SHAURYA CHAKRA

1. IC-72371Y MAJ ARUN KUMAR PANDEY, RAJPUT 2. SS-45282W MAJ RAVI KUMAR CHAUDHARY, GRENADIERS 3. IC-83765X CAPT ASHUTOSH KUMAR, MADRAS (POSTHUMOUS) 4. IC-80468Y CAPT VIKAS KHATRI, MECH INF 5. 16026460F RFN MUKESH KUMAR, RAJ RIF 6. 3208099H SEP NEERAJ AHLAWAT, JAT

BAR TO SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY)

1. IC-66544P LT COL KRISHNA KANT BAJPAI, SM**,  RAJPUT 2. IC-71917F MAJ SURENDRA SINGH LAMBA, SM, GRENADIERS 3. IC-75491H MAJ RAHUL BALAMOHAN, SM, MAHAR 4. IC-77053Y MAJ ANKIT DAHIYA, SM, PUNJAB

SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY)

1. IC-63839A LT COL DHIRENDRA PRATAP SINGH RAWAT, GR 2. IC-66188A LT COL BHAGAT AKSHAY SURESH, KUMAON 3. IC-67028M LT COL MANPREET SINGH, SIKH LI 4. IC-69674H LT COL CHETAN KAUSHIK, R&O FLT 5. IC-71481F MAJ BHARAT SINGH JHALA, JAT 6. IC-72317L MAJ YASHOVARDHAN BHATI, GRENADIERS 7. IC-72325K MAJ ANKIT THAKUR, ARTY 8. IC-72402N MAJ RAKESH RANJAN, GR 9. IC-72427A MAJ ROHIT SHARMA, GRENADIERS 10. IC-72567M MAJ ANIL KANDPAL, ENGRS 11. IC-73322H MAJ AJIT PAL SINGH, SIKH 12. IC-73831F MAJ GOVIND JOSHI, GR 13. IC-74904P MAJ ANIL KUMAR RANGI, GRENADIERS 14. IC-75580F MAJ GAURAV ANAND BOURAI, ENGRS 15. IC-75625W MAJ VIPRANSHU PANDEY, ENGRS 16. IC-75883W MAJ GAURAV CHOUDHARY, PARA (SF) 17. IC-75908X MAJ TAPAN KUMAR TAMANG, JAK RIF 18. IC-76197P MAJ NARENDER KUMAR, SIGS 19. IC-76604M MAJ ABHISHEK KUMAR, ARTY 20. IC-77202F MAJ ASHUTOSH KUMAR, ENGRS 21. IC-77234K MAJ RANDEEP SINGH, JAK RIF 22. IC-77313Y MAJ MAHENDRA SINGH, ASC 23. IC-77496A MAJ RAHUL DUTTA, ARTY 24. IC-77783K MAJ SATISH KUMAR GUPTA, SIGS 25. IC-77961F MAJ SAHIL SHARMA, RAJPUT 26. IC-78088F MAJ MAYANK VISHNOI, RAJPUT 27. IC-78153W MAJ ATHUL JAMES, ENGRS 28. IC-78368P MAJ ROHIT KUMAR UPRETI, ENGRS 29. IC-78823M MAJ PATHAK SAKET, EME 30. IC-78949M MAJ ANKESH JARIAL, ENGRS 31. IC-79250A MAJ NAOREM CHINGTHANGKHOMBA SINGH, KUMAON 32. SC-00699K MAJ KUNDAN KUMAR, ENGRS 33. SC-01005L MAJ HARJEET SINGH, RAJPUT 34. SS-44993K MAJ MANISH KUMAR VERMA, SIGS 35. SS-45292A MAJ VIBHORE JOSHI, KUMAON 36. SS-46780P MAJ ABHISHEK GHOSH, EME 37. IC-79580Y CAPT AADITYA ANAND TYAGI, ASSAM 38. IC-79612W CAPT SURYA PRAKASH, ARMD 39. IC-79711Y CAPT NEIL SILAS LOBO, ARMD 40. IC-80398L CAPT SANJAY KUMAR KHANKA, JAT 41. IC-81070W CAPT ROHIT KUMAR SWAMI, GARH RIF 42. IC-81317M CAPT SNEHASHISH PAUL, SIGS 43. IC-83768L CAPT MANOJ KUMAR KATARIA, JAK RIF 44. JC-452643A SUB SUKHDEV SINGH, GRENADIERS (POSTHUMOUS) 45. JC-491687N SUB AMAR PAL SINGH, JAT 46. JC-510962A SUB SATWARG SINGH, SIKH LI 47. JC-511035Y SUB BALKAR SINGH, SIKH LI 48. JC-285397W NB SUB ANIL KUMAR, FD REGT 49. JC-453239X NB SUB RAVINDER, GRENADIERS (POSTHUMOUS) 50. JC-501887A NB SUB SUKHWINDER SINGH, SIKH 51. JC-511610P NB SUB RAJWINDER SINGH, SIKH LI (POSTHUMOUS) 52. JC-583284N NB SUB PUSHAKAR RAJ, JAK RIF 53. 15479109Y DFR RANJIT KUMAR, ARMD54. 13625764F HAV GURJEET SINGH, PARA (SF) 55. 13766697L HAV SURESH DEWAN, JAK RIF 56. 14930612Y HAV RAKESH KUMAR TIWARY, MECH INF 57. 15152232P HAV HARDHAN CHANDRA ROY, MED REGT (POSTHUMOUS) 58. 2612806W HAV CHEEKALA PRAVEEN KUMAR, MADRAS (POSTHUMOUS) 59. 3000918H HAV MAHAVEER SINGH, RAJPUT 60. 3005523L HAV KAYAM SINGH, RAJPUT 61. 4190419X HAV GOKARAN SINGH, KUMAON (POSTHUMOUS) 62. 4475600W HAV AJIT SINGH, SIKH LI 63. 4575166K HAV GULJAR SINGH, MAHAR 64. 9108789H HAV SHOWKAT AHMAD SHEIKH, PARA (SF) 65. 13769111P NK RAKESH KUMAR, JAK RIF 66. 14936580X NK RADHE SHYAM, MECH INF 67. 2499980M NK GOVIND SINGH, PUNJAB 68. 2503271X NK RAJWINDER SINGH, PUNJAB, (POSTHUMOUS) 69. 2701667M NK SAYAR KHAN, GRENADIERS 70. 2708103M NK SHAITAN SINGH MEENA, GRENADIERS 71. 4201601A NK JEEVAN SINGH, KUMAON 72. 4202514Y NK SHIVAJI, KUMAON 73. 4485405M NK GURPREET SINGH, SIKH LI 74. 4582354N NK BALJIT KUMAR, MAHAR 75. 13629979X L/NK NONGMAITHEM DHANABIR SINGH, PARA (SF) 76. 13631872F L/NK HIMMAT SINGH, KUMAON 77. 14941510H L/NK BRIJ MOHAN, MECH INF 78. 3015017N L/NK KULDEEP KUMAR, RAJPUT 79. 4202647P L/NK DILEEP KUMAR YADAV, KUMAON 80. 4206527N L/NK RAJENDRA SINGH DOSAD, KUMAON 81. 5252614W L/NK SURYA BAHADUR SOTI, GR 82. 12984718M SEP JAHANEER AHMAD WAR, SIKH LI 83. 13631225F SEP MOHIT BHADANA, RAJPUT 84. 14945050K SEP SAMSAD ALI, MECH INF 85. 14947048L SEP GAUTAM TAMANG, MECH INF 86. 14948119N SEP PRASHANT SHARMA, MECH INF (POSTHUMOUS) 87. 15500342H SEP MANISH KUMAR, ARMD 88. 15506706A SEP KULDEEP SINGH, ARMD 89. 2512664P SEP ROHIN KUMAR, PUNJAB (POSTHUMOUS) 90. 2622827A SEP RYADA MAHESHWAR, MADRAS (POSTHUMOUS) 91. 2711270N SEP ASHISH KUMAR, GRENADIERS 92. 2713321P SEP HAWA SINGH, GRENADIERS 93. 3013548M SEP LACHCHHU SINGH, RAJPUT 94. 3014893M SEP GAURAV KUMAR TOMAR, RAJPUT 95. 3015141P SEP JITENDRA SINGH JODHA, RAJPUT 96. 3015362F SEP ANUJ MAVI, RAJPUT 97. 3016960L SEP ANUJ RANA, RAJPUT 98. 3017919F SEP RAJESH SINGH KASANA, RAJPUT 99. 3211229L SEP DEEPAK KUMAR, JAT 100. 4379650K SEP ELONTHUNG N PATTON, ASSAM 101. 4493034K SEP RAMANDEEP SINGH, SIKH LI 102. 9114846P SEP TANVEER AHMED, JAK LI 103. 13777546M RFN ROHIT, JAK RIF104. 13778307K RFN NARANJAN, JAK RIF 105. 9119122F RFN SAJAD HUSSAIN KHAN, JAK LI 106. 16122753K SPR BIBIN C, ENGRS 107. 16123692K SPR SIVAKUMAR G, ENGRS 108. 16124910K SPR BURLA ANJANEYULU, ENGRS 109. 2708179M GDR VIKASH KUMAR RAM, GRENADIERS 110. 2709595H GDR RAVI KUMAR SINGH, GRENADIERS, (POSTHUMOUS) 111. 2710803Y GDR PRASHANT SINGH, GRENADIERS, (POSTHUMOUS) 112. 15245939Y GNR BHUPENDER, MED REGT (POSTHUMOUS) 113. 15251323F GNR SUBODH GHOSH, MED REGT (POSTHUMOUS) 114. 13628400A PTR MANMOHAN SINGH, PARA (SF) 115. 15512815H SWR JILAJEET YADAV, ARMD, (POSTHUMOUS) 116. 9430387K SCOUT TASHI NAMGYAL LEPCHA, GR

