Sushil Aima, KC

Biography

Major Sushil Aima was born on 15 July 1966 in Srinagar, into a distinguished Kashmiri family; one uncle, Mohanlal Aima, was a driving force behind the post-1947 revival of Kashmiri music, while another, Omkar Aima, was a noted stage and film actor. As a Class 12 student in the mid-1980s, Sushil quietly applied to the National Defence Academy, fearing his family would object, and told his father only after his selection in 1985. Commissioned into the Air Defence Artillery Corps in 1988, he grew into a committed soldier admired for his courage, initiative and leadership, notably during service in the militancy-hit Doda district. Promoted to Major in 1997, he was later deputed to the 17 Rashtriya Rifles battalion for counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. On the night of 1 August 1999, his unit received intelligence that a large group of foreign mercenaries had gathered on a nearby hill, planning to attack a village in Poonch district. Major Sushil planned and led a cordon-and-assault operation that turned into a fierce seven-hour engagement. He gunned down two terrorists, and though grievously wounded by a bullet to his left temple, he killed a third with a revolver in his left hand and shielded an injured comrade. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra for his exceptional gallantry and supreme sacrifice.