- SWATI SINGH
Appraising the courageous and the gallant is not new. The acknowledgment of courage has always been a very esteemed affair. Upon independence, the first three gallantry awards, namely Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra, were introduced by the Government of India on 26 January 1950, which was deemed effective on 15 August 1947.
Thereafter, three more decorations for gallantry, i.e. The Government of India founded Ashoka Chakra Class-I, Ashoka Chakra Class-II and Ashoka Chakra Class-III on 4 January 1952 and are considered to have effect as of 15 August 1947. In January 1967, these awards were called the Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively. Twice a year, first on the occasion of Republic Day and then on the occasion of Independence Day, these gallantry awards are declared. The order of succession for these awards is the Param Vir Chakra, the Ashoka Chakra, the Mahavir Chakra, the Kirti Chakra, the Vir Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra.
Wartime Chakra awards include the highest Paramvir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, and Vir Chakra. The highest awards for peacetime gallantry include Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra.
A total of 10 awards from this series are approved by President of India on the occasion of Republic Day 2021.
1) Colonel Bikumalla Santosh Babu, 16th Battalion Bihar Regiment
Hailing from Suryapet, Andhra Pradesh, Col. B.Santosh Babu was born on 13th February 1983. He finished his schooling at Sainik School, Korukonda and joined the National Defence Academy on 27th December 2000, and finally got commissioned from the Indian Military Academy on 10th December 2004 into 16 Bihar. During his distinguished service, Col. Santosh Babu reached great heights and commanded important appointments throughout his service whilst doing extremely well in Army courses too. For tactical judgment and ability to do well in active operational areas, he received due recognition and was awarded Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card for gallantry in Tangdhar ( Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir).
On 15th June 2020, Commanding Officer Col. Santosh Babu was deployed in Galwan Valley (Eastern Ladakh) and was part of Operation Snow Leopard. He was entrusted with the duty of establishing an Observational Post. Undeterred by the intrusive and violent actions of the enemy soldiers in overwhelming numbers, his inscrutable valour in the countenance of the enemy was seen in Service before Self, while he continued to resist the enemy’s attempt to push back the Indian troops. Even after being severely injured, he engaged in hand-to-hand combat, while leading his men from the front, to his last breath. For his unwavering courage in the face of the enemy, Col. B Santosh Babu was awarded the Mahavir Chakra (posthumously), the second-highest wartime gallantry medal. He is survived by his parents, wife, son, and daughter.
2) Subedar Sanjiv Kumar, 4th Battalion Parachute Regiment (SF)
Born on 5th December 1977 in Dehra, Himachal Pradesh, Subedar Sanjiv Kumar finished his schooling in Dharamshala and enlisted into the Parachute Regiment on 30th August 1996. During the extensive training period at the Parachute Regiment center, he exceeded in Sports and training. Throughout his service, he had several tenures along the Line of Control (LOC) and served with the elite counter-terrorism unit National Security Guard (NSG) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
On 4th April 2020, Subedar Sanjiv Kumar, being the leading squad commander of the Special Forces Detachment, helidropped in Keran Sector of Kupwara district of Jammu & Kashmir to neutralise an infiltration of Pakistan sponsored terrorists. Once they were helidropped, Subedar Sanjiv Kumar along with his squad began to track the foot trails of the terrorists. As the squad discreetly reached the target, the leading scouts of the squad stepped on an ice ledge which gave in and both the scouts fell into the nallah, where the terrorists were hiding and opened fire aggressively, which led to injuring both the scouts. Subedar Sanjiv Kumar immediately got into the Nallah along with his buddy to rescue his squad members. While his buddy provided covering fire, Subedar Sanjib managed to rescue one of the scouts from the site. When he went ahead to retrieve the other injured scout, he came under intense firing from one of the hidden terrorists. After immediate judgement, Subedar Sanjiv neutralized one terrorist at close range, leaving his safety aside. Consequently, through a gutsy act, he crawled towards the other terrorists and engaged in hand-to-hand combat and injured them. However, during this close fight, Subedar Sanjiv Kumar received a gunshot to which he later succumbed.
For his unshakeable will to carry out his duty and protect, ultimately sacrificing his life, Subedar Sanjiv Kumar was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra, peacetime 2nd highest gallantry award.