MENTION-IN-DESPATCHES

OPERATION RAKSHAK 1. IC-62767P COL JASBIR SINGH MAAN, ARMY AVN SQN (R&O) 2. IC-69539P LT COL SHIV BAHADUR SINGH, ENGR REGT 3. IC-70410N MAJ SWAPNIL ZENDE, ARTY 4. IC-71908A MAJ DEEPAK KUMAR SINGH, ASC 5. IC-75737W MAJ PARTHA SARATHI BATABYAL, ARTY 6. IC-75865N MAJ PRADIP SHUKLA, GARH RIF 7. IC-77164W MAJ ADITYA BHADAURIA, KUMAON 8. SS-46311M MAJ HIMANSHU PRADHAN, SIKH 9. IC-80097F CAPT SHIVAM DAGUR, SIGS 10. IC-80233M CAPT SACHIN MALHOTRA, R&O FLT 11. SS-50090H LT HARINDER JIT SINGH, GRENADIERS 12. 4480174X HAV KULJINDER SINGH, SIKH LI 13. 15184292X NK ROSHAN SINGH, SATA BTY 14. 15216741X NK KARUPPA SAMY K, LT REGT 15. 2613899H NK ANEESH THOMAS, MADRAS (POSTHUMOUS) 16. 4582500H NK MANDLE PRADIP SAHEBRAO, MAHAR (POSTHUMOUS) 17. 9109266W NK KULDEEP KUMAR, JAK LI 18. 9113397Y NK SARTAJ AHMAD WAGAY, JAK LI 19. 9113576Y NK RAYEES AHMAD MAGRAY, JAK LI 20. 4090765Y NK VIKRAM SINGH, GARH RIF 21. 4094228L L/NK GAURAV SINGH, GARH RIF 22. 4201982M L/NK KAMLESH PANT, KUMAON 23. 3016320F SEP LADHU SINGH, RAJPUT 24. 15506422W SEP KHUVENDRA SINGH, ARMD  OPERATION SNOW LEOPARD 25. 15487120M L/DFR VIKRAM SINGH, ARMD REGT (POSTHUMOUS)

OPERATION RHINO 26. SS-45386X MAJ SOUBAM KINOBABU SINGH, JAK LI 27. JC-635706L NB SUB PREM KUMAR TAMANG, GR 28. 13014072P L/NK ANAL JYOTI NATH, ASSAM

