“My father cherished a dream — to one day command this elite unit. I only hope he sees his dream come true through his son.”
— Col Varun Chhabra, who was nine when his father, Lt Col Arun Kumar Chhabra, SM, laid down his life in Sri Lanka on this day in 1989.

It was #OperationPawan. A hard, complex mission in a foreign land, undertaken for regional peace and the honour of the uniform. As second-in-command and designate CO of 10 Para (Special Forces), Lt Col Chhabra led a daring assault on a fortified LTTE position. He and his men surrounded the stronghold, eliminated two militants, and kept pressing under withering fire. Gravely wounded but unrelenting, he neutralized enemy commander, ensuring the success of the mission and fell moments later, his courage undimmed on this day in 1989.

His story, like those of many who served during that difficult campaign, stands as a reminder of the sacrifice, discipline, and honour with which Indian soldiers fought and fell, even on foreign soil, upholding the glory of the uniform beyond borders.

Decades later, the boy who grew up on his father’s story fulfilled the dream. Col Varun Chhabra went on to command 10 Para (Special Forces), the very battalion his father was set to lead, carrying forward his name, his ethos, and his creed.

Father and son — two warriors, one legacy!
Both bound by the same creed of the Special Forces: “Men apart, every man an emperor.”
Both served not for glory, but for the honour of the uniform and the oath they took when they first donned the maroon beret.