Ummer Fayaz Parrey

Biography

Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz Parrey hailed from Sudsona village in the Kulgam district of Jammu & Kashmir, where he was born on 8 June 1994 into a modest farming family. He studied at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Anantnag, and his determination carried him through the National Defence Academy entrance examination and on to the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Rajputana Rifles on 10 December 2016. As one of the few young officers from the Kashmir Valley, he became a role model for local youth, inspiring many to look towards a life of service in the Armed Forces. He was deployed in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu & Kashmir. On 9 May 2017, while on leave to attend his cousin's wedding at Batapura in Shopian district, Lieutenant Fayaz was abducted by militants. His body was later recovered from Harmain village. He laid down his life at the young age of twenty-two, and is remembered with deep respect for the courage and conviction with which he chose to serve his nation.