Garo Hills Jawan won Shaurya Chakra, India’s third-highest peacetime military honor; Meghalaya
Aminur Islam, a resident of Sakmal village in Rajabala, West Garo Hills, has won the Shaurya Chakra (gallantry) for his valor in tackling a gang of armed militants in an incident in Arunachal Pradesh in 2020, in a glorious moment for the people of Meghalaya.
Shaurya Chakra is India’s third-highest peacetime military honor. Despite suffering splinter injuries to his face and neck during the operation, Shaurya Chakra fought on, killing two NSCN (Isak-Muivah) rebels. He was later evacuated from the battlefield, but he continued to fight until he was no longer able to.
Operation began at 4:10 a.m. NSCN (I-M) men started to fire indiscriminately at the security men in the hope of breaking the cordon during the search operation to locate the insurgents.
On his bravery award, Islam’s citation reads, “Havildar Aminur Islam, disregarding his own safety, closed in on the target location and engaged in close quarters combat, killing two insurgents under heavy fire.”. The name of Islam was recommended by his commandant, Amit Kumar Das of 6 AR unit. NSCN (Isak-Muivah) group members Lansuba Lalii and Sawang Pansa were identified as the two killed insurgents.
He engaged the insurgents even after becoming injured, the citation said, and continued to engage them until he was evacuated to safety.
During the Eastern Command Investiture Ceremony on January 22, Islam was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his gallantry. Currently, the jawan is assigned to AR unit 15.
