NEW DELHI: In a long-awaited gesture to Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) veterans who served in Sri Lanka during the late 1980s, the Army Chief will pay homage at the National War Memorial (NWM) on Tuesday to honour Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran and all soldiers who laid down their lives during Operation Pawan.
This will be the first large-scale official commemoration in India for personnel who died in the operation. The NWM currently has no plaque specifically recognising the Army’s sacrifices during the mission.
Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi and Vice Chief Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh will lay wreaths at the memorial in honour of the 1,171 Indian soldiers who were killed—and 3,500 wounded—during Operation Pawan.
Launched in October 1987, Operation Pawan was India’s first major overseas military intervention, aimed at disarming Tamil militant groups such as the LTTE to help restore peace. It ended on a sour note when the Sri Lankan government requested the withdrawal of the IPKF in early 1990.
For years, IPKF veterans have sought an officially designated remembrance day, similar to the commemorations for the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the 1999 Kargil conflict. Operation Pawan saw numerous gallantry awards, including the Param Vir Chakra for Maj Parameswaran—who was killed on November 25, 1987—and 98 Vir Chakras.
“While Sri Lanka built a memorial for the IPKF in Colombo, India still has no formal day of commemoration. Each year, a small group of veterans, widows and families gather privately at the NWM,” an IPKF veteran noted.
Lt Gen Singh, the Army Vice Chief, was himself seriously injured as a young second-lieutenant in July 1989 during a firefight between his 4 Para-Special Forces unit and the LTTE.
“The gesture reflects the Army’s collective respect for the bravehearts and reinforces the enduring bond between serving personnel, veterans and families of the fallen,” an officer said.
