Naik Narayan Das KC

Lance Naik Narayan Das hailed from Baksa district of  Assam and was born in the year 1965. Son of Shri Ghanaram Das, a simple farmer, he had three sisters and two brothers as his siblings. He was a meritorious student and completed his primary and higher education at a Government-run institutions near his village.  Later he got selected to join the Army and got trained at Shillong. He was recruited into 15 Assam battalion of the Assam Regiment, an infantry Regiment well known for its dauntless soldiers and numerous battle exploits. Raised on 15 June 1941 in Shillong, the Assam Regiment was awarded Battle Honours for its tenacious defence at Chamb in the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Rohini Bala and the couple was blessed with two sons, Dhruba Kumar Das & Manjeet Das.  During his service career, he served in various operational areas in diverse terrain and working environment.  By the year 1999, he had put in substantial years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Naik.

Counter-Insurgency Operation(J&K) : 18 Feb 1999

During 1999, Naik Narayan Das's unit 15 Assam was deployed in the Kashmir valley near the LOC. The unit troops were engaged in counter-insurgency operations on a regular basis as its AOR (Area of Responsibility) was affected by active militancy. The LOC remained highly active and volatile with ceasefire violations occurring very often and without any warning. Besides manning the forward posts, Naik Narayan Das’s unit also undertook operations to check the infiltration bids as its AOR was prone to infiltration by the militants from across the border. On 17 Feb 1999, Naik Narayan Das’s unit received information from the intelligence sources about the infiltration bid by some hard core terrorists in its AOR(Area of Responsibility). It was decided by the unit to launch a patrol for search and cordon operation to track and nab the terrorists.

As planned in the early morning of 18 Feb 1999, the patrol of 15 Assam comprising Naik Narayan Das and other soldiers launched the search operation in the suspected area. Soon the patrol spotted the infiltrators who fired at the troops on being challenged. A gun battle ensued thereafter with heavy exchange of fire from both sides. The militants were heavily armed and were trying to take advantage of thick jungle and rugged terrain. The exchange of fire continued for several hours in which Naik Narayan Das and his comrades managed to eliminate two militants. However during this operation, Naik Narayan Das got seriously injured. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Naik Narayan Das was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life in the line of his duty. Naik Narayan Das was given the nation’s second-highest peace time gallantry award, “Kirti Chakra” on 15 August 1999, for his indomitable courage, bravery, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice.

Naik Narayan Das is survived by his wife Smt Rohini Bala Das and two sons Shri Dhruba Kumar Das & Naik Manjeet Das (who too joined his father's battalion, 15 Assam carrying forward his legacy).