DRAFT GAZETTE OF INDIA (EXTRAORDINARY)
PART I – SECTION 4
(ARMY BRANCH)
B/43432/ID21/AG/CW-2 New Delhi, the 15 August 2021
No. 09(E) dated 15 August 2021. The President is pleased to award honorary commission to the rank of Honorary Captain/Lieutenant on the eve of Independence Day 2021 to the under mentioned
Honorary Lieutenants/JCOs on active list under Para 177 of Regulation for the Army 1987, with effect from 15 August 2021 subject to the individual not being under any disciplinary action and satisfactory
continued performance :- TO BE HONORARY CAPTAIN (ON ACTIVE LIST)
ARMOURED CORPS
1 JC244322K RIS MAJ & HONY LT ANGREJ SINGH
2 JC244823K RIS MAJ & HONY LT GANGA RAM SHARMA
3 JC244520P RIS MAJ & HONY LT NARINDER SINGH
4 JC245411P RIS MAJ & HONY LT SHOKAT KHAN GAUR
5 JC244080M RIS MAJ & HONY LT THOTA RAMANAIAH
6 JC245494L RIS & HONY LT BUDUMURU RAMA PRASADA RAO
7 JC245181M RIS & HONY LT LAXMAN SINGH SHEKHAWAT
8 JC247009K RIS & HONY LT NABIN CHANDRA KIRAN
9 JC245478N RIS & HONY LT RAJGIR ROY
REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
10 JC274472P SUB MAJ & HONY LT ABID HUSSAIN
11 JC277634A SUB MAJ & HONY LT ANIRUDH SINGH
12 JC256373K SUB MAJ & HONY LT ARUN KUMAR GAUTAM RT
13 JC273923X SUB MAJ & HONY LT BISHAMBER SINGH
14 JC273868M SUB MAJ & HONY LT GURNAM SINGH
15 JC272333M SUB MAJ & HONY LT KALLA VENKATARAMANA
16 JC273189P SUB MAJ & HONY LT LAL CHAND
17 JC277381W SUB MAJ & HONY LT ONKAR SINGH
18 JC275620F SUB MAJ & HONY LT PATOLE VIKAS RAMCHANDRA
19 JC273681A SUB MAJ & HONY LT RADHE SHYAM SHARMA
20 JC273084L SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAM SARAN SINGH
21 JC273668W SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAM SWAROOP YADAV
22 JC274527N SUB MAJ & HONY LT RATAN LAL SONKAR
23 JC273858H SUB MAJ & HONY LT SATISH KUMAR
24 JC273115A SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHAMSHER SINGH
25 JC273959W SUB MAJ & HONY LT VISWAMBHAR SINGH
26 JC279729Y SUB & HONY LT BRAJBHUSAN PACHOURI
27 JC274766H SUB & HONY LT GURBAX SINGH
28 JC275999W SUB & HONY LT HIMANSHU KUMAR SINGH
29 JC278058N SUB & HONY LT NARINDER SINGH
30 JC278187N SUB & HONY LT OM PRAKASH
31 JC270634X SUB & HONY LT PB BINU
Col
Col CW-2
2
32 JC282003F SUB & HONY LT PRAMOD KUMAR SINGH
33 JC279169X SUB & HONY LT PUSARLA ESWARA RAO
34 JC281360X SUB & HONY LT RUDRA KANT MISHRA
35 JC279986W SUB & HONY LT S KUMAR
36 JC279898A SUB & HONY LT SADANAND KUMAR BIHARI
37 JC274376A SUB & HONY LT SATYA VEER
38 JC272799P SUB & HONY LT SITA RAM CHAUDHARY
39 JC281165A SUB & HONY LT SURAJ SINGH YADAV
ARMY AIR DEFENCE
40 JC302096L SUB MAJ & HONY LT JAGDISH CHANDRA BHATT
41 JC303026Y SUB & HONY LT DHAN SINGH SAINI
42 JC303490H SUB & HONY LT K CHANDRA MOHAN SINGHA
43 JC302864F SUB & HONY LT MANOJ KUMAR SINGH
44 JC302763N SUB & HONY LT NAND SINGH CHAUHAN
45 JC301779M SUB & HONY LT OM NARAYAN SINGH
46 JC303164A SUB & HONY LT RENGARAJAN K
47 JC301463A SUB & HONY LT SULTAN SINGH RAWAT
ARMY AVIATION CORPS
48 JC850072F SUB & HONY LT PREM PAL SINGH
MADRAS ENGINEER GROUP
49 JC309893Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT M RAVI
50 JC309863F SUB MAJ & HONY LT M SUBRAMANI
51 JC311884W SUB & HONY LT ARUMUGAM V
52 JC307371K SUB & HONY LT BENOY SEBASTIAN
53 JC311297L SUB & HONY LT K GAJENDIRA KUMAR
BENGAL ENGINEER GROUP
54 JC339775A SUB MAJ & HONY LT BRIJESH KUMAR SINGH
55 JC339735Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT KULWINDER SINGH
56 JC339776H SUB MAJ & HONY LT LAXMAN SINGH
57 JC339264W SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAM NARESH SINGH KUSHWAH
58 JC339099W SUB MAJ & HONY LT UDAY BIR SINGH PUNDIR
59 JC341250P SUB & HONY LT HARISH CHANDRA JOSHI
60 JC327206A SUB & HONY LT JOHN VARGHESE
61 JC341190L SUB & HONY LT MANOJ KUMAR SINGH
62 JC341192W SUB & HONY LT RAM DHIRAJ SINGH YADAV
63 JC341603K SUB & HONY LT SANJAY SUMAR SINGH
64 JC341427X SUB & HONY LT SHINGARA SINGH
65 JC341172H SUB & HONY LT VINOD KUMAR SINGH
Col
Col CW-2
3
BOMBAY ENGINEER GROUP
66 JC352097K SUB MAJ & HONY LT
DHOBI NARENDRA CHANDRIKA
PRASAD
67 JC352085P SUB MAJ & HONY LT HANUMAN DUTTA SINGH
68 JC352081Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT MOHAMMAD MUSTKIM
69 JC352676W SUB MAJ & HONY LT R MOHAMMED RAFIEK RAJA
70 JC352055X SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHUKLA NAGENDRADEV
SHRIKRISHAN
71 JC352068P SUB MAJ & HONY LT SURJIT SINGH
72 JC352122X SUB MAJ & HONY LT TARSEM SINGH
73 JC352033Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT VIJAY KUMAR YADAV
74 JC353243L SUB & HONY LT BHOSALE RAM MARUTI
75 JC353259W SUB & HONY LT DILEEP PATIL
76 JC353351P SUB & HONY LT HARJIT SINGH
77 JC353423N SUB & HONY LT KRISHAN SINGH
78 JC353748F SUB & HONY LT MALOOK SINGH,SM
79 JC353403A SUB & HONY LT MORE YESHVANT VITTHAL
80 JC352850X SUB & HONY LT PASTE SURYAKANT LAXMAN
81 JC353200W SUB & HONY LT PAWAR RAJKUMAR KISAN
82 JC352845M SUB & HONY LT RAJESH KUMAR
83 JC353429P SUB & HONY LT SHIDA UNUS ISMAIL
84 JC353422L SUB & HONY LT TANVIR HASAN
CORPS OF SIGNALS
85 JC380935K SUB MAJ & HONY LT AWTAR SINGH
86 JC380772F SUB MAJ & HONY LT LAKSHMAN SINGH CHOUHAN
87 JC380718N SUB MAJ & HONY LT PAWAN KUMAR SHARMA
88 JC379400K SUB MAJ & HONY LT PUNAM LAL
89 JC380778H SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAMESH KUMAR S
90 JC379314Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT VINAY KUMAR OJHA
91 JC382659L SUB & HONY LT AKAS CHAKRABORTY
92 JC385244F SUB & HONY LT DARURI UMAPATHI NAIDU
93 JC383370P SUB & HONY LT HAYAT SINGH SIROLA
94 JC383371X SUB & HONY LT NAVENDRA PRASAD BHATT
95 JC384752L SUB & HONY LT NILAKANTHA PATTNAYAK
96 JC377471M SUB & HONY LT P PALANI
97 JC385405Y SUB & HONY LT SHEO SHANKER RAM
98 JC383842A SUB & HONY LT SHOKEEN
99 JC385243Y SUB & HONY LT SOMBIR SINGH
100 JC383636W SUB & HONY LT SUKH DEV
101 JC384285Y SUB & HONY LT SUNIL A
102 JC383169K SUB & HONY LT UMESH KUMAR PATEL
Col
Col CW-2
4
THE BRIGADE OF GUARDS
103 JC404407F SUB MAJ & HONY LT MAIFOOJ ALAM
104 JC404346P SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAJALE LAXMAN BABU
105 JC405230L SUB & HONY LT JAG BARAN
106 JC405622Y SUB & HONY LT VINOD PRASAD
THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT
107 JC413448M SUB MAJ & HONY LT BHAWANI DATT,SM
108 JC413449P SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAJ PAL SINGH
109 JC413998P SUB & HONY LT HARENDRA
110 JC413870K SUB & HONY LT RAJESH KUMAR BALOURIA
111 JC413872P SUB & HONY LT UDA RAM
THE MECHANISED INFANTRY REGIMENT
112 JC421708F SUB MAJ & HONY LT BHAGWAN SINGH
113 JC421833L SUB MAJ & HONY LT DHARAMJEET TIWARI
114 JC421063K SUB MAJ & HONY LT KANHIYA LAL GURJAR
115 JC421706W SUB MAJ & HONY LT OM PRAKASH
116 JC422396H SUB & HONY LT DIPAK KUMAR CHETRI
THE PUNJAB REGIMENT
117 JC430726L SUB MAJ & HONY LT HARDEV SINGH
118 JC430579N SUB MAJ & HONY LT RESHM PAL SINGH
119 JC431670W SUB & HONY LT JAGTAR SINGH
120 JC431769M SUB & HONY LT LAXMI CHAND SHARMA
121 JC431671Y SUB & HONY LT MANGAT SINGH
122 JC431251Y SUB & HONY LT RANJIT SINGH KATAL, M-IN-D
THE MADRAS REGIMENT
123 JC440325K SUB MAJ & HONY LT GINJALA GANGARAJU,SM
124 JC440418Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT R PRABU
125 JC440205L SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAJU TM
126 JC440283H SUB MAJ & HONY LT RANJITH RADHAKRISHNAN M P
127 JC441034W SUB & HONY LT DASARATHAN M
128 JC441033N SUB & HONY LT KUMAR N
THE GRENADIERS
129 JC450988H SUB MAJ & HONY LT AJEET SINGH SHEKHAWAT
130 JC450607W SUB MAJ & HONY LT ARUN KUMAR SINGH
131 JC450986X SUB MAJ & HONY LT AYUB KHAN KAYAM KHANI
132 JC450884F SUB MAJ & HONY LT SELLAERRA MADDULETY
133 JC450991H SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHRAWAN LAL
Col
Col CW-2
5
134 JC450944L SUB MAJ & HONY LT SUBHASH CHANDER
135 JC450915W SUB MAJ & HONY LT YOGENDRA SINGH YADAV,PVC
136 JC451409X SUB & HONY LT MIRZA NIHALOODDIN BEG
137 JC451747P SUB & HONY LT RANBIR SINGH
THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY
138 JC460122F SUB MAJ & HONY LT JAGATAP MAHADEV KISAN
139 JC460022W SUB MAJ & HONY LT KADAM DEEPAK KUMAR
NARAYAN
140 JC461108F SUB & HONY LT CHALAKE RAJESH GANGARAM
141 JC460702W SUB & HONY LT MORE ASHOK GANAPATI
THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES
142 JC470695Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT DILIP KUMAR SINGH
143 JC470832M SUB MAJ & HONY LT HANUMAN RAM
144 JC470909K SUB MAJ & HONY LT SANTOSH KUMAR SINGH
145 JC470741H SUB MAJ & HONY LT VADAN SINGH RANAWAT
146 JC470956F SUB MAJ & HONY LT VIJAY SINGH,SM
147 JC470950A SUB & HONY LT JITENDRA SINGH
148 JC471438N SUB & HONY LT SHANKER LAL BHICHER, M-IN-D
149 JC471525F SUB & HONY LT SITA RAM
150 JC471209H SUB & HONY LT SURENDRA SINGH THAKUR
THE RAJPUT REGIMENT
151 JC480174Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT DHARAM PAL
152 JC480545W SUB MAJ & HONY LT KAMALESH KUMAR SINHA
153 JC480483F SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHEESH RAM GURJAR,SM
154 JC480717A SUB MAJ & HONY LT VISHWAMBHAR SINGH JADON
155 JC481559H SUB & HONY LT DEV RAJ SINGH
156 JC481132Y SUB & HONY LT MANAK SINGH,SM
157 JC481079Y SUB & HONY LT SURENDER KUMAR
158 JC481009A SUB & HONY LT SURENDRA KUMAR SINGH
159 JC481315P SUB & HONY LT VED RAM
THE JAT REGIMENT
160 JC490203W SUB MAJ & HONY LT DILBAG SINGH
161 JC490250N SUB MAJ & HONY LT HIMMAT SINGH CHAHAR
162 JC490248W SUB MAJ & HONY LT SATISH KUMAR
163 JC490749W SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHIV RAM DISWAR
164 JC490874A SUB & HONY LT GOPAL SINGH CHOUDHARY
165 JC490997M SUB & HONY LT NEM SINGH,SM
166 JC491362A SUB & HONY LT ROHITAS KUMAR
167 JC491032F SUB & HONY LT SAHI RAM
168 JC491249L SUB & HONY LT SURENDRA KUMAR,SM
169 JC491417Y SUB & HONY LT VIJAI SINGH JAKHAR
Col
Col CW-2
6
THE SIKH REGIMENT
170 JC500440W SUB MAJ & HONY LT HARMASH SINGH
171 JC499843F SUB MAJ & HONY LT PARGAT SINGH
172 JC500072M SUB MAJ & HONY LT RACHHPAL SINGH
173 JC501239X SUB & HONY LT JASWINDER SINGH
174 JC500828F SUB & HONY LT MLAKIAT SINGH
175 JC500528A SUB & HONY LT SURINDER SINGH
THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY
176 JC509883Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT DAVINDER SINGH
177 JC509746A SUB MAJ & HONY LT SATPAL SINGH
178 JC510918W SUB & HONY LT AMRIK SINGH
179 JC510758F SUB & HONY LT JAGWINDER SINGH
180 JC510120P SUB & HONY LT KULWANT SINGH
THE DOGRA REGIMENT
181 JC521207W SUB MAJ & HONY LT ASHWANI KUMAR RANA
182 JC521233X SUB MAJ & HONY LT DEEPAK KUMAR
183 JC521194K SUB MAJ & HONY LT HARI SINGH
184 JC521355F SUB MAJ & HONY LT RANDHIR SINGH,VSM
185 JC522109H SUB & HONY LT ATMA SINGH
186 JC521945A SUB & HONY LT PREM LAL
187 JC521897L SUB & HONY LT RAKESH CHAND
188 JC518601W SUB & HONY LT ROSHAN LAL MISHRA RT
THE GARHWAL RIFLES
189 JC530777N SUB MAJ & HONY LT AWATAR SINGH
190 JC530935X SUB MAJ & HONY LT VIJAY SINGH
191 JC531868K SUB & HONY LT MAHESHWAR PRASAD
192 JC531854K SUB & HONY LT NARENDRA SINGH
193 JC531361H SUB & HONY LT SURENDRA SINGH
194 JC532205L SUB & HONY LT TRILOK SINGH
195 JC531869M SUB & HONY LT VIJAI PAL SINGH RAWAT
THE KUMAON REGIMENT
196 JC540827F SUB MAJ & HONY LT CHANDRA SHEKAR JOSHI
197 JC540618K SUB MAJ & HONY LT JIWAN SINGH PUJARI
198 JC540678Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAJENDER SINGH
199 JC540550N SUB MAJ & HONY LT VIKRAM SINGH BISHT
200 JC541531P SUB & HONY LT HARISH CHANDER SINGH, SM
201 JC541627X SUB & HONY LT NAR PAL SINGH
202 JC541006Y SUB & HONY LT RAM KISHAN YADAV,SM
203 JC541554W SUB & HONY LT SATISH KUMAR
204 JC541184F SUB & HONY LT SUNIL KUMAR
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THE ASSAM REGIMENT
205 JC549316Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT BABU RAM THAPA
206 JC550221L SUB MAJ & HONY LT DAYARAM RAMCHIARY
207 JC550294X SUB MAJ & HONY LT TOIJAM CHANDRA SINGH
208 JC549792X SUB & HONY LT THAMAN GURUNG
THE BIHAR REGIMENT
209 JC560181H SUB MAJ & HONY LT MAHESH YADAV
210 JC560491N SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHATRUGHAN SINGH,VC
211 JC558056A SUB MAJ & HONY LT TARKESHWAR TIWARY RT
212 JC561387M SUB & HONY LT MANOJ KUMAR SINGH
213 JC561450W SUB & HONY LT PERMESHWAR ORAON
214 JC561780P SUB & HONY LT SANJAY KUMAR
215 JC561515Y SUB & HONY LT SUNIL PRASAD KUSHWAHA
THE MAHAR REGIMENT
216 JC570254X SUB MAJ & HONY LT AJIT SINGH
217 JC570430K SUB MAJ & HONY LT JOGINDER SINGH
218 JC413446F SUB & HONY LT GANGA SINGH
219 JC571422X SUB & HONY LT MAN SINGH MANESHA
220 JC571348F SUB & HONY LT PARAMJIT SINGH
221 JC570994M SUB & HONY LT VIJENDRA SINGH RATHORE
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR RIFLES
222 JC581302M SUB MAJ & HONY LT GYANENDRA KUMAR RANA
223 JC580976X SUB MAJ & HONY LT KUNDAN LAL
224 JC581112A SUB MAJ & HONY LT MADAN LAL
225 JC580603K SUB MAJ & HONY LT SAJJAN SINGH
226 JC580796P SUB MAJ & HONY LT SUKHDEV SINGH
227 JC582340P SUB & HONY LT ASHOK KUMAR
228 JC582213A SUB & HONY LT SHRI DEV
229 JC582035H SUB & HONY LT SURINDER PAL SINGH
THE LADAKH SCOUTS
230 JC588493P SUB MAJ & HONY LT WANGCHAN TANTAK
231 JC588785X SUB & HONY LT PHUNCHOK ANGCHOK
THE NAGA REGIMENT
232 JC590308P SUB MAJ & HONY LT PARVEEN SINGH CHAUHAN
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THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY
233 JC593966M SUB MAJ & HONY LT GURMEET SINGH
234 JC593699W SUB MAJ & HONY LT GURMEET SINGH
235 JC593715H SUB MAJ & HONY LT HARDEV SINGH
236 JC593782N SUB MAJ & HONY LT NISAR AHMAD BHAT
237 JC593642F SUB MAJ & HONY LT RATTAN LAL
238 JC594139W SUB & HONY LT GULAM MOHD
239 JC593973H SUB & HONY LT PUSHPINDER SINGH
240 JC594173W SUB & HONY LT RAKESH KUMAR
1 GORKHA RIFLES
241 JC602857K SUB MAJ & HONY LT HASTA BAHADUR GURUNG
242 JC603178Y SUB & HONY LT RUPINDER THAPA
3 GORKHA RIFLES
243 JC607986N SUB & HONY LT HARI BAHADUR THAPA
4 GORKHA RIFLES
244 JC612741F SUB MAJ & HONY LT GOPAL BAHADUR THAPA
245 JC612763A SUB MAJ & HONY LT MANOJ KUMAR GURUNG
246 JC612665A SUB MAJ & HONY LT TARA BAHADUR RANA
5 GORKHA RIFLES
247 JC617983N SUB MAJ & HONY LT KHADAK BAHADUR PUN
8 GORKHA RIFLES
248 JC623846L SUB MAJ & HONY LT HUM RAJ SHRESTHA
249 JC623859H SUB MAJ & HONY LT KARNA BAHADUR THAPA
250 JC623097A SUB MAJ & HONY LT SACHCHIDA NAND MISRA RT
9 GORKHA RIFLES
251 JC630023N SUB MAJ & HONY LT JAGAT BAHADUR KHAN THAKURI
252 JC630260X SUB & HONY LT BIDUR BAHADUR KUNWAR
11 GORKHA RIFLES
253 JC634853F SUB MAJ & HONY LT BHISMA KUMAR SHRESTHA
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ARMY SERVICE CORPS(SOUTH)
254 JC660506A SUB MAJ & HONY LT ARUN KUMAR RT
255 JC667216L SUB MAJ & HONY LT BRAJESH KUMAR JHA
256 JC667803W SUB MAJ & HONY LT K MOHAN KUMAR
257 JC643273N SUB MAJ & HONY LT NANAVARE RAJARAM LAXMAN
258 JC663009F SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAUT DNYANESHWAR DEVIDAS
259 JC667985P SUB & HONY LT HEMANTA KUMAR PRADHAN
260 JC670604N SUB & HONY LT PANKAJ KUMAR
ARMY SERVICE CORPS(ANIMAL TRANSPORT)
261 JC681335M RIS MAJ & HONY LT MOHAN LAL
262 JC681402M RIS MAJ & HONY LT SURENDRAN V
263 JC681690K RIS & HONY LT BINOD KUMAR
264 JC681686F RIS & HONY LT K PALANI
265 JC681726X RIS & HONY LT KAPILDEV YADAV
266 JC681679L RIS & HONY LT LALTA PRASAD
267 JC681676X RIS & HONY LT RAMESH SINGH SOMBRIA RAJPUT
268 JC681684W RIS & HONY LT RAMESH SINGH
ARMY MEDICAL CORPS
269 JC699389W SUB MAJ & HONY LT ARBIND KUMAR GUPTA
270 JC699557K SUB MAJ & HONY LT ARVENDRA KUMAR
271 JC699554W SUB MAJ & HONY LT AWADHESH KUMAR SINGH
272 JC699397P SUB MAJ & HONY LT BABULAL
273 JC699391N SUB MAJ & HONY LT DEV CHIRAN RATHORE
274 JC699236M SUB MAJ & HONY LT HERA PRASAD
275 JC699242A SUB MAJ & HONY LT JAI SINGH
276 JC699405H SUB MAJ & HONY LT P SURYA NARAYANA
277 JC699272X SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAJENDER PAL
278 JC699162H SUB MAJ & HONY LT S UMASANKAR
279 JC699392W SUB MAJ & HONY LT VIRENDRA PANDEY
280 JC701478W SUB & HONY LT DAGADE SHASHI KANT NIVRUTTI
281 JC699812L SUB & HONY LT KAILASH VIR
282 JC701882L SUB & HONY LT MANOJ KUMAR YADAV
283 JC701341K SUB & HONY LT TARA CHAND
ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS
284 JC726948F SUB MAJ & HONY LT BIRENDER SINGH RANA
285 JC730216H SUB MAJ & HONY LT SAHAB SINGH
286 JC730231X SUB MAJ & HONY LT SUSHANTA BISWAS
287 JC731899N SUB & HONY LT AJAY SINGH CHAUHAN
288 JC731905W SUB & HONY LT ASHOK SINGH
289 JC731776F SUB & HONY LT KISHORI LAL
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290 JC730865N SUB & HONY LT NOOKAPAJU PRAGADA
291 JC731814M SUB & HONY LT SIRIGIRI CHINNA OBAIAH
292 JC731835H SUB & HONY LT VED PRAKASH
CORPS OF ELECTRONICS AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
293 JC767404F SUB MAJ & HONY LT ARVIND KUMAR SINGH
294 JC760287Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT BISWAJIT BISWAS
295 JC760046Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT CHABIN CHANDRA ROY
296 JC760288F SUB MAJ & HONY LT CHANDRASEKARAN P
297 JC759932W SUB MAJ & HONY LT CHAVAN SURESH SADASHIV
298 JC767398Y SUB MAJ & HONY LT DHARAM SINGH
299 JC759961L SUB MAJ & HONY LT JAINENDRA KUMAR
300 JC760286W SUB MAJ & HONY LT K UDHAYASURIYAN
301 JC760291F SUB MAJ & HONY LT MANOJ KUMAR
302 JC767704H SUB MAJ & HONY LT P LOURDUSAMY
303 JC767700M SUB MAJ & HONY LT PARASH NATH RAI
304 JC759956A SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHIV DARSHAN TRIPATHI
305 JC760031W SUB MAJ & HONY LT SYED SAMAD SYED AHMED
306 JC764688L SUB MAJ & HONY LT VIJAY SINGH
307 JC759958L SUB MAJ & HONY LT VINOD KUMAR PANDEY
308 JC772531A SUB & HONY LT BRIJ MOHAN SINGH
309 JC769346F SUB & HONY LT KARAN SINGH
310 JC765178W SUB & HONY LT KRISHAN KUMAR
311 JC763723W SUB & HONY LT M RAGHAVAN
312 JC769144A SUB & HONY LT MOHAN CHANDRA JHA
313 JC772521W SUB & HONY LT RAJEEV RANJAN KUMAR
314 JC767902N SUB & HONY LT RAM BACHAN PRASAD
315 JC772519Y SUB & HONY LT SATBIR SINGH
316 JC772383A SUB & HONY LT SATYAPAL CHALRS
317 JC772372N SUB & HONY LT SURJEET SINGH
ARMY EDUCATION CORPS
318 JC804486P SUB MAJ & HONY LT ANIL KUMAR
319 JC804248H SUB MAJ & HONY LT NARAYAN CHANDRA DWIVEDI
320 JC804869F SUB & HONY LT AJEET SINGH
321 JC804838F SUB & HONY LT DEEPAK KUMAR PAIKRAY
REMOUNT AND VETERINARY CORPS
322 JC797709W RIS & HONY LT DHARAM PAL
THE INTELLIGENCE CORPS
323 JC811502K SUB MAJ & HONY LT SATYA NARAYAN
324 JC811900L SUB & HONY LT SUBASH CHANDER
325 JC811701X SUB & HONY LT VIJAY KUMAR
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CORPS OF MILITARY POLICE
326 JC819636X SUB MAJ & HONY LT ROHTASH
327 JC820098F SUB & HONY LT MUNNA KUMAR PANDEY
THE PIONEER CORPS
328 JC829541L SUB MAJ & HONY LT SHAWAL RAM
DEFENCE SECURITY CORPS
329 JC842587M SUB MAJ & HONY LT RAJ KUMAR PATYAL
330 JC841755N SUB & HONY LT SHRI BHAGWAN
331 JC843757X SUB & HONY LT SALIMUDDIN BARBHUIYA
TERRITORIAL ARMY
332 TJ5739K SUB & HONY LT ASHOK KUMAR
333 TJ5108F SUB & HONY LT GAWARE RAMNATH SUKDEV
334 TJ5884F SUB & HONY LT NIRMAL TAMANG
335 TJ6021M SUB & HONY LT OM PRAKASH TIWARI
336 TJ5987A SUB & HONY LT PRABHAKARAN EV
337 TJ5254F SUB & HONY LT SUBHASH CHAND

New Delhi: The Armed Forces and different organisations of the Ministry of Defence will be conducting various events across the country to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, being celebrated as ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will formally launch various major events virtually from New Delhi on Friday.
Following are the events to be launched in the run-up to Independence Day 2021:
Unfurling of National Flag at 75 Passes/Places: To commemorate 75 years of Independence, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will unfurl the National Flag at 75 important passes and places in the country, displaying their resolve in developing border infrastructure. 75 teams of BRO will depart on August 13, 2021, to these remote passes. The most prominent among them is ‘Umlingla Pass’, which is the highest motorable road in the world at 19,300 feet, in Eastern Ladakh. The national tri-colour will also be unfurled at prominent infrastructure landmarks like Atal Tunnel, Rohtang and Dhola Sadiya Bridge in the Northeast, besides in friendly foreign countries.
Unfurling of National Flag in Islands: Indian Coast Guard will be unfurling the National Flag at 100 islands Pan-India on August 15, 2021, as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The proceedings will start on August 13, 2021.
Freedom Run: Indian Navy personnel and their families will participate in the freedom run at Naval Officers Mess in Varuna, New Delhi. The Defence Minister will virtually flag off the freedom run, which is part of the Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 being launched across the country on August 13, 2021, to celebrate the 75th Independence Day.
Army Expedition: To instil a sense of pride and confidence among citizens that the Indian Army is committed to protecting the country in all types of terrain and climate, the teams of the Army will scale 75 mountain passes to mark this momentous occasion. The passes include Saserla Pass in Ladakh region, Stakpochan Pass in Kargil region, Satopanth, Harshil, Uttarakhand, Phim Karnla, Sikkim and Point 4493, Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh. The Raksha Mantri will flag off the event on August 13, 2021.

