Sushil Aima, KC

Biography

Major Sushil Aima was born on 15 July 1966 in Srinagar, into a distinguished Kashmiri family. In the mid-1980s, while still a Class 12 student, he applied to the National Defence Academy without telling his family, fearing they would object; when he was selected in 1985, his father, an insurance officer, responded with surprise rather than anger. A keen computer enthusiast, Sushil grew into a committed soldier. He was commissioned in 1988 into the Air Defence Artillery Corps (later renamed Army Air Defence) and earned his seniors' admiration for bravery, initiative and leadership, notably during his tenure in the militancy-hit Doda district. Promoted to Major in 1997, he was deputed to the 17 Rashtriya Rifles battalion for counter-terrorism operations in Jammu & Kashmir. On the night of 1 August 1999, intelligence reported a large group of foreign mercenaries massing on a nearby hill, planning to attack a village in Poonch district. Major Sushil planned and led a cordon-and-assault operation. In a fierce seven-hour engagement, he shot down two terrorists; though gravely wounded by a bullet to his left temple, he killed a third with his revolver held in his left hand and covered an injured comrade to safety. He was martyred at the age of 32, having fought bravely to his last breath. For his exceptional courage, leadership and supreme sacrifice, Major Sushil Aima was awarded the Kirti Chakra (Posthumous).