N A T I O N

Folk dancers of Nagaland performing at Talkatora stadium at the inaugural ceremony of Republic Day folk dance festival in
New Delhi on Tuesday. — PTI photo

Gallantry awards announced
NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — The nation has rewarded the sacrifice of soldiers in different operations across the country as also the Kargil conflict by awarding one Ashoka Chakra, nation’s highest peace-time gallantry award, one Mahavir Chakra, 17 Vir Chakras, one Sarvottam Yuddh Sewa Medal and 106 Sena Medals for gallantry.

Naval chief to miss R-Day parade
NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — The Republic Day parade on its 50th anniversary will be different from the past. For the first time, perhaps, one of the three service chiefs will be missing from the line-up when the President gets off his carriage at the podium to inspect the parade.

Former ultras for R-Day security
NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — Surrendered militants have been summoned from Jammu and Kashmir by security agencies to Delhi to help in a drive to nab those who may try to create violence during the Republic Day celebrations, even as unprecedented security arrangements have been made for this year’s parade.

BJP, allies continue to haggle on seats
NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — Having crossed the hurdle of reaching an agreement on seat sharing in Bihar, the BJP and its allies — the Samata Party, the Janata Dal (U) and the Bihar People’s Party — are now stuck over identifying the seats each will contest.

Malik talks of new warfare forms
NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — Chief of the Army Staff Gen V.P. Malik today cautioned against deploying Army in counter-insurgency operations for too long, saying it would affect armed forces preparations for futuristic cyber and space-based offensive warfare.

Pak told to eschew terrorism
NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — President K.R. Narayanan today asked Pakistan to eschew terrorism and propaganda of hatred and asserted that India wanted to live in peace with that country.

Shekhar’s guards open fire, student killed
LUCKNOW, Jan 25 — Special Protection Group commandos guarding former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar today opened fire on a group of students, killing one of them when they tried to force their way into the compartment of the train in which he was travelling at Sadat station in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Gallantry awards announced

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 (PTI) — The nation has rewarded the sacrifice of soldiers in different operations across the country as also the Kargil conflict by awarding one Ashoka Chakra, nation’s highest peace-time gallantry award, one Mahavir Chakra, 17 Vir Chakras, one Sarvottam Yuddh Sewa Medal and 106 Sena Medals for gallantry.

As many as 506 gallantry and distinguished service medals, including the second batch of awards for Operation Vijay in Kargil last summer, were announced on the eve of the 51st Republic Day today.

Besides these, 197 ‘Mention-in-despatches’ have also been announced.

Following are the recipients of the awards:

Ashoka Chakra:

Maj Sudhir Kumar, 9 Para Commando Special Force (posthumous).

Param Vishisht Seva Medal:

Lt-Gen Shailendra Kumar Bhatnagar, Army Ordnance Corps, Lt-Gen Malik Ram Sharma, Infantry, Lt-Gen Dharambir Singh, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Lt-Gen Yuvraj Kumar Mehta, Engineers, Lt-Gen Hind Ravi Singh Mann, Infantry, Lt-Gen Sudhir Kumar, Signals, Lt-Gen Prakash Gokaran, Signals, Lt-Gen Jitendra Swarup Bhatnagar, Army Service Corps, Lt-Gen Malvinder Singh Shergil, Armoured Corps, Lt-Gen Surinder Bir Singh Kochar, Infantry, Lt-Gen Satish Chandra Chopra, Infantry, Lt-Gen Harjinder Singh Bagga, Infantry, Lt-Gen Amarjit Singh, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Lt-Gen Ramanand Jayaswal, Army Medical Corps, Lt-Gen Satish Chandra Verma, Army Medical Corps, Vice Admiral Ravindra Nath Ganesh, Surgeon Vice Admiral Jagdish Chandra Sharma, Vice Admiral Pramod Chander Bhasia, Air Marshal P.N. Bajaj, Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical), Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar, Flying (Pilot), Air Marshal Satish Govind Inamdar, Flying (Pilot). Air Marshal Sahab Prasad Varma, Medical, Air Marshal Sayed Shahid Hussain Naqvi, Flying (Pilot), Air Marshal Thirunillayi Ramaswamy Janakiraman, Aeronautical Engineering (Mechnical).

