'Fulfilled Father's Wishes,' 'Served for 22 Years': The Lives of 3 of the Armymen martyred in Ladakh

Twenty Indian soldiers have been martyred in the violent face-off between India and China. Of them, three have been identified.

 L to R : Havildar Palani, Colonel Santosh Babu and Sepoy Ojha. Photos: PTI 

Late on Tuesday night, the Indian Army confirmed that the number of Indian soldiers martyred in the “violent face-off” with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night had risen to 20.

For most of Tuesday, the number was thought to be 3, following an Army statement in the afternoon, although suspected to be indeed higher. While the identities of the 17 armymen who were martyred in action has not been made public yet, the 3 who are believed to have passed away first were later identified as Colonel Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer 16 Bihar regiment, Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha.

Not much is known yet about Sepoy K.K. Ojha, who was originally from Dihari village of Sahebganj district in Jharkhand. While social media has it that he became a father just 17 days ago and is 26 years old, this information has not been confirmed yet.

जब जब देश की सीमा, संप्रभुता पर हमला हुआ है, झारखंडी सपूतों ने अपने प्राणों की आहुति दे उसकी रक्षा की है।

चीनी अतिक्रमण को मूंहतोड़ जवाब देते हुए झारखंड के वीर सपूत कुंदन कुमार ओझा शहीद हुए।साहिबगंज जिले के डिहारी गांव के एक कृषक परिवार से आने वाले कुंदन जी के शहादत को शत शत नमन pic.twitter.com/nMQRlzey0Y

— Hemant Soren (घर में रहें - सुरक्षित रहें) (@HemantSorenJMM) June 16, 2020

The news agency PTI has reported on the backgrounds of Colonel Santosh Babu and Havildar Palani. Some of this information is as follows.

Colonel Santosh Babu

The Indian Army officer martyred in the violent clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, Colonel Santosh Babu, had joined the forces to fulfil his father’s personal dreams of serving the country and had been expecting a posting to Hyderabad soon.

 Colonel Santosh Babu. Photo: PTI 

This is the first such incident between the two countries involving fatalities after a gap of 45 years, signalling a massive escalation in the five-week border standoff in the sensitive region.

The martyred officer’s father said while he could not live his dreams of serving the armed forces, his son did.

“I could not join the Army and serve my country. So I wanted my son to join the defence forces and serve our country. My relatives discouraged the idea,” B. Upender, father of the martyred Colonel and a retired banker, said.

Babu, who was from Suryapet district in Telangana, served in the 16 Bihar regiment as Commanding Officer, his father said.

He is survived by his wife, daughter and son, who live in Delhi.

Colonel Babu had spoken to his mother on Sunday where the conversation centred around the ongoing tensions. Though ‘crestfallen,’ she is “proud” that her son sacrificed his life for the nation, she said.

Havildar K. Palani

The soldier from Tamil Nadu who was among the three men marytred in Ladakh in the violent face off with Chinese troops, had served in the Army for 22 years and was due to retire in a year, his family and state parties said in Chennai on Tuesday.

 Havildar Palani. Photo: PTI 

Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami has announced a solatium of Rs 20 lakh to the family of the martyred soldier, K. Palani of Kadukkalur village in Ramanathapuram district. He also said that one of the family members would be given a government job.

The village in southern Tamil Nadu was engulfed in gloom as news of Palani’s death reached. Family sources told PTI that Palani served the Army as a Havildar and had joined the armed forces at the young age of 18.

His brother is also in the Army and is posted in Rajasthan. Palani’s wife Vanathi Devi said her husband had not even participated in the recent house warming ceremony of their house as he was on duty.

 Source: The Wire