The UK, Germany, France and India have deployed warships that have transited or will transit the South China Sea. Many say this convergence is intended to demonstrate their collective and coordinated will and capability to defend the existing “international order” against China’s illegal claims and bullying.
But while Washington may have thought – or wanted the world and Americans to think – that these countries were in united support of its crusade to contain China, they each had their own motives and their messages were mixed.
But before analysing the details of the messaging, it is important to clear up some confusion regarding the purpose of these deployments. Some have implied that they are freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) challenging China’s claims. They are not. FONOPs are formal pre-programmed operational challenges with warships and warplanes against claims the US believes are inconsistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), such as prior permission to enter a territorial sea, closing baselines around the Paracels, or claims to low-tide features.
Whatever it is that Beijing is claiming with its nine-dash line, it has no objection to normal passage of warships through the South China Sea. To imply that such passages are a challenge to China’s claims or FONOPs is inaccurate. The confusion stems in part from the United States’ disingenuous conflation of freedom of commercial navigation with its military priorities there – freedom to probe China’s defences and to attempt to intimidate it into abandoning its claims.
The US implies that China’s objection to its military probes and FONOPs is a threat to commercial navigation. But – other than temporarily closing off high seas for the safety of navigation during military exercises – China has not interfered with commercial freedom of navigation and is unlikely to do so in peacetime.
China, however, does object by word and deed to what it perceives as the US military’s abuse of “freedom of navigation,” its violations of UNCLOS and its intimidation and coercion in enforcing its own interpretation of UNCLOS provisions – even though it is not a party to that treaty.
The US has for many years been pressuring others in and outside the region to join its FONOPs there, without success. US allies including Australia, Japan and the Philippines have so far declined such US requests. They all have their own particular reasons for doing so but a common one is that they do not see China’s claims as a threat to commercial traffic or their security, despite Washington’s dire warnings to the contrary.
The UK is the only country that has answered the call – and that was a unilateral one-off. In 2018, HMS Albion undertook a FONOP that violated China’s closing lines around the Paracels, one of Beijing’s most egregious claims.
Perhaps London was trying to please the Americans but avoid serious provocation by refraining from challenging China’s sovereignty claims to low tide features. In any event, given the political and economic blowback from China, it is unlikely to do so again under current circumstances.
In September 2020, France, Germany and the UK jointly submitted a note verbale to the United Nations emphasizing “the importance of unhampered exercise of the freedom of the high seas” in the South China Sea. Given this context, the deployments certainly send a collective political and strategic signal – the latter intended or not.
Beijing perceives the South China Sea as being well within its “sphere of influence.” For China, it is a historically vulnerable underbelly that must be turned into a “natural shield for its national security.”
It also provides relative “sanctuary” for its second-strike nuclear submarines. They are its insurance against a first strike – something the US, unlike China, has not disavowed. So to China, these deployments mean that the US and its allies want to deny it the defensive buffer and sanctuary of the South China Sea.
The strategic problem is that China’s military controls its near seas including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, and the US and its allies will not be able to get to a conflict there in time. Given this background, what specific messages did the deployments send in terms of what they are willing and capable of doing about that?
The US Pacific Command organized joint exercises with the militaries of Australia, Japan and the UK in the Philippine Sea. According to the Pacific Command, this Large Scale Exercise 2021 signalled “to our competitors [that] the US military remains ready for the high end of warfare expressly because of its global commitments.”
This was the largest military exercise in the area since the Cold War. The US clearly intended to demonstrate its capacity and will to both China and to its allies and friends in Asia. It hoped that its partners would do the same.
UK Treads Cautiously
But did they? The UK sent its premier aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and its strike group to sail through the South China Sea. China warned it not to undertake any “improper acts” – and it complied. It explicitly avoided sailing within the 12-nautical-mile territorial seas of China’s claimed features.
The UK’s actions and reassurances diluted the United States’ intended message by not challenging China’s claims to some of the disputed features that the US says are illegitimate. The UK also announced that the strike group would not sail through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, an act that China would consider politically provocative. Ironically, under UNCLOS it has the right to do so – but unlike the US, which seems to enjoy provoking China, it chose not to.
In sum, the message sent by the UK naval deployment was definitely mixed and muddled. Further confusing the message, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin questioned the wisdom of Britain undertaking such a mission so far from its own region where its capabilities could be more efficiently and effectively applied.
He seemed to be cautioning the UK to be careful and not start something it cannot finish.
Germany Plays Both Sides
Germany’s message was even more tentative and mixed. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Germany deployed a warship, the frigate Bayern, to the region and through the South China Sea.
As it set sail, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, “We aim to be involved and to take responsibility for maintaining the rule-based international order.”
Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer declared, “The message is clear, we are raising the flag for our interests and values.” This is “important” because “for our partners in the Indo-Pacific, it is a reality that sea routes are no longer open and secure….”
This was nonsense both in fact and in intent. In truth, Germany tried to hedge to please both the US and China.
It sent the Bayern because of pressure from the US. But it assured China that it would not undertake any provocations or confrontations. It pledged to confine its transit to traditional sea lanes and that it would not enter the Taiwan Strait. It also pointedly said it would not participate in the massive US-organized joint exercises in the Philippine Sea.
It even went one step further to mollify China by requesting a port visit in Shanghai. But because that port call would have occurred before it entered the South China Sea (on its return journey from Japan), it conveyed to some that Germany was implicitly requesting China’s approval of the transit.
Ironically, China rejected the request pending a better explanation of why Germany was sending the Bayern to the region in the first place. So Germany’s hedging backfired, and it now may be forced either to further muddle the message or anger China.
India Wary of Red Lines
Now India is sending a naval task force to the South China Sea. “The deployment of the Indian Navy ships seeks to underscore the operational reach, peaceful presence and solidarity with friendly countries towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain,” the navy said.
The vessels will have individual military exercises with Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia and then join those of the US, Japan, Australia in the annual Malabar exercises.
But India’s participation in a security arrangement against China is not certain. India is steadfastly non-aligned and moreover does not measure up to US preferred standards of democracy and human rights. These differences could present serious obstacles to a closer security relationship.
Moreover, China can use its economic might and pressure on its disputed land boundary to prevent India from being actively involved in a security grouping against it. The deployment may be a counter to China’s pressure on their common border in Ladakh. But India is unlikely to cross a red line and challenge Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea.
Despite the political and strategic signalling, China is unlikely to be militarily intimidated by the occasional transits of a few naval vessels sending mixed messages.
In response, Beijing announced a simultaneous large-scale military exercise in the north-western South China Sea involving a variety of services and weapons. There is a rumour that it may even include test firing of its “carrier-killer missiles” as it did last year in the same area. That would be an escalation of the messaging “war.”
Where is this mixed messaging contest likely to go – and end? It certainly is not going in the right direction, and mixed messaging only contributes to the risk of conflict.