Kirti Chakra:

Major Joginder Singh Tanwar, 3 Gorkha Rifles, 32 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Sushil Aima, Air Defence Artillery, 17 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Subedar Daljit Singh, Dogra, 31 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Lance Naik Ram Chander Bhatt, 2/9 Gorkha Rifles (posthumous).

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal:

Major Gen Krishnamurthy Nagraj, Infantry

Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medal:

Major Gen Deepak Varma, Artillery, Brig Mohan Chandra Bhandari, Infantry.

Vir Chakra:

Cap Kul Bhushan Upreti, Army Service Corps, 19 Mahar

Shaurya Chakra

Lieut Col Natraj Vijay Raghavan, SM, 15 Kumaon (posthumous), Major Sanjeev Bhatty, SM, 4 Grenadiers, 12 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Viney Chaudhary, 13 Punjab (poshtumous), Major Manish Mishra, 5 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry, Major Sangram Singh, 10 Para (SF), Assistant Commandant Kartar Singh, 19 Assam Rifles, Subedar Om Prakash, 16 Rajputana Rifles, (posthumous), Subedar Mohan Singh Rawat, Guards, 21 Rashtriya Rifles, Lance Havildar Dev Bahadur Thapa, 1/3 Gorkha Rifles (posthumous), Naik Pardeep Singh, 8 Jammu and Kashmir, Light Infantry, Lance Naik Maluk Chand, 16 Dogra (posthumous), Sepoy Surjit Singh, 20 Punjab (posthumous), Sepoy J. Veerabhadrudu, 28 Madras, Rifleman Jayanta Kumar Rabha, 19 Assam Rifles, Rifleman Ram Bahadur Thapa, 5/5 Gorkha Rifles, (FF) (posthumous), Lt Deepak Singh Pathania , Shri Ram Awadh Tiwari, Bihar, Shri Basavaraj, Karnataka (posthumous), Shri Yogeshwar Prasad Sah, Bihar.

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal:

Lieut Gen Shankar Prasad Datta, Army Medical Corps, Major-Gen Ravindra Mohan Chadha, Engineers, Major-Gen Anil Sawhny, Engineers, Major-Gen Mathew Mammen, VSM, Engineers, Major-Gen Sudesh Kumar Kaushal, Artillery, Major-Gen Joginder Jaswant Singh, VSM, Infantry, Major-Gen Rajinder Bir Singh, YSM Infantry, Major-Gen Bhupender Singh Thakur, Armoured Corps, Major-Gen Sarvjit Singh Chahal, VSM, Infantry, Major-Gen Varinder Singh Yadav, Engineers, Major-Gen Charanjit Singh Brar, Armoured Corps, Major-Gen Tej Swaroop Pathak, YSM, Infantry, Major-Gen Parinder Paul Singh Bindra, VSM, Infantry, Major-Gen Bittianda Karriappa Bopanna, VSM, Infantry, Major-Gen Vijay Joshi, Army Medical Corps, Brig Vijai Pal Singh, Military Farms, Brig Avinash Walter Ranbhise, SM, Infantry, Brig Arun Kumar Chopra, Infantry, Brig Rama Krushna Sahoo, Engineers, Brig Kuldip Singh Jamwal, VSM, Artillery, Brig Jagtar Singh, Infantry, Brig Gaganjit Singh, Armoured Corps, Brig Dinesh Prasad, Army Medical Corps.

Col Sikdar Jyothirmoy, VSM, Army Medical Corps, Rear Adm Sampath Pillai, Rear Adm Rajeev Paralikar, VSM, Rear Admi Arun Saxena, VSM, Rear Adm Ajit Tewari, NM, Surgeon Rear Adm Hara Prasad Mukherjee, VSM, Rear Adm Ravindra Mohan Kshetrapal, Rear Adm Krishnan Narayanan, VSM, Air Marshal Proteep Kumar Ghosh, VSM, Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics), Air Vice Marshal Krishna Chandra Varma, Meteorological, Air Vice Marshal Suresh Chandra Vohra, VSM, Logistics, Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Sehgal, VSM, Flying (Pilot), Air Vice Marshal Arunachalam Saibaba, Administration, Air Commodore Puzhankara Ambalavattam Hari Mohan, VM, Flying (Pilot), Air Commodore Prakash Chandra Khandubhai Desai, VSM, Aeronautical Electronic (Mechanical), Air Commodore Avdesh Kumar Singh, VM, VSM, Flying (Pilot), Air Commodore Bhushan Nilkanth Gokhale, VM, Flying (Pilot), Air Commodore Kanwar Dalinderjit Singh, Flying (Pilot), Group Capt Bijender Singh Siwach, VM, Flying (Pilot), Group Capt Ajay Shriniwas Karnik, VM, Flying (Pilot), Chief Engineer (Civil) Harbhajan Singh, VSM.

