Names of 20 Galwan Valley martyrs to be inscribed at National War Memorial as tribute

The names of the 20 Indian soldiers killed in the brutal clash at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 will be inscribed on the National War Memorial in Delhi, officials said on Wednesday.

The soldiers fought off numerically superior Chinese troops in the remote sector amid a border standoff that has been marked by several skirmishes.

Col B Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of 16 Bihar, was among the 20 soldiers killed in the seven-hour clash near Patrolling Point 14 in Galwan Valley, where outnumbered Indian troops inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The names of all battle casualties are inscribed on the memorial, the officials said.

During a recent visit to Ladakh, defence minister Rajnath Singh met and acknowledged the bravery of soldiers from 16 Bihar in the presence of the military’s top brass.

Beijing has not disclosed the number of fatalities it suffered in the Galwan Valley clash but according to India’s assessment the PLA suffered twice as many casualties.

Apart from 16 Bihar, soldiers from 3 Punjab, 3 Medium Regiment and 81 Field Regiment were involved in the first deadly clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) in more than five decades.

The Indian soldiers confronted the Chinese troops, who refused to remove their installations and vacate the area, triggering a violent clash that involved more than 600 rival soldiers at its peak.