An ode to a brave soldier

Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, Jan 03: ''Mummy, I will get you a Vir Chakra'', the last words uttered by Major M Saravanan to his mother, before leaving for the Kargil war, still reverberated. To register patriotic fervour and commemorate the selfless sacrifice of the brave soldier, a monument is getting ready at Rountana in the city here. Commissioned into the First Batallion (Infantry) of Bihar regiment in the year 1995, Major Saravanan, hailing from Tiruchirapalli city, rose to the rank of Major for his credentials. During the Pakistan sponsored Kargil invasion in 1999, Major Saravanan volunteered to capture a strongly held enemy point in the Batalik sub-sector in Jammu & Kashmir. On the night of May 28, 1999, Major Saravanan and his troops launched a fiery assault on point 4268, Jubar Hills at a height of 14,229 feet on enemy position. Though the enemy firing was intense, he led the troops, least bothered about his safety. As he further advanced towards the ambushing enemy points, he was shot at his chest and abdomen. Ignoring the grave injuries, the Major advanced further, before he was hit by another bullet on his head, killing him at 0630 hrs on May 29, 1999. The Indian Army retrieved his mortal remains only after 45 days of non-stop fighting. For his extreme courage, undaunted bravery and sacrifice, the Indian government awarded the Vir Chakra and the ''Hero of Batalik'' title to Major Saravanan. When his body was brought to the Tiruchirapalli for last rites, Normal life in the city came to a standstill, as people from different walks of life, irrespective of caste, creed and religion thronged to pay respect to this brave soldier. Major Saravanan's father Lieutenant Colonel late A Mariappan was a doctor in the Army Medical Corps. In the memory of Major Saravanan, his mother Amirthavalli Mariappan had formed a public trust called ''Major Saravanan Memorial Trust''. The Trust's managing trustee M Senthil Kumar said the objective of the trust is to educate the young about the values of patriotism, sacrifice and also encourage them to join the Army to serve the nation. He said in remembrance of Major Saravanan, a monument was under construction at the Vestry School Rountana in the city, which would be formally inaugurated next month. The Tamil Nadu government and the Tiruchirapalli city corporation had given their consent to construct the monument. He said the monument would have a granite triangular pedestal with portrait of Major Saravanan on one side and the citation of the martyr engraved both in Tamil and English on the other two sides. The replica of the original Insas Rifle, manufactured by the Ordinance Factory Tiruchirapalli (OFT), which was donated to the trust would be mounted on the top of the triangular pedestal, he added. Bureau Report