyal soldier. How long will this soldier, under siege from all sides, remain steadfast to its commitments, is a question all Indians should seriously ponder on.

Dr Harsh V Pant teaches at King's College London
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Re: Amar Jawan -- Country Men Salute You in Full Awe !!!

Post by Sumeet »

Slain Lt Col braved terror threats in Kashmir

Image
Jammu: Lt Col Ajay Verma was shot dead by terrorists in the Kishtwar area of Jammu while inspecting the a Border Road Organisation (BRO) project near the Line of Control.

His family is now struggling to come to terms with their loss and is questioning the lack of security on the government's part, despite several threats.

BRO personnel working in remote areas of Kishtwar are soft targets for terrorists.

His family members allege that the Lt Col received constant threats by terrorist outfits to stop the project, as motorable roads would have hampered their infiltration attempts.

Terrorists also demanded money in lieu of letting the project go on.

"Terrorists used to call and ask for their demands to be met with or threaten that there would be harsh consequences. They gave us a time limit in which they wanted money to be given to them. There was a lot of tension in the month of February," says Lt Col Verma's wife, Nitu Verma.


In February, Lt Col Verma had written to police officials in Kishtwar and to the district administration about the threats that the BRO had been receiving.

However, the family informs that the threats were ignored.

"There were many threats, and my husband had written to the officials for providing protection," says Nitu.


The security forces are quiet on this issue, but they agree that BRO working in remote terrorist-infested areas are soft targets.

"The BRO has been instrumental in socio-economic devilment they have been working relentlessly, under extreme hardships. They have been regarded as soft targets for terrorists, " says Ministry of Defence Spokesperson, SD Goswami.

And while a Laskar-e-Toiba outfit has now claimed responsibility for the act,
police sources say investigations are still on. But for now work on the construction site has been put on hold.
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Re: Amar Jawan -- Country Men Salute You in Full Awe !!!

Post by ashish raval »

Ma Bharati will remember all the bravehearts for protecting the country and its people. It is about time the crackhead politicians be forced to part away from their next generation and made to serve the country on the battlefields. I hope that the stories of their bravery will provide an boost to the next generation of the country and remember all the time that we sleep peacefully because someone else is always awake on the border.
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Re: Amar Jawan -- Country Men Salute You in Full Awe !!!

Post by Kakkaji »

Weren't we using the 'Profiles in Heroism' thread for such posts? :-?
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Somnath Sharma

Post by vinayd »

Search on Somnath Sharma did not return any results. India's first Param Veer Chakra...

Can we have a discussion on Major Somnath Sharma (besides what is commonly known about him, such as wiki, and the contents of the PVC doordarshan series).

Interestingly, he was related to the lady who designed the PVC, and was its first awardee.

His last call is very moving and inspiring:
"The enemy is only 50 yards from us. We are heavily outnumbered. We are under devastating fire. I shall not withdraw an inch but will fight to our last man and our last round."

Thus Srinagar was saved.
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Somnath Sharma

Post by shiv »

vinayd wrote:
Can we have a discussion on Major Somnath Sharma (besides what is commonly known about him, such as wiki, and the contents of the PVC doordarshan series).
A few months ago Jagan sent me 5 video cassettes containing the entire Param Vir Chakra series. Unfortunately the 18 year old tapes have not withstood the ravages of time well. But I have digitized what was salvageable.

However - it will be a while before I can sit an view 15 hours of video noise with some visible scenes to see exactly how much has been salvaged. Splicing out the noise to make a viewable video will not be easy. The good news is that its my hobby. The bad news is that I set no time limits for my hobby :twisted:
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by Jagan »

Reg PVC Series - There was atleast one channel that re-broadcast the series a few years ago - complete with commercial breaks and all (At the time of the original broadcast in 1990 - there was no such thing as a commercial break!).