Yudh Seva Medal:

Brig Mohinder Partap Singh Bajwa, Infantry, Col Samuel Victor Emmanual David, Bihar, Col Satyapal Singh Sahrawat, 16 Garhwal Rifles, Col Uttam Singh, 6 MLI, Col Govind Singh Chandel, 12 Bihar.

Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry):

Col M. Shrikumar Nair, SM, 28 Madras;

Sena Medal (Gallantry):

Col Aiyyala Savita Kumaraswamy, 9 Gorkha Rifles, Col Prabhakaran Nair Kanathilnarayanan, 3 Bihar, Col Rajinder Singh Chauhan, Guards, 21 Rashtriya Rifles, Col Ajaey Sem, Mechanical Infantry, 30 Rashtriya Rifles, Lieutenant Col Vijay Singh, 2/9 Gorkha Rifles, Major Sanjiv Rohilla, 20 Punjab, Major Vijay Pal Singh, 3 Assam, Major Ranbir Singh, Armoured Corps, 22 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Dinesh Kumar Bishnoi, Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Dev Arvind Chaturvedi, 1/3 Gorkha Rifles, Major Narinder Pal Singh, Air Defence Artillery, 14 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Aditya Negi 3/3 Gorkha Rifles, Major Ranbir Katoch, Air Defence Artillery, 7 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous), Major Neil John, Armoured Corps, 1 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Anil Kumar Jaggi, Mechanical Infantry, 21 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Ishwar Singh Thapa, Maratha Light Infantry, 27 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Virendra Singh Rathore, Air Defence Artillery, Major Paramvir Singh Sehrawat, Guards, 52 SAG, Major Sandeep Mohla, 14 Punjab, Major Punia, 26 Madras, Major Jasprit Singh Gujral, Artillery, 110 Medium Regiment, Major Gopal Mitra, 15 Mahar, Capt Rajesh Singh, 12 Rajputana Rifles, Capt Tejpal Singh, Engineers, 10 Rashtriya Rifles, Capt Arun Kumar Rai, Armoured Corps, CIF Delta, Capt Shri Kumar, Air Defence Artillery, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, Capt Deepak Guleria, Army Service Corps, 3 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous), Capt Sukhbir Singh, 5 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Capt Amitabh Singh, Artillery, 110 Medium Regiment, Capt Gaurav Partap Singh Uppal, 25 Punjab, Lieutenant Sumeet Abrol, 6 Kumaon, Lieutenant Nair Prashant Chandrasekhar, 2 Madras, Lieutenant Vincent Aloysius Savio Johar, Army Ordnance Corps, 5/5 Gorkha Rifles, Subedar Major Ram Pal Singh, Jat, 34 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous), Subedar Naunihal Singh Bhullar, 20 Punjab (Posthumous), Subedar Mohinder Paul, Air Defence Artillery, 10 Rashtriya Rifles, Subedar Surve Manohar Ramachandra, 17 Maratha Light Infantry, Subedar Amarjit Singh, Punjab, 7 Rashtriya Rifles, Subedar Ram Kumar, Air Defence Artillery, 15 Rashtriya Rifles, Subedar Tarlok Singh, Punjab, 7 Rashtriya Rifles (Posthumous), Subedar Chandra Singh Rana, 3 Assam Rifles, Naib Subedar Ved Prakash, 4 Grenadiers, Naib Subedar Karnail Singh, 8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Naib Sudebar Parkash Chand, Guards, 21 Rashtriya Rifles, Naib Subedar Prem Bahadur Ghale, 4/8 Gorkha Rifles, Naib Subedar Khaba Ram, 9 Para (SF), 51 SAG, Naib Subedar Farooq Ahmed, 5 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Havildar Gurmeet Singh, 20 Punjab (posthumous), Havildar Tarsem Singh, 20 Punjab (posthumous), Company Havildar Major Lekhraj, 16 Dogra, Havildar Dharam Pal, 5 Rajputana Rifles, Havildar Gian Singh, 2 Sikh (posthumous), Havildar Chandra Churh Prasad, 13 Mechanised Infantry (posthumous), Havildar Jagdamba Prasad, 13 Mechanised Infantry (posthumous), Havildar Hira Singh, Infantry, 31 COMP INT Unit, Havildar Amarjit