Kargil War Heroes
TRIBUTE
They'd promised their families they'd come back soon. They more than kept their word. Went as mere men. Came back as heroes. In coffins.
"THEY GAVE THEIR TODAY FOR OUR TOMORROW"
Over a 400 of them at last count. Median age 19 to 35. The grim-faced army officers receiving the coffins, draped in the tricolour, the carriage to the army parade ground, the set-jawed shok shastra farewell salute by steely soldiers. The silent sorrow of upraised guns, slowly brought, barrel downward, to the ground, left arm tautly extended to the right before retracking, the holding of palm to chest, the sudden dropping of head, the 30-second hushed silence, then the regulation rajnigandha and marigold wreaths from the army and air chiefs, the general officer commanding, fellow officers, the battalion, before the body escorted by a comrade begins its last journey home. Wreathed in white, the colour of the pure; kesariya, the colour and insignia of the brave. Now across mountains, now across rivers, plains.
The lines of pain crisscross the entire nation.
They did it again. They have risen to defend our Kashmir from the aggression of the enemy. They are sacrificing their lives to defend Kashmir against the evil designs of Muslim fundamentalism. Our heroes of the defence forces are battling with the fundamentalist in KARGIL SECTOR and not allowing them an inch of the country to be occupied. They are forcing the fundamentalists out and have succeeded in their mission to a great extent.
Kashmiri Pandits all over the world are grateful to these worriors and brave sons of the land for defending the Kashmiri Pandit homeland "MAEJ KASHEER" (MOTHER KASHMIR). We the Kashmiri Pandits pay TRIBUTES to these young heroes through this page.
We are trying our best to get information of all the Heroes. If the names of some brave soldiers are not included in the list, it is only that we don't have information about him at present. As soon as we get the info we will put a separate page for the hero.
Lt. Colonel Vishwanathan
We grieve the loss of our son. But we are also proud he has dedicated his life to the nation
Lt. Colonel Vijayraghavan
The brave man of the 15 Kumaon Regiment made the supreme sacrifice of his life on June 25 while leading counter-insurgency operations near Machchal near the LoC.
Lt. Colonel Sachin Kumar Kanderiya
Lt Col Sachin Kumar Kanderiya was killed when a shell fired by the Pakistani troops exploded near his post on the glacier.
Major Ajay Singh Jasrotia
Major Ajay Singh Jasrotia
Major Kamlesh Pathak
There is still some pain, but the injury is healing fast, wrote Major Kamlesh Pathak. He was writing to his family in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh about the bullet wounds he sustained earlier.
Major Padmaphani Acharya
I am prepared to sacrifice my other son also for the sake of our motherland, his proud father said. Nation\'s second highest wartime gallantry award MAHA VIR CHAKRA was awarded to Major Padmaphani Acharya on 15th August 1999.
Major Mariappan Saravanan
Major M Sarvanan, the hero of Batalik, was finally among friends. Martyred on May 29 after wresting two bunkers from the enemy, Maj Sarvanans mortal remains lay out of the reach of his men until July 3.
Major Rajesh Singh Adhikari
Adhikari was leading the central arm of three 10-man teams trying to capture a bunker at 16,000 ft. He died in the bloody assault but the bunker was won.
Major Harminder Pal Singh
Major Harminder Pal Singh proved to be a true follower of Sikh gurus, when in a heroic act he laid down his life for the defence of his motherland on the very day the nation was celebrating tercentenary celebrations of the founding of Khalsa.
Major Manoj Talwar
A third generation officer, Maj Manoj Talwar, left the more lucrative option of becoming an army doctor when he chose to join the National Defence Academy. His father, Capt (Retd) P L Talwar, is sad but proud that his son fought for the motherland.