Major Sudhir Kumar Walia, AC,

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatment ...

, SM &

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

(24 May 1969 – 29 August 1999), was an officer of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four ...

, who served in the elite 9 Para (SF). He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration, by the then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

, late K. R. Narayan, in January 2000.

Early life

Sudhir was born in a Kalal family on 24 May 1969 in Banuri, a village in the

Kangra district Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch. In 175 ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peak ...

, to an Army veteran

Subedar Major Subedar Major is the senior-most rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army, Indian and Pakistan Army, Pakistani Armies, formerly known as the Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History During the British Raj ...

Rulia Ram Walia and Smt. Rajeswari Devi. He attended the

Sainik School The Sainik Schools are a system of schools in India established and managed by the Sainik Schools Society under Ministry of Defence (MoD). They were conceived in 1961 by V. K. Krishna Menon, the then Defence Minister of India, to rectify the re ...

at Sujanpur Tihra. He then gained admission into the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

Khadakwasla Khadakwasla Dam is a dam on the Mutha River from the centre of the city of Pune in Maharashtra, India. The dam created a reservoir known as Khadakwasla Lake which is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs. In the vicinity of Khada ...

Army career

Sudhir graduated from the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set u ...

and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

in the 4th Battalion, The Jat Regiment on 11 June 1988. He was a member of the

Indian Peace Keeping Force Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lank ...

(IPKF), who were sent to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

on a peace mission. After he returned from Sri Lanka, he opted for the 9th Battalion, Para (SF), a special forces unit of the

that specializes in mountain operations. He also served two six-month terms at the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Ka ...

. He was promoted as a lieutenant on 11 June 1990. Walia was promoted as a captain on 11 June 1993, and was awarded the

Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...

in 1994 on two occasions for his gallantry while combating militancy in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administere ...

. In 1997, he was sent to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

for a specialized course and got the first position. He also spoke at the

Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek language, Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is ...

during this mission. For his competence, he was respectfully called 'Colonel' during that course. He was later deputed as an Aide-de-camp (ADC) to the then Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General

Ved Prakash Malik General Ved Prakash Malik PVSM, AVSM (born 1 November 1939) served as the 19th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 30 September 1997 to 30 September 2000. He was the Army Chief during the Kargil War. Honours and decorations Dates of ...

. When the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

broke out, he obtained a special permission from the COAS to go to the battlefield. Within ten days of his departure from Delhi, he led his team to capture Zulu Top at 5200 metres, in the

Mushkoh Valley The Mushkoh Valley is a valley situated in Dras. Also known as valley of wild tulips, which are a major attraction for tourists but it's yet to explore. Located within the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh. Widely considered to ...

sector. When asked about his attack on Zulu Top without needing to acclimatize, Major Sudhir said: ''"Sir, you know that I'm a pahari (from the mountains). I don't need acclimatization."'' After the Kargil War ended, his team was assigned the duty of fighting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. On 29 August 1999, he led an assault on a militant hideout in the Haphruda jungles of

Kupwara Kupwara is a town and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal council Kupwara is an Urban Local Body with 13 elected members (also in Delimitation in progress for wards), which ad ...

district in Jammu and Kashmir. He killed 9 of the 20 militants present, and sustained several gunshot wounds in the process. Though he was unable to move, he continued to give orders to his team till they succeeded. He allowed himself to be evacuated only 35 minutes after the operation ended. He was airlifted to an Army hospital but succumbed to the injuries en route. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

, the highest peacetime military decoration in India.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walia, Sudhir Kumar 1969 births 1999 deaths Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) People from Kangra district Para Commandos Indian Military Academy alumni National Defence Academy (India) alumni Recipients of the Sena Medal Ashoka Chakra Ahluwalia