Army Chief pays homage to Operation Pawan bravehearts at National War Memorial

For the first time, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday (November 25, 2025) paid homage to soldiers who laid down their lives during Operation Pawan, the 1987 Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) mission in Sri Lanka.

A senior official said that until now only the families of the fallen soldiers and veterans who served in the operation gathered at the National War Memorial to mark the anniversary. “This time General Upendra Dwivedi paid homage to the braveheart soldiers of Operation Pawan that occurred in Sri Lanka in 1987,” the official stated.

General Dwivedi was accompanied by Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, Vice Chief of the Army, who himself participated in the operation as a young officer.

Operation Pawan was started in October 1987 and ended in 1990, resulted in hundreds of personnel killed and over a thousand injured.

Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi pays homage at the National War Memorial. Photo: Special Arrangement

In a solemn ceremony, the Army said, the COAS laid a wreath at the National War Memorial, honouring the bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice.

Joining him were Major General Ashok K. Mehta (retd.), Lieutenant Colonel Atul Kochar, MVC (retd.), and Mrs. Uma Parameswaran, wife of Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran, PVC (posthumous). Several serving personnel, veterans, and families were also present, paying heartfelt tributes in collective remembrance.

The IPKF received numerous gallantry medals — which included the PVC for Maj. Parameswaran, who died on November 25 in 1987 — and 98 Vir Chakras.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted a tribute on X, writing, “Remembering and paying tributes to Major Ramaswamy Parameswaran on his ‘Balidan Diwas’. He showed exceptional courage and leadership during ‘Operation Pawan’ in Jaffna. His supreme sacrifice and steadfast resolve remain a guiding light for our Armed Forces and our nation.”