It was a lovely series at that time and I enjoyed watching it very much - trumped the recent year Sahara TV series anyday in terms of authenticity of gear / get up material etc. The initial episodes were a bit shaky in production quality, but as the series progressed, the quality improved a lot. The final episodes - the 71 war related ones were the best.
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Somnath Sharma

Post by BijuShet »

shiv wrote:
vinayd wrote:
Can we have a discussion on Major Somnath Sharma (besides what is commonly known about him, such as wiki, and the contents of the PVC doordarshan series).
A few months ago Jagan sent me 5 video cassettes containing the entire Param Vir Chakra series. Unfortunately the 18 year old tapes have not withstood the ravages of time well. But I have digitized what was salvageable.

However - it will be a while before I can sit an view 15 hours of video noise with some visible scenes to see exactly how much has been salvaged. Splicing out the noise to make a viewable video will not be easy. The good news is that its my hobby. The bad news is that I set no time limits for my hobby :twisted:
Shivsaar I like to dabble in video editing too so please let me know if I can be of any help to you in this effort.

Jagansaar as per wiki, this TV Series was aired on DD National. It was made by noted film maker Chetan Anand and ran for 15 episodes. Can we not reach out to Mr. Anand directly or through our BR resident media contacts (for eg Vishnu ) and try to procure a copy of the original series from the source. This way we can digitize and upload the eposiodes to youtube for long term viewing by the next generation. We need our young to be inspired by these heroes rather than the Bollywood kind that seem to hog all the attention.
Jagan
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by Jagan »

chetan anand passed away some years ago . I remember his sons also helped in making the series - and definitely DD would have the master tapes in case they want to rebroadcast it.

Google helped me find this

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease ... 058567.htm
Vivek Anand - He aided his father, the late Chetan Anand, in the nationally acclaimed TV series "Param Vir Chakra" as cinematographer and director
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by kancha »

Pardon my saying so, but it seems that this thread has virtually become an obituaries thread. Just to refresh it a bit, here's the story of a Braveheart who actually lived to tell his story :) .
He not only escaped from the clutches of Pakfauj that captured him in Khalubar, but also despatched many pakis in the process, and all this with a bullet wound in his neck

This is a scanned article from Mid Day newspaper published in Dec 1999. In case of any copyright issues, I will delete this post.


Image
putnanja
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by putnanja »

kancha wrote:Image
Wow!! Using Kukhri to kill 2-3 soldiers at a time! I wonder why he didn't take the rifles from the paki soldiers whom he killed. Maybe exhaustion. Anyway, I am glad he made it back alive.
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by Surya »

Ravi

Guess a fired up Gorkha thinks differently :)

Col Kaul mentions an incident where a Gorkha threw aside his rifle , drew his khukri and charged up to a AK 47 weilding LTTE guy and decapitated him with his khukri before returning to pick up his rifle and resume his march
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by kancha »

Khukri to a Gorkha is just like an extension of his limbs. He can just as easily use it to cut and chop a piece of wood / bamboo as he can to do the same to an enemy. In fact, they use it for a number of different tasks even in their day to day lives. That's the reason why all the Gorkha regiments of the Indian army have khukries as part of their regimental insignia.
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by Abhijit »

My eternal gratitude and respects to Ajit Gaokar, the latest martyr by the satans on the western border. And thanks to rediff for this - it is a welcome development to do an article on a fallen warrior.

tributes to a fallen warrior
Kakkaji
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by Kakkaji »

Abhijit wrote:My eternal gratitude and respects to Ajit Gaokar, the latest martyr by the satans on the western border. And thanks to rediff for this - it is a welcome development to do an article on a fallen warrior.

tributes to a fallen warrior
RIP, brave Ajit Gaokar!

Is there a good NGO that helps the families of martyred Indian soldiers?
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by shiv »

RIP sir. It is we who must not rest till the scum are sent to houriland.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Aug ... 486280.asp
Image

The Call That Never Came
The body was flown to the City in the Indian Airlines Flight IC904. Hundreds of people including Thomas’ relatives and friends had gathered at his quarters at Manekshaw Enclave when the body arrived.

Thomas leaves behind wife Beena Thomas, daughter Meghana, a trainee pilot in Philippines and son Phileemon, a class V student in Baldwin School in Bangalore.