3) Major Anuj Sood, 21 Rashtriya Rifles/19th Battalion Brigade of Guards
Born on 17th December 1989 in Bangalore, Major Anuj Sood was a second-generation army officer. His father, Brigadier CK Sood (Retired) was from the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Being brought up in an army environment, Major Anuj Sood showed keen devotion to join the Indian Army and serve the country since his childhood. He was fondly referred to as “Fauji” by people around him due to his eagerness to dawn the uniform. He joined the National Defence Academy in May 2008 and was commissioned from the Indian Military Academy on 9th June 2012 into the 19th Battalion of Brigade of the Guards in Counter Insurgency environment and carried out other regimental duties as well. Major Anuj Sood excelled in his work and was highly motivated to deliver his best, no matter what. His dedicated efforts “produced strong and effective human intelligence input and ensured conduct of incident-free Lok Sabha elections in his area of responsibility in April 2019.”
On 2nd May 2020, Major Anuj Sood was part of ‘Operation Chanjimula’, where he was leading his men. During the Operation, the officer “laid the cordon at the suspected house with his Combat Action Team.” Unbothered by his safety, he along with his Commanding Officer and three others moved into the house to evacuate the people who were taken as hostages. However, a fight of ammunition broke out with the terrorists and after gravely injuring them, the officer was killed in action.
The Heroic Officer was laid to rest with full military honours in Panchkula and is survived by his wife, Aakriti Singh Sood. For his unwavering courage, loyalty and supreme sacrifice to the nation, Major Anuj Sood was awarded the Shaurya Chakra, posthumously which is peacetime third highest gallantry award.
4) Paratrooper Sonam Tshering Tamang, 4th Battalion Parachute Regiment (SF)
Paratrooper Sonam Tshering Tamang hails from Khamdong (Sikkim). Born on 11 December 1995, he completed his education from CBSE and thereafter enlisted himself into The Parachute Regiment in 2014. During his time at the Training Centre, he was exceptional in sports and excelled in his training.
On 4th April 2020, he was part of the Special Force’s detachment that was helidropped into Keran Sector to eradicate the infiltration attempt by Pakistani sponsored terrorists. To evacuate his squad commander Subedar Sanjiv Kumar, Paratrooper Sonam moved in to rescue him under intense fire coming from the direction of the terrorists. Paratrooper Amit Kumar was severely injured and anticipating the immediate threat to his buddy, he crawled towards the boulder and killed one of the terrorists. After that, Paratrooper Sonam hurled a grenade at a terrorist trying to escape and injured him severely.
For his “conspicuous courage and selfless action”, Paratrooper Sonam Tshering Tamang was awarded the Shaurya Chakra, peacetime gallantry award.
Having vast experience in Counter-Terrorism Operations, he continues to be a critical part in his unit and is known to be soft-spoken.
5) Sepoy Gurtej Singh, 3rd Battalion Punjab Regiment
Born on 15th December 1997 in Mansa District of Punjab, Sepoy Gurtej Singh joined enlisted to join the Indian Army. After completing his training at The Punjab Regiment Centre, he was posted to the 3rd Battalion of The Punjab Regiment on 14th October 2019. The Battalion was deployed in Northern Glacier, Siachen and he completed his first tenure in Siachen.
On 15th June 2020 Sepoy Gurtej Singh was carrying out the duties of his Operational Patrol and was given the responsibility to establish an Observation Post. As he spotted the enemy troops while trying to set up the Observation Post, it turned into a violent face-off where the enemy troops attempted to push back the Indian Troops. During the clash, the enemy troops used fatal weapons while heavily outnumbering our own. Despite being gravely injured, Sepoy Gurtej Singh continued to fight the enemies and bail out our injured troops. He saved his fellow men before laying down his life.
“For display of conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy and for his supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, Sepoy Gurtej Singh is awarded the VIR CHAKRA (POSTHUMOUS) which is third highest gallantry award in wartime.”
He is survived by his parents Virsa Singh, Parkash Kaur and brother. His father is a farmer and the family resides in Mansa District Punjab.
6) Rifleman ( General Duty) Pranab Jyoti Das, 6th Battalion
Rifleman Pranab Jyoti enrolled into the Assam Rifles on 9th December 2011. He was part of an Operation in South Arunachal Pradesh when they received intelligence input regarding the presence of 6 deadly insurgents. During the search of the target area, Rifleman Pranab Jyoti Das spotted an insurgent 70m from the target location. This insurgent fired indiscriminately. Analysing the immediate threat, Rifleman Pranab Jyoti Das neutralized one insurgent while the remaining insurgents opened heavy fire which resulted in the injury to one soldier.
In a moment of enormous courage, Rifleman Pranab Jyoti Das came out of cover and evacuated the injured soldier. He also continued to fire extensively against the insurgents from close quarters and neutralized another insurgent.