Singh, 1 Sikh Light Infantry, (posthumous), Havildar Ompal Singh, 6 Jat, Lance Dafadar Maletary Singh, RVC, 14 Army Dog Unit, (posthumous), Lance Havildar Min Bahadur Gurung, 4/8 Gorkha Rifles, Naik Mane Adhikarao Baburao, 17 Rashtriya Rifles, Naik Shatrughan Singh, Guards, 21 Rashtriya Rifles, Naik Rai Singh, Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, Naik Kallu Prasad, Air Defence Artillery, 57 Field Regiment (posthumous), Naik Gopal Singh Ana, Kumaon, 13 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Naik Chitra Bahadur Rana, 2/1 Gorkha Rifles 15 Rashtriya Rifles, Naik Sukhbir Singh, 9 Para (SF), Naik Suresh Chander Punera, 4 Kumaon, 51 SAG, Naik Bijender Singh, 6 Jat, Naik Kasturi Lal, 5 Jammu and Kashmir, Light Infantry, Lance Naik Balbir Singh, 8 Dogra, Lance Naik Paras Ram Dhatwalia, 14 Grenadiers, Lance Naik Satwinder Singh, 20 Punjab (posthumous), Lance Naik Mohd Sharief, 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (posthumous), Lance Naik Karaku Balaiah, 14 Engineers Regiment (posthumous), Lance Naik Subey Singh, 19 Mahar, Lance Naik Kheem Singh, 9 Para (SF) (posthumous), Lance Naik Garad Vasant Pandurang, Artillery 7 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Lance Naik Azad Singh, 8 Jat (posthumous), Lance Naik Khadag Singh, 12 Jat (posthumous), Lance Naik Kedar Singh, 21 Rashtriya Rifles (Guards) (posthumous), Lance Naik Jitendra Bahadur Thapa, 2/9 Gorkha Rifles (posthumous), Lance Naik D. Umapati Naidu, 26 Madras, Lance Naik Bhupinder Singh, 5 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Sepoy Virender Singh, 10 Dogra, Sepoy Pargat Singh, 1 Sikh Light Infantry, Sepoy Sharwan Singh Shekhawat, Rajput, 10 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Sepoy Kazi Kamal Naimuddin, 24 Rajput (Posthumous), Sepoy Kanwalbir Singh, 20 Sikh, Sepoy Senthil Thangaraj, Madras, 25 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Sepoy Kewala Nand, 15 Kumaon (posthumous), Sepoy Gopinath Maharana, Army Service Corps 528 ASC (posthumous), Sepoy Jagtar Singh, Punjab, 7 Rashtriya Rifles, Sepoy Roshan Lal, Dogra, 52 SAG (posthumous), Sepoy Ramanjaneyulu Nakka, 26 Madras, Sepoy Kashmir Singh, 25 Punjab, Rifleman Netra Bahadur Garbuja, 3/4 Gorkha Rifles (posthumous), Rifleman Umesh Chander, Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Rifleman Karmendra Singh, Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Rifleman Manoj Kumar, Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, Rifleman MD Fayaz Sheikh, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, Rifleman Kishan Singh, Garhwal Rifles, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, Rifleman Amar Bahadur Magar, 1/3 Gorkha Rifles, Rifleman Goverdhan Lal, Garhwal Rifles, 14 Rashtriya Rifles, Rifleman Sunil Kumar Kotnala, 18 Garhwal Rifles (posthumous), Rifleman OB Bahadur Thapa, 3/3 Gorkha Rifles, Rifleman Ghana Shyam Ale, 1 Gorkha Rifles, 15 Rashtriya Rifles, Rifleman Subhash Chand Sharma, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 52 SAG, Rifleman Kishnanda Bhatt, 19 Assam Rifles, Gunner Manoj Kumar, Artillery, 57 Field Regiment (posthumous), Gunner Avtar Singh, Artillery, 1,889 Light Regiment (posthumous), Gunner Dilbag Singh, Artillery, 34 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous), Gunner Bijoy Chutia, Artillery, 110 Medium Regiment and Signalman Shivthare Shashikant Abaso, Signals, 7 Rashtriya Rifles (posthumous)

Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry): Lieutenant Ravindra Kothiyal, Kishan Kumar Shinde, Seaicd II, Dalel Singh, Lemr (SD).

Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry): Wing Commander Vijay Suman Sharma, Adminstration Fighter Controller, Squadron Leader Pankaj Vishnio Flying (Pilot), Squadron Leader Prashant Kumar Bundela Flying (Pilot).

Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty): Brig Ashok Kumar Saini, Signals, HQ 1 Sig Group, Brigadier Rana Sudhir Kumar Kapur, VSM, Engineers, Colonel Vinod Kumar Bhatt VSM, Engineers HQ, NC, Colonel Alan Deepak Gardner, 5 Gorkha Rifles, Colonel Thodge Ravindra Vasantra VSM, 5/1 Gorkha Rifles, Colonel Shashi Bhushan Asthana, 7 Assam, Colonel Devinder Singh Dadwal, Sikh, 22 Rashtriya Rifles, Lieutenant Colonel Ranjit Borthakur, Int, 739 Int & Fs unit, Lieutenant Colonel Santosh Kumar Upadhya, 13 Garhwal Rifles, Lieutenant Colonel Rai Kumud Mohan, Army Medical Corps AMC, 92 Base Hospital, Major Ashok Kinih, Guards, Major Suresh Mamgain Int, 357 Int & Fs unit, Captain Anil Kothiyal, 2 Engineers, Captain Marella Vijay Shekar, Signals, 28 Infantry division, Signals Regiment, Subedar Surat Singh, Air Defence Artillery, 27 Air Defence Regiment, Subedar Shiv Kumar Singh, 3 Rajput, Havildar Nirmal Singh Dadhwal, Int, 739 Int & Fs unit, Signalman Dibakara Panigrahi, Signals, MCTE, (posthumous).

Nao Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty): Commander Santosh Kumar Namboori, Commander Kartik Subramaniam, Commander Monty Khanna, Commander Alok Bhagwat, Commander Moochikal Damodaran Suresh, Lieutenant Commander Jaspreet Singh Shergill, Lieutenant Commander Anian George, Rajender Mumar, Mech-3.

Bar to Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty): Squadron Leader Kandarpa Venketa Surya Narasima Murthy VM, flying (pilot).

Vayu Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty): Group Captain James Sebastin flying (pilot), Group Captain Trikandiyur Kollath Venugopal, flying (pilot), Group Captain Devinder Singh, VSM, flying (pilot), Wing Commander Perumpillabil Narayanan Radha Govind flying (pilot), Wing Commander Adiyeri Chevidichi Rajeev, flying (pilot), Wing Commander Jasbir Walia, flying (pilot), Wing Commander Sanjib Kumar Bhattacharya, flying (pilot).

Wing Commander Sunil Bijlani, flying (pilot), Wing Commander Vidya Sagar Bharati, YSM, flying (pilot), Squadron Leader Rajiv Kumar Narang, flying (pilot), Squadron Leader Chandan Sharda, flying (pilot), Flight Lieutenant Sandeep Soti, flying (pilot), Warrant Officer Narain Chandra Ghosh GTI/PJI.

Bar to Vishisht Seva Medal:

Brig Avinash Chander Chopra, VSM, Mechanised Infantry, Col Om Prakash Nehra, VSM, Madras.

Major General Jagtar Singh Kang, Intelligence, Major General Gursharan Singh Riar, Artillery, Major General Arvind Sharma, Infantry, Brig Pushpinder Singh Mann, SM, Infantry, CIJW School, Brig Dilip N. Desai, armoured corps, Brig Sudarshan Kumar Bali, Artillery, Brig Zameer Uddin Shah, Artillery, Brig Parameshwaran Pillai Rajagopal, Infantry, Brig Narayan Singh Pathania, Infantry, Brig Vasant Baburao Patil, Air Defence, Artillery.

