Sudhir Kumar Walia, AC, SM

Biography

Major Sudhir Kumar Walia (Service No. IC-47623) was born on 24 May 1968 in Jodhpur to an Army veteran father. He hailed from Banuri village, Palampur, Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. Commissioned through the National Defence Academy (1987) and the Indian Military Academy, he initially served in Sri Lanka with 4 Jat before volunteering for the elite 9 Para (SF) in 1990. A seasoned Special Forces officer, he was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry in September 1993 and a Bar to Sena Medal in January 1994 for his distinguished service in counter-insurgency operations. On 29 August 1999, during a counter-terrorism operation in the Haphruda forest, Kupwara district, Jammu & Kashmir, Major Walia single-handedly confronted approximately 20 heavily armed militants. In the fierce engagement that followed, he eliminated four militants before sustaining fatal gunshot wounds. Despite his grievous injuries, he continued directing operations via radio until he succumbed, displaying extraordinary courage and leadership of the highest order. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra — India's highest peacetime gallantry award — on 26 January 2000.