“For displaying ferocious and unparallel fighting spirit by neutralizing two insurgents and evacuating one injured soldier to safety, Rifleman Pranab Jyoti Das is awarded peacetime third highest gallantry award SHAURYA CHAKRA.”
7) Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren, 16th Battalion Bihar Regiment
Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren was born in Badachampauda Village, Mayurbhanjjj District, on 2 April 1977(Odisha). He joined the Indian Army on 27 April 1996 and was attached to Bihar on 27 March 1997 after finishing his military training. His commitment to service and capacity to take on additional responsibility was identified when he performed his duties as a Mechanical Transport Non-commissioned Officer and a Naib Subedar Adjutant in the Unit.
Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren was part of the Operation Snow Leopard in Galwan Valley(Eastern Ladakh). He led a section during a skirmish with the enemy on 15 June 2020. He motivated his forces to hold the ground at all costs and managed to keep the enemy from driving back Indian soldiers. His ability to command from the front stood out in the standoff, hence why the enemy saw him as a threat. As a result of this assault, he was severely injured, but he continued to maintain his position with an uncompromising and tireless spirit before laying down his life.
“For displaying of conspicuous gallantry in the face of enemy, determined courage and for supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren is awarded VIR CHAKRA (POSTHUMOUS).”
He is survived by his wife Laxmimani Soren and 3 daughters namely Gyaneshwari Soren, Maansi Soren and Sonali Soren.
8) Havildar K Palani, 81st Field Regiment
Havildar K Palani came from Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. He served with the 81st Field Artillery regiment of the Army and was attached to the 16th Bihar, commanded by Col. Santosh Babu. “Colonel Babu trusted his field acumen and was with him whenever he went out of the unit. Palani was a known daredevil and Colonel Babu probably believed in his guts,” speaking anonymously, an officer said.
On the dreadful night of 15th June 2020, Havildar K Palani was part of the joint patrol near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which was stopped and confronted by enemy troops which led to heated arguments, followed by a fistfight. Unexpectedly, the enemies overpowered and surrounded him, and he fought boldly and tried to protect his men, even when the enemy struck him with a sharp knife, severely wounding him.
In recognition of his act of bravery in face of enemy, courage and supreme sacrifice, Havildar K Palani is awarded “VIR CHAKRA (POSTHUMOUS)”.
He is survived by his wife P Vanathi Devi and two children, Prasanna and Divya. They reside in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu.
9) Havildar Tejinder Singh, 3rd Medium Regiment
Havildar Tejinder Singh was born in the village of Tharu, in the Amritsar district of Punjab, on December 2, 1980. On July 11, 2000, he joined the Indian Army. He joined the 3 Medium Regiment at Chandigarh after completing his Basic Military Training.
In 2003-05, under Operation Meghdoot, he served on the world’s highest battlefield – the Siachen Glacier. The Non-Commissioned Officer has also served twice under Operation Rakshak – in 2007-10 at Gurer Field, Jammu and Kashmir and later in 2011-12 at Janglot when the unit was deployed in the Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism area.
On 15th June 2020, during the Galwan Valley Clash, undeterred by the enemy’s numerical superiority, the Non-Commissioned Officer took on the enemy in a hand to hand fight and fought it gallantly. To efficiently foil several enemy soldiers, he also formed a squad of men, demonstrating excellent leadership and resisted bravely, till he was seriously injured.
“Havildar Tejinder Singh displayed selfless commitment and unflinching leadership beyond the call of duty in the face of the enemy with the highest traditions of the Indian Army. For this gallant action and valour, Havildar Tejinder Singh is awarded VIR CHAKRA”.
10) Naik Deepak Singh, 16th Battalion Bihar Regiment (AMC)
Naik Deepak Singh, born on 15th July 1989, hailing from Reva District in Madhya Pradesh, joined the Army Medical Corps on 20th June 2012.
On 15th June 2020, Naik Deepak Singh, a nursing assistant, examined the combat situation and moved to the battlefield to provide medical assistance. He transferred to the frontline to provide first aid to the wounded soldiers as the violence became even more violent and casualties increased. He suffered severe grievous injuries during the violence along with stone-pelting but proceeded to provide medical assistance to the injured warriors. Before succumbing to his injuries, he managed to save as many as 30 lives.
“For display of unmatched professionalism in hostile conditions, unflinching devotion and laying his life in line of duty Naik Deepak Singh is awarded VIR CHAKRA (POSTHUMOUS).”
He is survived by his wife Rekha Singh and his father Gajraj Singh, who is a farmer. His family currently resides in Faruda.
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