New Delhi

The Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday paid homage at the National War Memorial to honour the sacrifice of Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran and other soldiers during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s.

Major Parameswaran laid down his life on this day in 1987.

Operation Pawan, undertaken under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord signed on 29 July 1987, marked India's first major overseas peacekeeping deployment. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) entered Sri Lanka in August 1987, tasked with disarming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and stabilising the Jaffna Peninsula. At its peak, the IPKF strength reached nearly 100,000 personnel, who operated in intense counter-insurgency conditions until March 1990.

General Dwivedi observed a moment of silence at the memorial complex, which honours India's fallen soldiers from post-Independence conflicts. Major Parameswaran's bravery remains etched as one of the most inspiring acts of battlefield leadership in Indian military history. He sacrificed his life on November 25, 1987, during an ambush with militants.

Major Parameswaran, commissioned into the 8 MAHAR regiment, was leading a search operation in Sri Lanka on 25 November 1987 when his column was ambushed by militants. Showing exceptional presence of mind, he manoeuvred his troops into a tactical advantage and led a counter-assault. Despite being shot in the chest during hand-to-hand combat, he wrestled the rifle back from his attacker and neutralised the militant.

Mortally wounded, Major Parameswaran continued to command and motivate his troops until he succumbed to his injuries. His leadership resulted in the elimination of five militants and the recovery of weapons. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for conspicuous gallantry, according to a citation.

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The Indian Army reaffirmed that the courage, duty and sacrifice of soldiers like Major Parameswaran will continue to inspire generations.