Brig Ardaman Jit Singh Sandhu, Artillery, Brig Nilacanta Pillai Krishna Kumar, Infantry, Brig Devinder Singh, Artillery, Brig Satish Chander, Mechanised Infantry, Brig Rajendra Singh Mehta, Armoured corps, 1 Rashtriya Rifles, Brig Mahendra Singh Dadhwal, SM, Infantry, Brig Prakash Singh Chaudhary, SM, Infantry, Brig Rajender Singh Rawat, Infantry, Brig Satish Chandra Sharma, Infantry, Col Vijay Kumar Sharma, 8 Gorkha Head Quarter, 8 Mountain Division, Col Rakesh Chowdhary, Garhwal Rifles, 14 Rashtriya Rifles, Col Murlidhar Nediumveetil, 2/8 Gorkha Rifles, Col Girija Shankar Mishra, AMC, Col Radha Govinda Dash, AMC, Col Bikram Singh, Sikh Light Infantry, Col Gurukal Kandi Balakrishnan Nair Intelligence Corps, Col Ranendra Narayan Chakrabarty, Signals, Colonel Melacheval Srinivasan Santhana Krishnan, Army Ordnance Corps, Col Rajesh Pant, Signals, Col Vijay Kumar, 16 Dogra, Col Darshan Lal Chowdhary, Jat, Col Tallamraju Prabhakar, AMC, Col Beant Parmar, 14 Maratha Light Infantry, Col Vijay Yashwant Gidh, 14 Punjab, Col Rupender Singh Parmar Kumaon, 12 Assam Rifles, Col Amulya Mohan, 17 Assam Rifles, Col Girish Kumar Gujjala, 21 Grenadiers, Lieutenant Col Vijoy Kumar Sinha, AMC, Lieutenant Col Biman Saha, SM, SIGs, MCTE, (posthumous), Lieutenant Col Yogesh Sharma, AMC, Major Yogesh Taragi Rajput, Naib Subedar Bhanwar Lal Dhaka, Guards, Commodore Vinod Kumar Thakur, Commodore Satish Sadashiv Godbole, Commodore Subhash Chander Maini, Commodore Ganesh Mahadevan, Captain Sunil Krishanaji Damle, NM, Captain Niranjan Kumar Nadella, Captain Rajinder Singh, Captain Anthony Cruz Anand, Captain Gopal Hari Saxena, Captain Ujjal Bir Singh Grewal, Commander Pravesh Chandra Mishra, Surgeon Commander Tejinder Singh Uberoi, Lieutenant Commander B. Sasidharan Pillai, Jai Narayan Yadav, Hony S/Lt, MCMEI, Subrao Govind Bhosale, MCPOR, Shishupal Singh, MCWMI, Air Commodore Thekkekara Thomas Job, Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical), Group Captain Manovinder Shamsher Bahadur Singh Jauhar, flying (pilot), Group Captain Nairessery Sekharan Raveendran, Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics), Group Captain Vijay Shanker Kapani, flying (pilot), Group Captain Randhir Pratap, flying (pilot), Group Captain Virender Nath Kalia, flying (pilot), Group Captain Janakiramiah Arunachalam, Aeronautical Engineering (electronics), Group Captain Pramod Kumar Roy, VM, flying (pilot), Wing Commander Naresh Kumar Kapila Adminstration, Fighter Controller, Wing Commander Venkitaraman Subramanian, Logistics Wing Commander Navin Rattan, Medical, Wing Commander Davinder Pal Singh, Administration, Wing Commander Chittranjan Mohanty, Aeronautical Engineering (electronics), Wing Commander Gokul Nath, Medical, Wing Commander Vireshwar Dundappa Galagali, Wing Commander Harbhajan Singh, Aeronautical Engineering (mechanical), Squadron Leader Kuldeep Sharma, Aeronautical Engineering (mechanical), Squadron Leader Shaji Jacob, Administration, Squadron Leader Praveen Kumar S. Patil, Logistics, Squadron Leader Krishna Iyengar Ravi, Aeronautical Engineering (mechanical), Squadron Leader Dharam Apuram Prathap, Aeronautical, Engineering (mechanical), Squadron Leader Ramesh Jotirao Oulkar, ADM/ATC, Squadron Leader Rajesh Purohit, flying (pilot), Warrant Officer Govind Singh Rana, Warrant Officer Gurdev Singh Parhar, Warrant Officer Gopalakrishnan Nair, Corporal Sanwar Mal, Corporal Sarvesh Kumar, Chief Engineer Binay Kumar Basu, SC, BRO, Director Raj Kumar Sawhney, BRO.

