NEW DELHI, June 26: Five Indian Army personnel and one belonging to the Air Force were among six killed in line of action during Operation Sindoor to destroy terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) – India’s military response to the Pahalgam massacre, in May last year. The names of these soldiers will be inscribed at the National War Memorial in New Delhi.
This is the first time since the operation that the government has released the names of the six military personnel. The names of the six personnel have been published in the Roll of Honour section on the National War Memorial website and will be engraved on the memorial’s granite walls in Delhi, marking the first formal public acknowledgement of fatalities suffered by the Indian armed forces during the operation.
The list includes Subedar Major Pawan Kumar of Headquarters 10 Infantry, Rifleman Sunil Kumar of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment, Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar of 5 Field Regiment, Agniveer Mood Murali Naik of 851 Light Regiment, Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh of 237 Field Workshop, and Sergeant Surendra Kumar of 39 Wing, Indian Air Force.
Until now, the Centre had not officially disclosed the names of military personnel killed during Operation Sindoor, despite reports in the immediate aftermath of the four-day conflict in May 2025. The publication of the names in the Roll of Honour is being seen as the Centre’s first official acknowledgement of the personnel who lost their lives during Operation Sindoor. The names of these heroes of Operation Sindoor were released alongside the list of all soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during various military operations in 2025.
The memorial’s Tyag Chakra, Circle of Sacrifice, at the National War Memorial is dedicated to the nation’s bravehearts. It consists of 16 concentric granite walls, each engraved with the names of soldiers who have laid down their lives since Independence. Every brick records the martyr’s name, rank, and regiment, serving as a lasting tribute to their sacrifice.
Rifleman Sunil Kumar was given the Vir Chakra, India’s third-highest battle honour, while Sergeant Surendra Kumar got the Vayu Medal. On June 8, President Droupadi Murmu presented the Vir Chakra posthumously to Sunil Kumar at the Defence Investiture Ceremony; the award was received by his mother Sudesh Kumari and father Yash Paul.
The decision from the government to reveal their names comes amid growing efforts to document and honour the contributions of personnel involved in Operation Sindoor, which has since become a defining chapter in India’s counter-terrorism strategy.
The Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7, 2025, in response to the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives. Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), targeting terror facilities linked to groups accused of orchestrating cross-border terrorism.
(Manas Dasgupta)