Meghana told Deccan Herald, “He was in Bangalore from July 10 to August 9. He was very courageous and brave soldier and always wanted to protect the country. He called on August 22 at 4:30 am and said he was leaving for an anti-terrorist operation. He asked us not to call him and promised that he would call us back in the evening. But, an army officer called around 4:30 pm and told that my father sustained serious injuries along with another officer in the fight. I thought my father was no more.”




“He would handle tough situations in a mature way. His was a positive attitude and gave greater amount of respect to discipline and was always punctual. He would come home twice or thrice a year and spend time with us nearly a month,” she added.

Thomas and his Quick Reaction Team, came in contact with a group of terrorists and in the ensuing gun fight, neutralised two terrorists, though the officer also sustained gun shot wounds.

Despite injury

In spite of the injury Thomas continued the search in the dense forested area and again established contact with the terrorists. This resulted in the death of two more terrorists. However, Thomas too suffered fatal injuries in the fresh fire fight and succumbed to his injuries.

The Archbishop of the Malankara Syrian Knanaya Jacobite Arch Diocese HE Kuriakose Mar Severios Chief Metropolitan will conduct funeral services on Monday around 2:30 pm. The cortege will leave the residence at 12 noon which will be held at St George Knanaya Syrian Church, Embassy Golf Links, Domlur Intermediate Ring Road, Bangalore.

Jojan Thomas, a native of Thiruvalla in Kerala joined the army in 1986 as second lieutenant at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. He was posted to actual operations in Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world.
From 1989 to 1992, he was in Jammu and Kashmir after which he joined the Army Aviation Corps and served as a helicopter pilot till 1999. He was then selected for the very prestigious and coveted Staff Course of Officers in the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

In December 2006, as a full colonel, he took command of 45 Rashtriya Rifles on Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. He served in Meerut, Siliguri, Jhansi, Nasik, Secunderabad, Dimapura (Nagaland) and Bangalore.
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by sunilUpa »

RIP Sir.

Any Bangalore based BRfite planning to attend the funeral?
Arun_S
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by Arun_S »

Colonel Thomas was also Army Aviation pilot !

I must also add that Indian Army pay is such a pittance that after a solider sacrifices his life for India, the meager Army pay which was in the first place barely enough to survive, the income from pension is living in penury and beggary. That is as true for a Colonel who dies in action and even more for non-commissioned soldiers.

India has to do something different to take care of soldiers family when they give ultimate sacrifice.

State funeral for Colonel Thomas
NDTV Correspondent
Monday, August 25, 2008, (Bangalore)
Image
Colonel Jojan Thomas, was buried with full state honours at St John's church in Bangalore on Monday. Colonel Thomas died during an encounter with militants in Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir last Friday.

Chief Minster BS Yediyurappa also attended the funeral to pay his respects and assured the family that the state would give them all the support that it can offer.
My salute to Colonel Thomas. You have made India proud.
Rest In Peace brother.
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by sonam_kapadia »

Hi,

I have http://www.amarjawan.com and http://www.amarjawan.in for a number of years. I got them since they were pointing to a ***** site and just found it too insulting to have that.

Right now these are shadowing my brother's site http://www.nawang.com. I don't consider that appropriate and am hoping that someone is planning to make a web-memorial for all our soldiers and could put this to better use.

I can volunteer but don't have the technical skills to lead it.
sonam_kapadia
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Re: Profiles in Heroism: Archive

Post by sonam_kapadia »

Kakkaji wrote:
Abhijit wrote:My eternal gratitude and respects to Ajit Gaokar, the latest martyr by the satans on the western border. And thanks to rediff for this - it is a welcome development to do an article on a fallen warrior.

tributes to a fallen warrior
RIP, brave Ajit Gaokar!

Is there a good NGO that helps the families of martyred Indian soldiers?

Kakkaji...this mail support is the palton and the AWWA but there are a number of individuals that help out. Is there any specific help that we can do? Pls mail me at sonam dot kapadia at gmail dot com
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