Sarvottam Yuddh Seva Medal:

Lieutenant Gen Hari Mohan Khanna, PVSM, AVSM, Infantry

Maha Vir Chakra:

Sepoy Imliakum AO, 2 Naga,

Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal:

Lieutenant General Nirmal Chander Vij, PVSM, AVSM Infantry

Vir Chakra:

Major Prabhu Nath Prasad, SM, Army Aviation, Major KPR Hari, 1 Bihar, Major Gautam Shasikumar Khot Army Aviation,, Captain Baleyada Muthanna Cariappa, SM, Para, Captain Shashi Bhushan Ghildiyal, Artillery, 315 Field Regiment, Captain Rupesh Pradhan, 2 Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant Praveen Kumar, 14 Sikh, Lieutenant Deepankar Kapoor Singh Sharawat, 2 Naga, Subedar Nirmal Singh, 8 Sikh (Posthumous), Naib Subedar Tashi Chhepal, IW Ladakh Scouts, Havildar Satish Chander, 12 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Havildar Bhim Bahadur Dewan, 1/11 Gorkha Rifles (Posthumous), Naik Shatrughan Singh, 1 Bihar, Naik Brij Mohan Singh, 9 Para (SF) (Posthumous), Naik Kaushal Yadav, 9 Para (SF) (Posthumous), Lance Naik Gyanendra Kumar Rai, 1/11 Gorkha Rifles, Sepoy Tsewang Morup, Ladakh Scouts, KW.

Yuddh Seva Medal:

Brig Amarjeet Singh Sekhon, Infantry, Col Sudhir Bhatnagar, Signals, Col Chabbewal Amarjeet Singh, Armoured, Col Khushal Thakur, 18 Grenadiers, Col Subramanian NA, Artillery, 315 Field Regiment, Col Sanjay Saran, Artillery, 15 Field Regiment, Col Om Parkash Yadav, 1 Bihar, Col Dinesh Kumar Badola, 2 Naga, Lieutenant Colonel Akshay Mehrotra, Army Aviation, 19 R & O Flt, Lieutenant Colonel Dinesh P. Naikavde, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, Lieutenant Colonel Amarjit Singh Chandhoke, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, Major Sarat Chandra Dash, VSM, Army Medical Corps, Major Arun Ratan Basu, AMC.

Naval chief to miss R-Day parade
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — The Republic Day parade on its 50th anniversary will be different from the past. For the first time, perhaps, one of the three service chiefs will be missing from the line-up when the President gets off his carriage at the podium to inspect the parade.

The Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral P.J. Jacob will be standing in for the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sushil Kumar, when President K.R. Narayanan will be received at the podium by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Admiral Sushil Kumar is recuperating after undergoing what has been described by the Navy as "a preventive cardiac procedure" or a bypass surgery at the Escorts Heart and Research Institute here on January 22.

The President being the supreme commander of the armed forces, it is customary for the three service chiefs to be present at the podium when he arrives to inspect the parade. There has been no recorded precedent of a service chief missing from the line-up at the Republic Day parade.

A spokesman for the Navy said here today that the Chief of Naval Staff would be resuming his normal duties in another week and the bypass surgery would in no way hamper him in performing his duties.

Former ultras for R-Day security

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 (PTI) — Surrendered militants have been summoned from Jammu and Kashmir by security agencies to Delhi to help in a drive to nab those who may try to create violence during the Republic Day celebrations, even as unprecedented security arrangements have been made for this year’s parade.

Highly placed sources in the Home Ministry said extraordinary steps were being taken as reports from arrested militants and from across the border indicated that the ISI had made plans to disrupt the Republic Day parade.

The sources said the surrendered militants, also known as "spotters" had been called from the state and deployed at all entry and exit points in the capital. They had also been fanned out to various areas of the Capital.

The Delhi Police has sealed all state borders. A thorough checking is being undertaken of vehicles and individuals crossing into the Capital.

Areas surrounding the India Gate hexagon, including the crowded Connaught Place, bore a deserted look this afternoon as shops and offices were directed to close well before the scheduled hours.

BJP, allies continue to haggle on seats
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 — Having crossed the hurdle of reaching an agreement on seat sharing in Bihar, the BJP and its allies — the Samata Party, the Janata Dal (U) and the Bihar People’s Party — are now stuck over identifying the seats each will contest.

The BJP has also yet to come to an agreement with its ally in Haryana, the INLD, and with its ally in Orissa, the Biju Janata Dal.

