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Army Chief Leads First Official Tribute to Operation Pawan at National War Memorial

The ceremony ends decades of private remembrance by IPKF veterans and families, signaling long‑sought institutional recognition.

Overview

  • General Upendra Dwivedi laid a wreath on November 25 at the National War Memorial, joined by Vice Chief Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, who served in the operation as a young officer.
  • Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid respects to Major R. Parameswaran, the sole Param Vir Chakra awardee from the campaign, on his death anniversary.
  • Reporting places the IPKF toll at about 1,171 soldiers killed and roughly 3,500 wounded during the 1987–1990 deployment in Sri Lanka.
  • Veterans, widows and families, including Uma Parameswaran, gathered with serving personnel for the first officially led commemoration.
  • Sri Lanka has long maintained an IPKF memorial in Colombo, while India had no formal observance despite years of consideration by the Ministry of Defence.