Major Mariappan Saravanan, Veer Chakra (P)

Maj Sarvanan had led a platoon up the Jubar Hills on May 29. While he was able to take back two bunkers the rest of Jubar Hills was under enemy control. One of the platoon members accompanying Maj Sarvanan and the only one to survive the attack, was Naik Shatrughan. He was hit on his legs three times and it took him ten days to crawl back to base. He gave the unit the information of how Maj Sarvanan died after killing at least four of the enemy in hand-to -hand combat. Naik Shatrughan later died in the field hospital because of gangrene.

Major M Sarvanan, the hero of Batalik, was finally among friends. Martyred on May 29 after wresting two bunkers from the enemy, Maj Sarvanan’s mortal remains lay out of the reach of his men until July 3.

All this while members of 1 Bihar, his unit, fought valiantly and desperately, having taken an oath to not only recover his body but also the Indian heights from the infiltrators. Success was theirs on July 3 when they brought the hero home.

Maj Sarvanan is possibly the first officer to fall in the Kargil conflict. The attack led by him came in the early stages of the conflict when adequate information was not available.

There was little artillery support and no aircraft cover. The men in 1 Bihar took an oath after Maj Sarvanan’s death to fight to the finish and recover the heights. to the battle cry of ‘Bajrang Bali ki Jai’, they launched subsequent offensives and now the unit has not only taken the heights but is sitting atop the LoC. Finally, they captured Point 4058.

Major Kamlesh Pathak

A Rashtriya Rifles platoon led by Major Kamlesh Pathak was on routine patrol at Sukhamali in Dessa area, when they were ambushed by the militants. The jawans returned the fire but Major Kamlesh Pathak received critical bullet injuries. Rushed to a hospital, he succumbed on the way.

A hawaldar was injured in the encounter, the sources said.
The militants managed to flee taking advantage of the difficult terrain. A massive search operation was launched to nab the militants, the sources said.

There's 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. Yet he insisted on rejoining his unit and fell to enemy bullets. For countless families the country's recent victories have been at the expense of their dear ones' lives. The saga continues.

Courtsey : http://www.kashmir-information.com/Heroes/kamlesh.html

Major Harminder Pal Singh, Saurya Chakra

A TRUE SOLDIER OF KHALSA

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. He hailed from Ropar, in the vicinity of which Anandpur Sahib is located.

In very few armies of the world, it is the officers who lead even minor operations. Indian army is one such army. In the expanding counter-insurgency operations, there is not much disparity in the casualties suffered by the officers and the ranks. Our army officers inspire ranks by personal heroism. While the country's politicians have been messing up the problem connected with security and squandering the initiatives gained through the valour of our security forces, the men-in-uniform have been delivering successful blow to the enemy.
In a daredevil operation in a congested locality of Sadar kootballa village in the vicinity of Manasbal area of Kashmir valley, Major HP Singh was leading the commando platoon of his battalion. He was an officer who ate with his men and played cards with them. He boosted the morale of his soldiers by leading always from the front, whenever situation warranted.

On the morning of April 13, Major HP Singh received information about the presence of four Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists hiding in the locality of Sader koot bala. He started with his 32 men and surrounded 12 houses ataround1 PM in the Khan Mohalla. In the low visibility that prevailed due to an intense dust-storm earlier, Major Singh was the first to enter the houses. The operation was difficult as the soldiers had to expose themselves in the built-up area to prevent any collateral damage to civilians or their property. A search of five houses revealed no militants.

Commandos then approached the next set of houses through an alley. Terrorists hiding in these houses opened fire with automatic weapons through a window in ground floor, from a close range. The bullets struck Major HP Singh in the left arm. He fell down but quickly regained his composure and took cover behind a rock. Major shot a militant through the head, when he sneaked through a window on the second floor of the house. The terrorist came tumbling down.

Undeterred by his injury, Major Singh went after the other kill. He managed to lob a grenade through the ground-floor window and followed it, up with a burst from his automatic rifle. Major's next task was to cut off the escape route of the third militant. Unfortunately, Major Singh's bullet-proof helmet slipped off. The surviving militant shot him dead with a bullet that pierced through his temple.

In a befitting tribute to this sant-sipahi (saint soldier), Lt Gen Krishan Pal, Commander 15 Coprs, said 'Maj Singh's action is significant on this occasion of the tercentenary celebrations. He upheld the spirit of Guru Gobind Singh and rose to fight evil'. Punjab government has announced that it will grant a job to his wife and build a suitable memorial in his honour. But Major Singh did not die for Punjab alone. He died for the entire nation.

"Apne liye to sabhi jeeten hain, aadmi to woh hai jo auron ke liye jiye, auron ke liye mare," said Rupinder Pal Kaur, late major's wife. She had given birth to a boy, Navteshwar, three months before the death of her husband.

Lt Col 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.

Pak troops fired 411 shells from artillery and other weapons, forcing Indian troops to retaliate. However, the casualty suffered by Pakistani troops in the retaliatory action was not known, the spokesman said.

He said Pakistani troops also fired on Indian positions at Kargil sector on Saturday. While the Indian side suffered no casualty, a Pakistani bunker was destroyed in the retaliatory action, the spokesman added.

Lt. Colonel Vishwanathan

At another home in another town in Kerala, cruel fate had struck. The father of Lt. Colonel Vishwanathan, another officer to die in the Kargil operation, put on a brave face, despite his grief. "We grieve the loss of our son. But we are also proud he has dedicated his life to the nation," said V Ramakrishnan, 60.

Anjali, Lt Colonel Vishwanathan's child, was seated on his lap with a distant look in her eyes. It is difficult to tell if the girl has fully understood what has happened though she is certain that something is amiss. Lt Colonel Vishwanathan, 39, should have been at home if the Kargil operation had not taken place. He had planned to reach Kochi on June 4 to take his wife and two children back to his base on June 21. Lt Colonel Vishwanathan, who did his schooling at Kochi, was commissioned in 1981 after completing his training at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, and the IMA, Dehradun. He had served with the Indian PeaceKeeping Force in Sri Lanka and later with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Angola.

A classmate, Captain Srikumar said Viswanathan was a ''very dedicated person prepared to take any risk.'' The Kerala government has sanctioned Rs 500,000 each to the families of the two officers. Chief Minister E K Nayanar said one member each from the two families would be given a government job. Lt Colonel Vishwanathan's mortal remains were consigned to the flames at his native village Eroor, on Sunday afternoon with full state honours.

Vishwanathan's brother Venkatesh performed the last rites. Earlier, when the body arrived from New Delhi by an Indian Airlines flight, Ramakrishnan received it on behalf of the state government, representatives of the army and navy and the district authorities ceremoniously. The body was kept for an hour at the statue junction at Thripunithura to enable the public to pay homage before being taken to his village.

Courtesy : http://www.kashmir-information.com/Heroes/vishva.html