Sepoy Ganesh Hansda SM

Sep Ganesh Hansda was born in the year 1997 and hailed from Kosaphalia, a tribal village in the Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Son of Shri Subda Hansda and Smt Kapra Hansda, he came from a family of daily wagers, who worked in fields and took up small jobs to ensure that Sep Ganesh received a decent education. Sep Ganesh was keen to join the Army since his younger days and went on to complete three-year training in NCC from LBSM College, Jamshedpur. Eventually, he joined the Army in September 2018, at the age of 20 years.

He was recruited into the 16 Bihar battalion of the Bihar Regiment, an infantry Regiment well known for its brave soldiers and numerous battle exploits. After completing a 9-month training at Danapur, Sep Ganesh got posted to Ladakh as his first assignment.

Operation Snow Leopard: 15 June 2020

During June 2020, Sep Ganesh Hansda’s unit was deployed in eastern Ladakh close to the Line of Actual Control(LAC) as part of Operation Snow Leopard. Since early June the tension along the LAC was building up due to construction work in Galwan valley close to the road going from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie. The Chinese had a serious objection to the construction of a bridge across the Galwan river into the Aksai Chin area. The area held strategic importance to India as well as China as it dominated the road from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie an airstrip of great military significance to India. There had been many rounds of talks between senior military officials from both sides to diffuse the tensions. On 15 June 2020 night, hectic Chinese activities were noticed across the bridge in Galwan valley and the Indian Army decided to take up the matter with Chinese forces to ask them to respect the LAC and adhere to the position as agreed earlier during the talks.

Considering the gravity of the situation, Col Santosh Babu the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar battalion deployed in the area decided to lead the negotiations. However, an altercation during the discussion raised the tempers leading to a scuffle. Soon the scuffle turned into a violent clash with the Chinese soldiers attacking Col Santosh Babu and his men with deadly clubs and rods. The Indian soldiers were greatly outnumbered and the Chinese soldiers seemed to be prepared for the attack. As the clashes escalated, Sep Ganesh Hansda and other soldiers from the battalion too joined the beleaguered Indian troops to take on the Chinese soldiers. The clashes went on for many hours during which many Indian soldiers including Sep Ganesh Hansda got seriously injured. Sep Ganesh Hansda, the CO, Col Santosh Babu, and 18 other soldiers later succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. The other brave hearts included Nk Deepak Kumar, Nb Sub Nanduram Soren, Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh, Nb Sub Satnam Singh, Hav K Palani, Hav Bipul Roy, Hav Sunil Kumar, Sep Ganesh Ram, Sep Chandan Kumar, Sep CK Pradhan, Sep Gurbinder Singh, Sep Aman Kumar, Sep Kundan Kumar, Sep Rajesh Orang, Sep KK Ojha, Sep Jai Kishore Singh, Sep Gurtej Singh, and Sep Ankush. Sep Ganesh Hansda was a valiant and dedicated soldier who laid down his life at the age of 22 years in the line of his duty. Sep Ganesh Hansda was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” on 26 Jan 2021 for his exceptional courage, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.

Sep Ganesh Hansda is survived by his father Shri Subda Hansda, mother Smt Kapra Hansda and elder brother Shri Dinesh Hansda.