Rifleman Nihal Gurung cremated with full military honours

7:51 PM

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Martyr

Sanjay Pathak Kathua, August 26 Rifleman Nihal Gurung, who was martyred during a landmine blast near the Balbir Post in the Keran sector on Sunday, was cremated with full military honours at Gagrote village in Basohli sub-division of Kathua district.

Rifleman Gurung sustained critical injuries in the blast and was taken to a 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar where he succumbed to his injuries. Rifleman Gurung, 22, was the only son of his parents. He joined the Army in 2014.

He was third generation soldier in his family. His father and grandfather had also served in the armed forces. While his father was with 2 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles and retired in 2004, his grandfather had retired as a subedar in 1983. His uncle Nirpat Gurung retired from the Army this year.

Rifleman Gurung was to get married next year.

Earlier, a pall of gloom descended on the Basohli sub-division as the news of his death spread. Thousands of people from all walks of life took part in Rifleman Gurung’s final journey and bid him a tearful adieu. People converged at his home in large numbers to mourn the loss of the braveheart.

Political leaders also attended the funeral possession, but no senior official of the district administration was present.

Army pays tributes to braveheart

Srinagar: The Army on Sunday paid a befitting tribute to late Rifleman Nehal Gurung who was martyred in the line of duty in the Keran sector of Kupwara district on Sunday. In a solemn ceremony at Badamibagh Cantonment, Chinar Corps commander Lt Gen AK Bhatt and all ranks paid homage to the soldier on behalf of a proud nation. Rifleman Gurung sustained fatal injuries during counter-infiltration duty in the Keran sector. “He was provided immediate first aid and evacuated to the 92 Base Hospital, but unfortunately he succumbed to his injuries,” an Army statement said.

Via Tribune

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Rifleman Nehal Gurung Martyred in J&K

8:12 PM

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Martyr

Rifleman Nehal Gurung laid down his life in the line of duty in Keran sector, Jammu & Kashmir in an landmine explosion near Line of Control (LOC) on Saturday. In the other explosion, a soldier identified as Abhishek Chetri sustained multiple splinter injuries and has been hospitalised.

On 25th of August 2018, Nehal and his platoon were on a routine patrol, when an IED blast caused him grievous injuries. He was immediately evacuated to Srinagar, but sadly he couldn’t be saved.

According to the official a landmine blast took place near Balbir Post in Keran sector in the early morning today when army men were conducting routine patrol. In the blast, Rifleman Nehal Gurung sustained critical injuries and was evacuated to army hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed to injuries.

Army has planted landmines at several places along the LoC to prevent infiltration of militants and Border Action Team (BAT) attacks by Pakistani troops. Meanwhile, a Special Police Officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir Police posted at Police Station Shopian in south Kashmir fled from the police station along with an AK-47 rifle today.

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REMEMBERING THE MARTYRS OF GORKHALAND AGITATION

8:03 PM

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Martyr

REMEMBERING THE MARTYRS: "I regret that I have only one son to sacrifice for Gorkhaland" - The Gorkha Mother

Writes: Chandan Pariyar

Every time a gust of smoke comes out of the barrel of a gun, its ominous sound, floating with the clouds, worried hearts beat faster, but somewhere, the heart of a mother bleeds to death. How must it feel for her, when her son who had promised to come back in the evening from the rally, returned home instead with a crown of bullets on his head. The sight of her son's body being brought home on four shoulders gives her great pain, much greater than the pain she felt during his birth.
She dies a thousand times feeling her son's cold body.

All the memories of the past, accomplishments of the present and hopes of the future, lay wrapped in the white cloth that covered his face. Like every mother, she had hoped that her son would be by her side, taking care of her when her age old limbs confined her to bed, that he would carry her to Sinchel Dham, when she was not able to walk in her last days. Now as the rolling mist came down and hid the town, the roaring sounds of "Jai Gorkha! Jai Gorkhaland!" reverberated across the valley, she could see in the moonbeams his silver hands and silver eyes. Just last night, the mother and son had sat together on the verandah, talking about their plans for celebration of what would be the most joyful day of their lives - the formation of Gorkhaland. But sadly, life had different plans for them.

He had woken up late that day and asked her to pack some roti and sabzi for him to carry. If only she had known he would meet his fate that day, she would have fed him with her own hands. If only she had got him married when he had asked, he would have at least left her a grandchild, his legacy. If only...

During the 80s, he had seen his father climb the hill at the back of their house, every evening as the light fell short, and take shelter in the jungle along with others. He could not understand why his father had to leave the house and he asked his mother every day. Then when the CRPF raided his house in search of his father, he had found his answer. Even then, as a child, he had tried to express his anger by throwing stones at the raiding party as they were leaving, and his mother had run to stop him. As she sat beside him, gently cleaning the blood off his face, all these memories passed through her mind.