The regiment has been deployed in every conflict since Independence and is the army’s emergency rapid response team
by Sandeep Unnithan
New Delhi: In the afternoon of December 11, 1971, Brigadier Abdul Qadir Khan and his officers stood on the veranda of the white Circuit House in Tangail, a town 78 km north-west of Dacca. It was a week after the Indian Army’s ‘race to Dhaka’ had been launched, a three-pronged ground offensive to capture the capital of East Pakistan. A Pakistani flag fluttered atop the building. Khan, the 93 Brigade commander and his officers were, in the words of Major Siddique Salik, ‘waiting for some bright idea to come. What came instead, were enemy aircraft, which started dropping men and machines.’
There was dismay as the skies darkened with the silhouettes of IAF An-12s, C-119s and Caribou. As a piece of equipment descended beneath its parachute, an officer exclaimed, ‘My God! That looks like a 3.7-inch howitzer!’ The officers watched as the 2nd battalion of the Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment, over 1,000 paratroopers led by their CO Colonel Kulwant Singh Pannu, carried out a textbook parachute landing. Later that evening, 2 Para linked up with the advancing 1 Maratha Light Infantry to cut off the 93 Brigade’s retreat towards Dhaka. Five days later, the entire East Pakistan military garrison surrendered to the Indian Army, as recounted in minute detail by Lt General A.A.K. Niazi’s public relations officer Major (later Brigadier) Salik, in his 1977 book, Witness to Surrender.
On August 13 this year, the 50th Parachute Brigade displayed its air-dropped jeep-mounted anti-tank units, artillery pieces and paratroopers at its home base in Agra. Present at the occasion were Lt General Yogendra Dimri, GOC-in-C of the Central Command and Para Brigade commander Brigadier P.K. Singh. Seventy-five parachutists jumped from IAF aircraft to commemorate India’s diamond jubilee celebrations. Appropriately so as the parachute regiment has seen action in all of India’s wars. Raised in 1941, it was deployed during the 1947-48 Kashmir War, the 1961 Liberation of Goa, the wars of 1962, 1965 and 1971 and the Kargil conflict of 1999.
Several countries around the world have airborne forces— described as infantry units carried into the combat theatre by aircraft and air-dropped into battle zones. Few outside the five members of the UN Security Council have the vast aviation assets required to launch such special units into the theatre. The Indian Army’s Parachute Brigade relies on IAF C-17, C-130s and IL-76s for deployment in battle. The Brigade is the army’s smallest force, comprising all arms and services and completely optimised for air insertion. It can also be ground-inserted, or moved across the seas on troop transport ships giving the army a versatile force and an instrument of what an army officer describes as ‘lethality, survivability and mobility’.
The Para Brigade comprises three battalions of around 800 soldiers each, backed by BMP-2 Infantry Combat Vehicles, a field artillery regiment, anti-tank and air-defence units, a field hospital, army engineers, signals, ordnance and provost units. The Brigade is fully self-contained because they are designed to be inserted behind enemy lines and hold out until they are joined by the main body of troops. They are designed to be airlifted at a few hours’ notice, the reason why the army almost always reaches for them in an emergency. In 1988, when the Maldives was besieged by mercenaries, president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom dialled then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi for assistance. The Indian Army flew the Para Brigade towards the atoll to repel the coup. During the Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015, the Brigade’s field hospital and engineer company were the first foreign aid units to land in Kathmandu. Lt General P.J.S. Pannu (no relation), a former deputy chief of army staff, recalls picking up the phone and asking for the Para Brigade commander. “I asked for the 60 Para field hospital to be deployed immediately, in self-contained mode for 15 days.”
Looking ahead, the Para Brigade offers valuable lessons for the army. A modernisation plan currently under way will see army divisions being replaced with Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs)– brigade-sized formations with artillery and armour. These compact all-arms and services fighting units are key to the Army’s ‘Cold Start’ war fighting strategy. They are designed to swiftly launch cross-border assaults in hours as opposed to days and weeks. IBGs will replace the infantry division with 12,000 soldiers as the primary striking arm of its field formations. More than just an idea whose time has come, the Parachute Brigade could be an idea which never really went away.

