Army pays first official tribute to Operation Pawan martyrs after 35 years

Morethan three decades after 1,171 Indian soldiers were martyred and over 3,500 wounded during Operation Pawanin SriLanka, the Indian Army on Tuesday paid its first-ever official tribute to the fallen, with Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi leading a solemn wreathlaying ceremony at the National War Memorial.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

The Army chief was accompanied by Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS). It is pertinent to mention herethat the VCOAS, as a young officer, had been a part of Operation Pawan.

Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singhalso paid tributes toMajor RParameshwaran, the only Param Vir Chakra awardee from Operation Pawan.

“Remembering and paying tributes to Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran on his ‘Balidan Diwas. Heshowed exceptional courage and leadership during ‘Operation Pawan’ in Jaffna. His supreme sacrifice and steadfast resolve remain a guiding light for our Armed Forces and our nation,” he wrote in a post on X.