New Delhi: For the first time since the last soldier of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) left Sri Lankan soil, nearly 36 years ago, the Army paid tribute to those who laid down their lives in the operation that lasted over three years.
Chief of Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi laid a wreath at the National War Museum in New Delhi on Tuesday in the memory of the 1,171 Indian lives lost in the island nation.
November 25 was chosen as it was on this date in 1987 that Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran of the 8th Battalion of the Mahar Regiment made the supreme sacrifice during Operation Pawan, the most significant operation undertaken by the IPKF in Sri Lanka.
The valiant officer was decorated with Param Vir Chakra (PVC), the country’s highest gallantry award. It was the only PVC to be awarded to the IPKF.
The Sri Lankan operations were India’s first major overseas military campaign post-1971. While its political, diplomatic and intelligence aspects continue to be debated, the operations were considered to be tactically successful, albeit as a heavy human cost.
Apart from the 1,171 troops killed, nearly 3,500 were wounded.
While veterans have been holding private remembrance ceremonies to honour the bravehearts, there had never been an official event to recognise the sacrifices.
Veterans, for long, have been campaigning for official recognition and commemoration of the Sri Lanka operations.
The IPKF was deployed in Sri Lanka from July 1987 to March 1990, under a bilateral accord to disarm Tamil militant groups, particularly the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and end the civil war in that country.
Initially envisioned as a quick and low intensity operation with little armed engagements, it quickly escalated into intense combat after strong resistance from militant groups, resulting in grueling battles involving jungle warfare, urban assaults and counter-insurgency operations and throwing up some hard lessons.
Operation Pawan was the code name for the IPKF campaign to take control of the Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka from the LTTE and to enforce its disarmament as a part of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.
In brutal fighting lasting about three weeks, the IPKF took control of the Jaffna Peninsula from the heavily armed LTTE, something that the Sri Lankan Army had earlier tried but failed to do.
Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran was returning from a search operation in Sri Lanka, late at night on November 25, 1987, when his column was ambushed by a group of militants.
“With cool presence of mind, he encircled the militants from the rear and charged into them, taking them completely by surprise. During the hand-to-hand combat, a militant shot him in the chest. Undaunted, Major Parameswaran snatched the rifle from the militant and shot him dead. Gravely wounded, he continued to give orders and inspired his command till he breathed his last. Five militants were killed and three rifles and two rocket launchers were recovered and the ambush was cleared,” the citation for his PVC reads.
“Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran displayed the most conspicuous gallantry and thought nothing of dying at his post,” it adds.