Tanks pull back from the banks of Pangong Tso lake, in Ladakh along the India-China border
The Chinese want Indian Army to move out soldiers deployed after the May 5, 2020, standoff which began with clashes at Finger 4 on the north bank of Pangong Tso
NEW DELHI: Disengagement from Gogra (Patrolling Point 17 A) at Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh has not changed troop deployment in the vicinity.
What worries Indian Army is the permanent construction of infrastructure on the Chinese side of the LAC.
“Both sides have moved back troops but there is no decrease in the number of troops in the vicinity,” said a source.
Bigger worry is the construction of infrastructure, habitat and defences, the source added. Indian Army had said on August 6 that disengagement was carried out and troops of both sides had moved back to their permanent bases.
Another source said the Chinese have troops with equipment all along the Western Highway.
“Their troops are at a distance of 150 km from Depsang, 100 km from Chushul and 60 km from Demchok.” India has maintained that only after complete disengagement, de-escalation will begin.
There have been major parlays to sort this out. And this time, the number of contentious locations along the LAC in Ladakh has increased.
The Chinese want Indian Army to move out soldiers deployed after the May 5, 2020, standoff which began with clashes at Finger 4 on the north bank of Pangong Tso.
It spread to multiple points including Hot Spring, Gogra, Galwan and Depsang.
Disengagement has taken place from Galwan (Patrolling Point 14), both banks of Pangong Tso and Gogra (PP 17A). The standoff continues at Depsang Bulge (PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 & 13) along around 972 sq km on both sides.

Dhyan Chand. File photo

Gurjit Singh

Hockey is back in the news, thanks to the superb performance of the Indian men’s and women’s teams in the Tokyo Olympics. Dhyan Chand is in the news too as the Khel Ratna Award has been named after him. This year’s Independence Day marks the 85th anniversary of India’s hockey gold at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

In 2016, we marked the 80th anniversary of the triumph with an exhibition during my tenure as India’s Ambassador to Germany. The India-Germany final was scheduled for August 14, 1936, but it was put off by a day due to rain. India, which had not conceded any goal in the run-up to the final, faced the motivated German team, which had trained for two years. Dhyan Chand, the Indian captain, came into his own in the second half. After changing his shoes, the hockey wizard powered India to an 8-1 rout of Germany. This was the third successive gold for India in hockey. At Tokyo 2020, it was again a win over Germany, as in 1936, that brought India back to the podium.

We did extensive research for our exhibition with the help of the German media and the hockey association. The Punjab Regimental Centre provided memorabilia that was showcased at the Indian embassy in Berlin. Dhyan Chand’s son Ashok Kumar was most helpful.

Though the exhibition coincided with the I-Day celebrations, we went ahead with it on August 15 to mark the 80th anniversary of the 1936 victory. Since most of Germany is on holiday in August, the prospects of getting a high-profile guest for the event were bleak. Luckily, we were introduced to the brother-sister duo of German hockey players Natascha and Florian Keller. She was part of the team that won the hockey gold in 2004, while her brother had done it in 2008.

What linked them to the event was their grandfather, Erwin, a member of the 1936 team that played against India. At our exhibition, our chief guests saw him in a German team photo for the first time.

There was always chatter about the Indian team not giving Hitler a raised-arm salute. The offer of an army commission to Dhyan Chand by Hitler is also part of the folklore. Indeed, the Indian team did not give a Nazi salute during the march past. A rare film from the archives confirmed it.

No mention of the army offer was found. Dhyan Chand’s autobiography, Goal, has no reference to it. If the offer had been made, he would have mentioned it. After all, he was a sharpshooter on the hockey turf, as none other.

Without doubt, today’s naval game is between the US and China’s PLA Navy in the western Pacific Ocean, which indisputably was the ‘Lake of America’ post World War-II, deployment of Soviet submarines during the Cold War notwithstanding. However, defence experts have identified severe defects in the US system which severely diminished the strength of its navy.

Changing equation: The US had replaced Great Britain’s pre-eminence at sea only to now confront a formidable challenge from China in the ocean. Reuters

Abhijit Bhattacharyya

Commentator and Author

As many as 76 years after US air power compelled Japanese sea power to unconditionally surrender by dropping atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, another August — in the 21st century — is seeing a mega escalation of tension and deployment of a fleet of combat vessels of the Australasian-American combination in the Indo-Pacific region. Purportedly, the July 2021 declaration of British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace suggests that the aim of deployment is: “We are committed to working with partners (in Indo-Pacific region) to defend democratic values, tackle shared threats and keep our nations safe.”

That sounds lofty, subject, however, to clarification pertaining to lack of definition or explanation. What are ‘democratic values’? How does one assess ‘shared threats’? Do ‘democratic values’ imply non-existence of ‘non-democratic values’? How many countries follow one and eschew the other? Aside, what are ‘shared threats’? Are these threats to economy, military, territory, sovereignty, trade, commerce, polity, air, water or cyberspace?

Whereas the deployment of the navies of the US, Japan, Australia and India till now lacks solidity (despite verbal solidarity), except for some ‘exercise’ here and there, the fresh entry of the UK, Germany, France and New Zealand has one fundamental commonality. All of them are deploying their forces far from their home base, several thousand kilometres away. Secondly, all heavily depend on bilateral trade/commerce with China. And thirdly, China has already entered deep into their economy, commerce, trade and industry through mass-scale indigenous production, thereby making herself a virtual monopoly producer-cum-supplier of essential, non-essential as well as critical finished and consumer goods.

How do then things play out? Owing to Chinese opaqueness? Reportedly, the real reason for all these dramatic deployment owes essentially to “Beijing’s militarisation”. That’s understandable. But can a rival’s militarisation, all by itself, be the sole cause of a potentially imminent and inevitable kinetic action on the waterfront? Is the militarisation of the ocean by the Communist Party of China (CPC) something new? Has it happened overnight? If not, then what were those deploying their battleships to ‘curb’ the Beijing flotilla today, doing thus far? Let’s do a rudimentary exploration of the scenario of naval expansion and expedition in the Indo-Pacific.

