Srinagar: A wreath-laying ceremony was organised by the Indian Army in the honour of first Param Vir Chakra of Indian Army, Major Somnath Sharma at the War Memorial, located at Srinagar International Airport, a Defence Spokesperson said.
On behalf of Lt Gen DP Pandey, General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Brigadier Sumesh Seth, Commandant, the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre, paid homage to Maj Somnath Sharma, PVC (Posthumous) at the ‘Saviours of Kashmir’ War Memorial as a mark of respect to this gallant son of India, who had made the supreme sacrifice defending Kashmir against Pakistan Forces at Budgam, he added.
Besides officers and men of the Army, representatives from other security forces, civil administration and airport authorities also laid the wreath and paid tribute to the gallant soldier.
Maj Sharma, born on January 31, 1922 in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, was commissioned in the 4th battalion of Kumaon Regiment on October 22, 1942.
“Maj Somnath Sharma led the ‘D’ Company of 4 Kumaon and established a base at Budgam against the Pakistani Forces approaching Srinagar from Northern direction on November 3, 1947. Despite facing a numerically superior enemy force supported by small arms, mortars and heavy automatic weapons, Maj Sharma and his company held on to their positions and foiled the enemy’s advance towards the Srinagar airfield for crucial hours. In this decisive battle of 1947, Maj Sharma, along with one Junior Commissioned Officer and 20 Other Ranks made the supreme sacrifice, defending the motherland against all odds,” the Spokesperson said.
Maj Sharma was conferred upon the country’s first and highest war time Gallantry Award, the Param Vir Chakra, posthumously.
“His supreme sacrifice played a vital role in India’s victory in the first war fought after Independence,” he added. (UNI)
