The death of a soldier killed in a battleground is honored in heaven as well. An awardee of the prestigious ParamVir Chakra, Major Ramaswamy Parmeshwaran was born in Mumbai on September 13th, 1946. A valiant soldier and a brave heart, Major Ramaswamy was a part of several operations of the Indian Army. Major Ramaswamy belonged to the Mahar regiment of the Indian Army.
Major Ramaswamy Parmeshwaran and his troops were sent to Sri Lanka according to the Indo-Lanka agreement to maintain peace and tranquility in Sri Lanka. Major Ramaswamy, along with the other soldiers, was a part of Operation Pawan in 1987. The operation was mainly initiated to maintain law and order in Jaffna and restrict the LTTE from further infiltrations.
The lion-hearted soldier displayed immense courage and indomitable spirit during Operation Pawan. For the gallant show he put on November 25th, 1987, he was awarded the highest gallantry award in the military posthumously. On the night after returning from inspection and search operations, Major Ramaswamy and his troops were struck with a heavy shower of bullets from the LTTE by surprise. The swift attack by the LTTE troops did not even tremor the brave hearts of the soldiers. Ramaswamy took a courageous decision to attack the enemies from the rear end. The intense combat between Major Ramaswamy’s men and the LTTE troops got fierce with time in the darkness. The sudden ambush did not shake even an inch in Ramaswamy’s men. Rather, they fought with wholesome courage with the enemies, leaving no stone unturned to tear them to pieces. Major Ramaswamy and his men successfully halted all the enemy advancements and didn’t allow them any breakthrough.
During the battle, a bullet struck Major Ramaswamy in the chest leaving him deeply wounded. The bullet shot by the militant did not stop Major Ramaswamy, who continued to march forward and snatched the rifle from the militant. Rather than giving up, he shot the militant with the rifle, leaving him dead. The great show continued and Major Ramaswamy seemed invulnerable from the bullet that shot him. He kept on boosting the morale of his troops by giving them commands constantly and inspiring them. A charged Ramaswamy killed a couple of other LTTE militants. The brave display, however, came to an end leaving Major Ramaswamy and five other LTTE men dead. Though the crew sensed that their leader was no more, Major Ramaswamy’s men did not stop. They remembered their master’s word and followed them. Major Ramaswamy’s men killed several other LTTE militants with their bullets.
The Mahar regiment captured few rifles and two rocket launchers and a stockpile of arms after the intense battle. They could not save their leader but kept their master’s words and killed the enemy.
Major Ramaswamy Parmeshwaran demonstrated an act of bravery and sheer prowess. The poise and grit with which he led his mean even during the sudden attack remains one of the most remembered stories in the Army. His war heroics in 1987 gave rise to gutsy spirit amongst all army personnel, especially the Mahar regiment. Major Ramaswamy left before his Mahar regiment a show of his brave efforts and an irreplaceable example of fearless dauntlessness.
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