Army renovates 1962 war memorial
Asianage.com
Meanwhile | Manoj Anand
Guwahati: Indian Army may have been reluctant to debate the debacles of the 1962 India-China war, fought in the Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh, but they have not forgotten their war heroes. After constructing a huge war memorial at Tawang, acknowledging the sacrifice of 2,420 soldiers, the Indian Army has now completed the renovation work of memorial of Nyukmadong battle. The battle was started on November 18, 1962 between 62 Infantry Brigade, which was carrying out a tactical withdrawal from Sela under the command of Brigadier Hoshiar Singh, and the Chinese forces that had infiltrated from both east and west across Sela.
As many as 12 units (both major and minor) formed a part of withdrawal force. A fierce battle ensued with the enemy in the general area of Nyukmadong, a small village on the Dirang-Sela road, where several officers, junior commissioned officer and other ranks made the supreme sacrifice after inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese Army. General officer commanding Major Gen. D.S. Sidhu, 5 Mountain Division, inaugurated the renovated Nyukmadong War Memorial having high Stupa as its centrepiece on Wednesday. He said the war memorial was a humble tribute to the martyrs of the famous battle and it is dedicated to the entire local community too.
“We have tried to combine the local Buddhist design with the contemporary style to give an exotic touch to the memorial,” said the defence spokesman.
The war memorial has been seen as one of the real attempts by the Army to honour those who died fighting a superior and well-prepared enemy in 1962 war.
The defence spokesman also clarified that a memorial existed a Nyukmadong for many years. It was felt that it needs renovation and re-modelling. The responsibility was given to the Ball of Fire Division which has started re-modelling and renovation work in November 2007 and it was completed in a record time of four months. The Nyukmadong War Memorial located in almost 1.5 acres overlooks the famous battleground of 1962 war. There are several other memorials along the Tawang-Tezpur road. One of such classic example was of Jaswant Singh Rawat of the Garhwal Rifles. As his company was asked to fall back, Jaswant Singh remained at his post at an altitude of 10,000 feet and held back the rampaging Chinese for three days single-handedly. He was helped by two local girls - Sela and Nura - in the heroic battle that ended after the Chinese discovered that the post was being defended by a solitary soldier. So enraged were the attackers that they cut off Jaswant Singh’s head and took it back to China. However, after the ceasefire, the Chinese commander, impressed by the soldier’s bravery, returned the head along with a brass bust of Jaswant Singh.
The bust created in China to honour the brave Indian soldier is now installed at the site of the battle. The place is now known as Jaswantgarh.
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