Now a large crowd was gathering in her house. They spilled across the verandah and into the road below and beyond. People of all ages, caste and creed, irrespective of their religion and status, had come to bid her son farewell, and to catch a glimpse of the fallen hero. 'Who were these people who had gathered here?' She wondered. 'Where had they come from'. And in that painful moment, her heart swelled with pride, and she was released from the agony of losing her only son. She consoled herself that he had given up his life for a great cause, and in this she found renewed courage and strength. Suddenly she felt a great sense of hurriedness crop in her, an urgency to get over with the rituals quickly - 'There are more sons who have died, and these people must go and console their mothers too' She said to herself.  As she kissed him on his forehead for one last time, she promised him that his sacrifice would not go in vain.

As the mist followed the crowd to the burial place, the cries of 'Jai Gorkha! Jai Gorkhaland!! Long live our Shahid (Martyr)!!' could be heard from every nook and corner of the town. People followed with their khadas and respect for the shahid, every lip carrying a prayer for him. There was not a dry eye in the crowd, as the flames engulfed his body. She looked around at the countless unknown faces in the crowd, brought together only by the cause her son died for, and right at that moment her heart found resounding assurance and she felt a surge of energy within her. She knew the fight would go on.

The mother stood in the corner, amidst the mass of people and murmured to herself  "I regret that I have only one son to sacrifice for Gorkhaland".

Via TheDC

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Rfn Bikas Gurung martyred in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir

4:15 PM

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Martyr

Son of the soil Indian Gorkha Rfn Bikas Gurung Indian Army got martyred during ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Nowshera area of Jammu & Kashmir today.

Bikash was a Gorkha Jawan From Manipur.

"Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of mortars on routine Indian Army patrol, 700 metres inside Indian territory in Naushera sector along the Line of Control (LoC) Saturday morning," a senior army officer told PTI.

In the exchange of fire, Rifleman Bikas Gurung of 2/1 Gorka Rifles was grievously injured and succumbed to injuries. The 21-year-old soldier belonged to Khunka Khuki village of Manipur, and is survived by his mother.

May his soul rest in peace and may God give strength and courage to his family and friends.

RIP Brother

Jai Hind Jai Gorkha

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HILLS STILL MOURNING

5:43 PM

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West Bengal

Writes Swadhin Rai

"They said fight and many lost their lives leaving families devastated. We lost our dignity; lost the battle and sold our soul, yet we denied. Time and again we hated the policies and the dividing intention of Mamta Government, when in fact the problem was always with us.

Then again they sponsored us to celebrate through different medium. Celebrate our defeat. They said sing and we sang; dance and we danced. Our soul has completely eroded, emotions out of our reach, we don't even feel and influence on the direction that seems shiny and decorated and yet we talk about achieving our goal.

Listen to the voices of hills. Your smiles are fake. You have lost your voice and the act is just insanity manifesting itself.

When are we going to learn to honor the sacrifices made by people who died for us?

People, hear the voice of hills, she is still mourning."

[In pic: The tender fingers of the youngest daughter of Barun Bhujel affectionately touch her father's face. Barun Bhujel, a ward commissioner and Gorkhaland supporter died, while in the custody of West Bengal Police]

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Legend who saved Kargil, Subedar Harka Bahadur Rana, Military Cross

6:34 PM

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Martyr

July 26th is celebrated across India as the Kargil Vijay Diwas to commemorate the glorious victory of India over the Pakistani forces in 1999.

But what about the forces themselves? What do they celebrate?

When it comes to Kargil there is only One Hero – in fact a LEGEND who stands the tallest. As far as the forces are concerned there is One Giant who along with his brave comrades literally saved Kargil for India, and that did not happen in 1999.

It happened in 1948, during independent India’s first war.

We proud to present the story of a Gorkhali legend who has continued to inspire generations of soldiers serving in for the Indian army in Kashmir.

Subedar Harka Bahadur Rana

INDEPENDENCE BLUES
Barely few months after independence, Pakistan invaded India via Kashmir with overwhelming number of forces, and such was the disadvantage our troops were in, that India was on the verge of losing entire Kargil region to Pakistan.

The main problem was that our troops could not reach the battlefield due to lack of roads, and they had to reach Leh via Zojila , Drass, and Kargil. Despite poor facilities and equipment, hard work by our Engineers helped in moving the Tanks to reach up to the Zojila pass - in what is called THE BATTLE FOUGHT ON DONKEY TRACKS - But it was still a long way from the actual battle field.

GORKHALIS ON THE MARCH
As in Kargil in 1999 when the 1/11 Gorkhas were the First battalion to be deployed for Kargil, back in 1948 it was the 1/5 Gorkha Rifles under the command of (then) Lt. Col Anant Singh Pathania, who was incidentally the first Indian officer to command the Gorkha Rifles and win a Military Cross, began moving northwards in the direction of Kargil.

