NEW DELHI: On the first anniversary of the Galwan valley clashes, the Indian Army on Tuesday released a video song in a tribute to the Indian soldiers who fought valiantly in a fierce hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops in the treacherous region of eastern Ladakh to defend India’s territorial integrity.
Sung by popular singer Hariharan, the song titled ”Galwan ke Veer” highlights the valour of the Indian troops guarding the Galwan and some other inhospitable regions along the country”s northern frontier and says the “heroes” had risen to the occasion when challenged on the mountains. The nearly five-minute video captured glimpses of the lives of soldiers deployed along the ice-capped mountains of the high-altitude region including their round-the-clock vigil, training and combat readiness to deal with any threat. On the first anniversary of the deadly clashes, the Army said the supreme sacrifice of the soldiers will be “eternally etched” in the memory of the nation.
Twenty Indian Army personnel laid down their lives in the clashes on June 15 last year in Galwan Valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in decades. In February, China officially acknowledged that five Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in the clashes with the Indian Army though it is widely believed that the death toll was higher. Both sides rushed in a large number of battle tanks, armoured vehicles and heavy equipment in the high-altitude areas of the region after tension escalated following the deadly clashes. Colonel Bikumalla Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, had led from the front against the Chinese aggression near Patrolling Point 14 in Galwan Valley. In January, he was posthumously awarded Mahavir Chakra, the second-highest military award for acts of gallantry in the presence of the enemy. The Army last year built a memorial for the ”Gallants of Galwan” at Post 120 in eastern Ladakh.
The memorial mentioned their heroics under operation ”Snow Leopard” and the way they evicted the PLA troops from the area while inflicting “heavy casualties” on them. The names of the 20 Army personnel were also inscribed on the National War Memorial in Delhi in January last. The two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February following a series of military and diplomatic talks.
They are now engaged in talks to extend the disengagement process to the remaining friction points.
