The war heroes will be honoured at Republic Day celebrations
All three officers have been decorated with the Vir Chakra ‘It is for the first time that the authoritieshave conceived such a proposal’
Air Vice-Marshal S. Sindhaghatta (retd)
MYSORE: During the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, a few forgotten heroes of the armed forces will be remembered and felicitated to make the event more meaningful.
The district administration has decided to honour three senior citizens of Mysore who were decorated with Vir Chakra for displaying exceptional courage and bravery in the face of the enemy during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak war.
The retired Armed Force personnel, who have been decorated with the gallantry award are Air Vice-Marshal (retd) Subbaramu Sindhaghatta, AVSM, VrC. He studied at Maharaja’s High School and is residing in Mysore; Colonel (retd) M.M. Ravi, VrC, an alumnus of St. Philomena’s College resides in Bangalore and Lt. Col. (retd) A.T. Ganapathy, VrC, a resident of Jayalakshmipuram in Mysore.
“It is for the first time that the authorities have conceived a proposal to honour defence personnel to mark the Republic Day celebrations. It was due to the efforts of the city-based Vekare Ex-servicemen Trust (VKET),” said its President M.N. Subramani. “Since the Republic Day also showcases the might of the Indian defence forces at the parade in New Delhi, we thought it fit to honour and felicitate retired defence personnel,” he added.
The award function will also be an occasion to bring to light the role played by these heroes. Mr. Sindhaghatta was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot in 1957. With over 7,000 hours of flying experience on all fighter and transport aircraft, he also served in various operational squadrons and commanded a MiG-21 fighter squadron called the Black Archers and took part in the 1965 and 1971 wars.
The Vir Chakra award citation recorded his bravery and noted that Mr. Sindhaghatta flew 32 missions of combat air patrol, escort and interception in adverse weather and pitch dark conditions in the vicinity of hilly areas and was instrumental in ensuring that the strike force was never threatened in any way by the enemy aircraft.
Similarly, Mr. Ravi, when commanding a company of Bihar Regiment as a Major, was assigned the task of capturing the enemy strong point in the Eastern Sector. During the assault, his company came under intense artillery, small arm and tank fire and he was seriously wounded by a shell splinter. Undeterred by the heavy bombings, Major Ravi led the charge and his company achieved its objectives.
Mr. Ganapathy commanding a company of a battalion of Sikh Light Infantry, was ordered to clear a point on the Kalidhar feature in Jammu and Kashmir, which, notwithstanding the cease-fire, had been encroached by Pakistani forces. He led his company in the face of stiff enemy opposition to achieve its objective of dislodging the enemy from key positions.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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