During the course of the 1948 war, the most fearful battle was fought for the then Khera bridge which connects Kargil to the rest of India and it was vital to both the sides from strategic, military and geopolitical aspects.

Since the Pakistanis had captured the Kargil area, they were well entrenched in the area with superior firing positions and well supplied armoury. On the other hand the Indian army had been on a move for a while and the supplies were not as regular, also they were in inferior positions which exposed them to firing by Pakistani troops.

THE BATTLE AT KHERA BRIDGE
The 1/5 Gorkha Rifles were engaged by a strong force of Pakistani defenders at Khera bridge over the river Shingo. The battle was so fierce and the Indian troops were so disadvantaged that at one stage of the war the capture of the bridge seemed to be by all means impossible and unlikely. Until one Gorkha soldier decided that loss or withdrawal was simply not an option.

The main problem for the Indian troops was that, the enemy were too well set and they could not keep on fighting the enemy from a distance, they needed to take the fight to the enemy or give up. The battle was fierce and most of the troops guarding the bridge were American trained Pak soldiers with heavy machine guns.

Despite all the odds young Subedar Harka Bahadur Rana and his valiant men of 1/5 GR managed to cross the Shingo river, take the fight to the enemy in the positions where they had felt invincible, and beat them into surrendering or retreating.

SUPREME SACRIFICE
Sub. Harka Bahadur and many of his friends died in the operation but the Gorkhas marched ahead till they fought up to Kargil. As one of the picture will show, before Sub Harka Bahadur and his friends decided enough was enough, it was Pakistan on the other side of the bridge, now the border is more than 5kms away.

Given that so many of our brave hearts have given their supreme sacrifice for our motherland in Kashmir, nowhere in Ladakh or entire Kashmir will you see a memorial solely dedicated to a single person. The memorial dedicated to Sub Harka Bahadur is an exception.

Sub Harka Bahadur Rana earned that rarest of the rare honour not only due to his valour and dedication for our motherland, but also for that rare indomitable spirit which turned the course of war and helped in conjoining Kashmir with India forever.

WE REMEMBER
Lt. Col. Anant Singh Pathania who commanded the mission was decorated with Mahavir Chakra, and Late Subedar Harka Bahadur Rana won Military Cross for his bravery and exploits. Today a new bridge has been built by Indian Army and is known as Harka Bahdur Rana Bridge.

In Military circles, it is said that the battle waged by Col. Phatania, Sub. Harka Bahadur Rana and their men of 1/5 Gorkha Rifles were one of the hardest battle ever fought.

While others chose to ignore or forget our brave hearts, we refuse to forget the real Legends of Kargil - like Harka Bahadur, without whom there would be no Kargil in India.

Jai Mahakali!! Ayo Gorkhali!!

[This article was published earlier in TheDC, and has been re-posted as ‪#‎KargilVijayDiwas‬ Special]

Via GYASA

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Anup Kumar Thapa Martyrd fighting Pakistani terrorist infilitrators in J&K

11:23 PM

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terrorism news

24th July 2016 J&K Salutes the service and sacrifice of ‪ brave heart Naik Anup Kumar Thapa, 1/3 Gorkha Rifles, who lost his life in action fighting Pakistani terrorist infilitrators at LoC Kupwara, J&K yesterday.

Terrorists attempting to infiltrate (from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) were intercepted by alert troops in the intervening night of July 22-23 which led to exchange of fire and forced the infiltrators to flee. Nk Thapa sustained injuries in the gun battle and unfortunately later succumbed.

Army today paid homage to Naik Anup Kumar Thapa, who was killed in exchange of fire when troops foiled an infiltration bid by militants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in the frontier Kashmir district of Kupwara yesterday.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel N N Joshi said Army paid rich tributes to the valour and martyrdom of Naik Thapa here.

Chinar Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Satish Dua paid tributes to Naik Anup Kumar Thapa at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar on Sunday.

Anup Kumar Thapa Martyrd fighting Pakistani terrorist

“The brave soldier was part of his unit’s Specialist Operational Team that intercepted a group of militants, which was attempting to infiltrate from across the Line of Control (LoC),” he said.

Col Joshi said in the ensuing exchange of fire, Naik Thapa sustained a gunshot wound, but unmindful of his injuries, he continued to engage the militants till the time they fled back.

“Naik Thapa was given first aid at the encounter site itself and thereafter evacuated, but unfortunately, the brave heart succumbed to his injuries,” he said.

Son of a priest from Dehradun, Naik Anup was known by his comrades as an extremely dedicated soldier who would not hesitate from taking on one challenging assignment after another.

“The 41-year-old soldier joined the Army at the tender age of 19 and had a lot of experience in counter militant operations, having had a previous tenure in Rashtriya Rifles also,” he said.

We convey our respects and deepest condolences to Nk Thapa's family.

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