Without doubt, today’s naval game is between the US and the CPC-controlled PLA Navy in the western Pacific Ocean which indisputably was the ‘Lake of America’ post Second World War, deployment of Soviet submarines during the Cold War (1950-1991) notwithstanding. It was the age of Yankee Gulliver’s blue-water navy, surrounded by mud-water tiny deployable boats of the CPC coast guard.

The US could then boast of being the sole super sea power state, under President Ronald Reagan (1980s) when the Soviets were busy fighting a Vietnam-type war in the deathtrap, landlocked terrain of Afghanistan wherein Moscow had no use for its formidable fleet. By now, the USA had replaced Great Britain’s position of pre-Second World War “sea command and control” naval power.

After 30 years, however, one of the principal architects of the US navy doesn’t feel much about his country’s state of preparedness facing the Beijing fleet in its back bay. John F. Lehman, US Navy Secretary (1981-87), promoter of the idea of 600-ship navy, is dismayed. His words sound melancholic. “After a succession of Presidents ignorant of and uninterested in naval affairs, there’s an emerging realisation around the world that the US no longer possesses naval superiority and could lose a war at sea… It’s a result of… decades of catastrophic mismanagement.”

In fact, several prominent public figures of the US too hold a dim view of their once mighty fleet arm. They have identified severe defects in the US system which not only stymied the strategic role, but severely diminished the strength of its navy. It is owing to several generations of “lacklustre naval leaders” that the naval supremacy has dwindled dramatically. The American apprehension is so acute that Lt General David Nahom of the air force told the Congress: “China offensive threat is growing faster than projected. The threat is accelerating much more than we thought back in 2018.”

Is the US General right? No, he isn’t fully right. The decay began more than three decades ago. Thanks to complacent “democratic” world, led by the US’s monumental misjudgment to detect, confront and curb the secret and steady rise of an ‘autocratic’ CPC. It was all cash, commerce, capital and profit for the ‘democratic world’, convinced by one ‘autocratic’ state.

Warnings came from Jane’s Fighting Ships 1987-88: “The importance of the Pacific area as a strategic centre is slowly percolating into European minds… Any passage between Vladivostok and the South China Sea passes the doorsteps of Chinese navy… The Chinese naval air force and marine corps outnumber the total British naval personnel… The modernisation of Chinese navy is gathering momentum.”

Jane’s Fighting Ships 1988-89 gave another advance info: “Of all the world’s navies, the most difficult to assess is the Chinese. Decades of isolationism combined with preoccupation with coastal defence have restricted things. Yet, if a navy employs three hundred thousand people…it is a shame that it’s so difficult to acquire reliable information.”

Nevertheless, as “China now is willing to embrace more western technology, it is to be hoped that she will assist in giving a more accurate account of an expanding navy of which she can be justifiably proud, but which has a lot of catching up to do to achieve the Western standards of operational effectiveness”.

How misguided were the world’s ‘democratic’ nations which now regret their collective myopia and misjudgment, having woken up when water flows not under the hull of the fleet, but the waves pass overhead!

Now, let New Delhi also hear the wailing Tony Abbott, the former Australian PM who hosted CPC supremo Xi Jinping in 2014 and concluded the Canberra-Beijing bilateral free trade deal in 2015.

He wrote in The Australian: “China exploited West’s goodwill and wishful thinking to steal our technology and undercut industries…The basic problem is that China’s daunting power is a consequence of the free world’s decision to invite a communist dictatorship into global trading networks… In the process, China became much more powerful than the old Soviet Union ever was, because it is now rapidly developing a military, and spoiling for a fight over Taiwan.”

Is it better late than never? Is it ‘late’ or is it ‘never’? Hope, looking only at the sea doesn’t result in a debacle in the Asian heartland? As was thought of by US Naval Secretary John F. Lehman in the 1980s? To counter or attack the Soviet Union through the Siberian land-front, to penetrate the main Leningrad-Moscow-Stalingrad axis! So, ‘democracy’ needs be careful. Just as Taiwan, the South China Sea axis is the CPC fulcrum, the heartland Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) too cannot be ignored by the free world.

Photo for representational purpose only

New Delhi, August 13

Trained by Army veterans, selected people with disabilities will undertake an expedition from here to Siachen Glacier on Independence Day to create a new world record for the largest team of people with disabilities to reach the world’s highest battlefield. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually launched a series of events to mark 75 years of Independence. — TNS

Dhruv helicopter from an Army Aviation Corps squadron based at Pathankot had taken off on a routine sortie when it crashed into the dam

The unit will explore the digitally located wreckage at the depth of approximately 80-100 meters.

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 14

The Army has intensified the search operations for the wreckage of its Dhruv helicopter that had crashed into the Ranjit Sagar Dam on August 3 by flying in a Submarine Rescue Unit of Indian Navy to the crash site near Kathua in Jammu region. The bodies of the two pilots, a Lieutenant Colonel and a Captain, are also yet to be retrieved.

The unit will explore the digitally located wreckage at the depth of approximately 80-100 meters. The Indian Air Force lifted the heavy equipment for underwater search and rescue from Vishakhapatnam to Air Force Station Pathankot on the intervening night of August 13 and 14. 

Earlier, a small area of 60 meters by 60 meters had been localised and special sonar equipment flown in from Kochi was employed to enable the search operations to enter the final phase. On August 11, the Army had stated that the wreckage had been identified at a depth of approximately 80 meters from the surface of the reservoir.

The Indian Army and all other agencies to include Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, NDRF, Ranjit Sagar Dam Authority, local District Authorities including locals are sparing no efforts for bringing the operations to a final conclusion.  The reservoir is 25-km long, 8-km wide and more than 500-foot deep.

“Experts, specialised equipment and divers are being continuously flown in and international assistance is also being sought,” the Army’s Western Command had said. Divers from the Navy and the Army’s Special Forces have been involved in the search operation, along with multi-beam sonars, side scanners, remotely operated vehicles and underwater manipulators which have been flown in from Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai and Kochi.

The search continued unabated in spite of bad weather and rain. This deep underwater operation is especially challenging due to the near-zero visibility below 50 meters, owing to the colloidal nature of water in this season which adversely impacts accuracy of sonars and other sensors.

The Dhruv helicopter from an Army Aviation Corps squadron based at Pathankot had taken off on a routine sortie when it crashed into the reservoir. Only a part of the helicopter’s wreckage was recovered in the initial phase of the search. The Army has not officially released the names of the missing persons.

Sources said that this is the second incident involving Dhruv helicopters from the same squadron in the past about six months.

Another Dhruv from a different unit, also based at Pathankot, made a forced landing last week after suffering an oil leak, sources added.

CM requests it to go ahead with programme and warns the islanders that ‘anti-India activities’ will be dealt with an ‘iron fist’

Pramod Sawant. File photo

Panaji, August 14

The Navy has said that it has cancelled its plan to unfurl the national flag on Sao Jacinto island in South Goa on the Independence Day after local residents objected to it, following which state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant requested the naval authorities to go ahead with the Tricolour hoisting programme and warned the islanders that “anti-India activities” would be dealt with an “iron fist”.

Sawant said it was “unfortunate and shameful” that some people on the island were objecting to the hoisting of the flag, and added that  his government would not tolerate such acts.

As a part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate 75th Independence Day, the Ministry of Defence has planned unfurling of the national flag on islands across the nation between August 13 and 15, officials have said.

A spokesperson of the Navy’s INS Hansa base in Goa had said on Friday that a team from Goa Naval Area visited islands of Goa including Sao Jacinto island as part of this pan-India initiative.

“However, the plan at Jacinto island had to be cancelled as the same was objected to by the residents,” he said.

The island is located near Vasco town in South Goa district of the coastal state.

The naval official said that the nationwide ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative had been undertaken to instil a sense of patriotism and celebrate the run-up to the 75th year of Independence.

Reacting to the Navy’s announcement of cancelling the flag-hoisting programme, CM Sawant said on Twitter on Friday, “It is unfortunate and shameful that some individuals at St Jacinto Island have objected to Hoisting of the National Flag by the Indian Navy on the occasion of India’s Independence Day. I condemn this and want to state on record that my Government will not tolerate any such acts.” 

“I have requested the Indian Navy to go ahead with their original plan and have assured full cooperation from Goa Police. These attempts of Anti-India activities shall be dealt with an iron fist. It will always be Nation First,” he added. PTI