Sudhir Kumar Walia


Sudhir Kumar Walia, AC, SM & Bar was an Officer in the Indian Army serving in the elite Para. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration, in January 2000.

Early Life

Sudhir was born on May 24, 1969 in Palampur in the Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh to an Army Veteran Subedar Major Rulia Ram Walia and Smt. Rajeswari Devi. He attended the Sainik School at Sujanpur Tihra.
He then gained admission into the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla.

Army Career

Sudhir graduated from the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned into the 4th battalion, The Jat Regiment. He was a member of the Indian Peace Keeping Force who were sent to Sri Lanka on a peace mission. After he returned from Sri Lanka, he was moved to the 9th battalion, Para unit, a special force of the Indian Army that specializes in mountain operations.
He also served two six-month terms at the Siachen Glacier. In 1997, he was sent to the United States for a specialized course and got first position. He also spoke at the Pentagon during this mission. Fondly and out of respect for his competence, he was called 'Colonel' during that course!
As a Lieutenant, Walia was awarded the Sena Medal in 1994 for gallantry on two separate occasions for combating militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
He was later deputed as an Aide-de-camp to the Chief of the Army Staff, General Ved Prakash Malik. When the Kargil War broke out, he obtained special permission from the COAS to go to the battlefield. Within ten days of his departure from Delhi, he led his team to capture Zulu Top at 5200 metres, in the Mushkoh Valley sector. When asked about his attack on Zulu Top without acclimatization, Maj Sudhir said: "Sir, you know that I'm a pahari. I don't need acclimatization."
After the Kargil War ended, his team was assigned the duty of fighting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
On 29 August 1999, he led an assault on a militant hideout in the Haphruda jungles of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir. He killed 9 of a total of 20 militants and sustained gunshot wounds in the process. Though he was unable to move, he continued to give orders to his team till they succeeded. He allowed himself to be evacuated only 35 minutes after the operation ended. He was airlifted to the army base hospital but he succumbed to the injuries en route. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peace time military decoration in India.