Ashwini Kumar Kanva, VSM

Biography

Major Ashwini Kumar Kanva was born on 1 October 1958 in Delhi, into a devout and simple Arya Samaji family; his father, Shri Amolak Kanva, retired as the principal of a Delhi school. He completed his medical education at a Delhi medical college and joined the Indian Army in November 1982, commissioned into the Army Medical Corps as a Captain. He was promoted to Major in May 1987. His first posting took him to a high-altitude unit in Ladakh, where he served for three years, after which he was attached to the Secunderabad-based 93 Field Regiment. In July 1987, following the India–Sri Lanka Accord, Operation Pawan was launched, and on 25 October 1987 Major Kanva moved to Sri Lanka with his unit as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force. As one of the few medical officers deployed in the war zone, he tended to large numbers of casualties during the intense fighting around Jaffna. On 3 November 1987, while treating wounded soldiers at an army camp on the outskirts of Jaffna, he was shot at point-blank range by an LTTE sniper who had infiltrated the camp disguised as a patient. Major Kanva succumbed to his injuries. For his courage and devotion to duty, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal.