Chandra Bhushan Dwivedi, SM

Biography

Major Chandra Bhushan Dwivedi was born on 2 January 1961 in Purnahiya, Sheohar district, Bihar. He joined the Indian Army at the age of twenty in 1981 and was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery, going on to serve with the 315 Field Regiment. During the 1999 Kargil War, as Second-in-Command of the 315 Field Regiment, he coordinated crucial artillery fire support for the infantry assaults on a string of strategically vital objectives, among them Tololing, Tiger Hill and Point 4875. His regiment was the first artillery unit inducted into Drass, on 14 May 1999, and delivered sustained fire support under extreme and hostile high-altitude conditions. On 2 July 1999, while personally supervising the gun positions and directing fire for the assault on Tiger Hill, Major Dwivedi was struck by enemy shrapnel. Despite his grievous injuries he refused to withdraw and continued to direct artillery fire until he laid down his life, an act of exceptional devotion to duty for which he was awarded the Sena Medal. His courage and steadfast sense of duty remain an abiding inspiration.