Rama Raghoba Rane

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Rama Raghoba Rane

Rama Raghoba Rane was part of 37 Assault Field Company attached to 4 Dogra that was part of the action during 1947-48 Indo-Pak war. Indian troops were on pursuit from Naushahra to Rajauri through an old Mughal route. Things started to get a little intense as they advanced forward. Beyond Barwali, Pakistanis had placed numerous road blocks and minefields that had to be cleared for forward progression of the battalion. These roadblocks had heavy mortar nests that made it difficult even for the armored tanks to pass through.

On 8th April, Rane and some of his men were injured by heavy mortar fire while clearing mines. In spite of his severe injuries, he and his men worked through the night to clear the roadblocks and mines and even on the 9th of April for 12 continuos hours they toiled to clear these obstacles amidst heavy firing. The next day on 10thof April, he cleared the biggest road block consisting of 5 huge pine trees surrounded by mines under heavy artillery fire within two hours and on the next day he continued to clear road blocks for 17 more hours. The operation cost Pakistanis 500 soldiers.

For his valiant efforts despite his injury, he was awarded Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest war-time gallantry award. As of the time of writing this article, he still lives on to tell his story.