Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran

#ashokasays Did you know 122 :

Happy Independence Day to all of you.

Starting today for about 10 days I would like to remember a few soldiers of our great nation.
Every soldier is a hero, but before that he is a son, a father, a brother and a husband. In spite of all these responsibilities, the greater responsibility that they shoulder is a country’s safety. India has seen many wars in the past century. Indian soldiers were part of World War 1 & 2 before Independence. India has fought wars with Pakistan 4 times since the partition and once with China and during these wars we lost a lot of good men. The achievements of some soldiers deserve a special mention.

Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran

Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran was part of Operation Pawan in 1987. The operation was assigned to the Indian Peace Keeping Force to take control of Jaffna from LTTE in Sri Lanka.

On November 25th, 1987 when Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran was returning late night from search operations, his troop was ambushed by a group of militants. He kept his cool and encircled the militants from behind and boldly charged towards them. The militants were completely taken back by the bold counter-attack by Indian troops. Ramaswamy Parameswaran charged ahead and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with one of the militants and was shot in chest in the process. He snatched the rifle from the militant and shot him dead. In spite of being severely injured, he continued giving orders that inspired his troops even more. When the dust had settled, five militants were killed and their heavy weapons seized. He took his last breath on the same ground.

He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry medal, posthumously.