Sepoy Ganesh Ram SM

Sepoy Ganesh Ram Kunjam hailed from Gidhali village in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. Son of Shri Itwari Ram Kunjam and Smt Jageshwari Bai, Sep Ganesh Ram was born on 28th April 1993. He studied from his village High School and had a keen interest in sports and other outdoor activities. He was inclined to join the Armed Forces since his younger days and worked hard toward it. Eventually, he realized his dream and joined the Army in the year 2011 at the age of 18 years. He was recruited into 16 Bihar of the Bihar Regiment, an infantry Regiment well known for its fearless soldiers and numerous battle exploits.

Operation Snow Leopard: 15 June 2020

During June 2020, Sep Ganesh Ram’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 Ram 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 Ram got seriously injured. Sep Ganesh Ram, 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, Naib Subedar Mandeep Singh, Nb Sub Nanduram Soren, Nb Sub Satnam Singh, Hav K Palani, Hav Bipul Roy, Hav Sunil Kumar, Sep Ganesh Hansda, Sep Rajesh Orang, Sep Chandan Kumar, Sep CK Pradhan, Sep Gurbinder Singh, Sep Aman Kumar, Sep Kundan Kumar, Sep KK Ojha, Sep Jai Kishore Singh, Sep Gurtej Singh, and Sep Ankush. Sep Ganesh Ram was a fearless and dedicated soldier who laid down his life at the age of 26 years in the line of his duty. Sep Ganesh Ram was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” on 26 Jan 2021 for his exceptional courage, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.

Sep Ganesh Ram is survived by his father Shri Itwari Ram Kunjam and mother Smt Jageshwari Bai.