Republic Day 2021: Galwan Braveheart Col Santosh Babu Named For Mahavir Chakra

Colonel B Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of 16 Bihar battalion, who led soldiers to evict Chinese soldiers from East Ladakh’s Galwan Valley last June, has been posthumously named for Mahavir Chakra.

Colonel B Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of 16 Bihar battalion, who led soldiers to evict Chinese soldiers from East Ladakh’s Galwan Valley last June, has been posthumously named for Mahavir Chakra, an official announcement by the Defence Ministry said on Monday. Mahavir Chakra is India’s second-highest military award for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy.

Major Anuj Sood, who lost his life in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir in May 2020 has been awarded Shaurya Chakra posthumously. The Galwan clash was the first deadly conflict between India and China in at least 45 years. The faceoff was seen to underline the risk of the border standoff escalating into a full-scale confrontation.

Santosh was among the 20 soldiers who were killed in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night during a clash with Chinese troops in the first such incident involving fatalities after a gap of 45 years, signalling a massive escalation in the five-week border standoff in the sensitive region.

Santosh, an alumnus of Sainik School, Korukonda, and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, was commissioned into the Bihar Regiment from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and went on to complete the prestigious Defence Service Staff Course from Wellington before taking over the command of his battalion.