Strains have developed between the INLD and the BJP. The latter has charged its Haryana partner with going back on its word given before the dissolution of the state Assembly. Party sources maintain Mr Om Parkash Chautala had agreed to leave 35 seats for the BJP.

The INLD, however, has had second thoughts and now insists on having larger share. It is willing to give the BJP only 25 seats. With no breakthrough reported during the past few days, it is now expected that the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, may intervene.

In Orissa, where the BJD insists on projecting Mr Naveen Patnaik as Chief Minister, two rounds of talks between the BJD chief and the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, have failed. Though there was no meeting between Mr Advani and Mr Patnaik today, BJP sources said talks on seat sharing in the 147-member state Assembly were on.

The nominations for the first round of polling for 108 seats in Bihar closed on January 24. The last date of withdrawal is January 27.

Malik talks of new warfare forms

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 (PTI) — Chief of the Army Staff Gen V.P. Malik today cautioned against deploying Army in counter-insurgency operations for too long, saying it would affect armed forces preparations for futuristic cyber and space-based offensive warfare.

"Armed forces should be enabled to stretch on the high end of the spectrum of conflict in the realm of new forms of warfare such as cyber wars, information wars and dealing with space-based offensive systems", the army chief told an international conference on ‘Asian security’.

Making out a case for either raising additional forces such as Assam Rifles and Rashtriya Rifles or improving the capabilities of para-military forces like the CRPF and the BSF for deployment to fight terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other areas, General Malik said involving the Army to fight situations would not be in the best interest of the country’s security.

Saying that state-sponsored terrorism or proxy war were increasingly becoming new instruments being used to destabilise nations in the post-cold war era, he said developed countries, it appeared were better equipped to contend with such phenomenon than developing nations.

In an apparent reference to Pakistan’s support of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "When terrorism is sponsored by states as part of strategy, it amounts to almost little short of limited war".

"Developed countries seem to be able to deal with terrorism with their police forces and only in extreme cases where it is viewed as transcending breach of sovereignty, military force has been used," the General said.

He said since the armed forces were the ultimate instrument of power at the high-end of capabilities of nation’s state, "its early employment reduces options available to deal with conflict situations."

Shekhar’s guards open fire, student killed

LUCKNOW, Jan 25 (PTI) — Special Protection Group commandos guarding former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar today opened fire on a group of students, killing one of them when they tried to force their way into the compartment of the train in which he was travelling at Sadat station in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Trouble erupted when the students pulled the chain of the New Delhi-Muzaffarpur Lichvi Express and tried to enter the compartment in which Mr Shekhar was travelling, UP Home Secretary A.K. Srivastava, said here.

He said the commandos first tried to prevent the students from entering the coach and when the situation went out of control, opened fire killing Shrikant Vajpayee and injuring Ravindra Kumar.

Mr Shekhar was immediately rescued and taken into a car which left for Ballia, his parliamentary constituency.

Pak told to eschew terrorism

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 (PTI) — President K.R. Narayanan today asked Pakistan to eschew terrorism and propaganda of hatred and asserted that India wanted to live in peace with that country.

"We want to live in peace with Pakistan. We want the relations to conform to the best traditions of good neighbourliness, eschewing terrorist interventions and the propaganda of hatred," he said in his address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day.

"Principles like respect for territorial integrity and independence of nations, non-interference in their internal matters and mutual benefit and equality are precious concepts which cannot become redundant in a world of globalisation," he said.

The President said India was privileged to be playing a role to ensure that in the new millennium all nations of the world enjoyed equal political status and had a level playing field, economically and technologically.

NATIONAL BRIEFS

Unesco Avicenna Gold Medal
NEW DELHI: Mr Anil Bordia, former Education Secretary, on Monday became the first Indian to receive the Unesco Avicenna Gold Medal for his contribution to the development and promotion of basic education in the country. The award, named after Persian scholar and philosopher-scientist Avicenna, was given by Mr Moegiadi, Director, Unesco, New Delhi office, for Mr Bordia’s extensive work at all levels of education — international, national and grass roots, a Unesco press note said. — PTI

AP junior doctors’ strike called off
HYDERABAD: The 21-day-old strike by junior doctors in the state was called off on Monday after an agreement was reached between the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors’ Association and the government. The pact was signed after prolonged talks which continued past midnight. The state government had agreed to increase the number of seats in the post-graduate courses to the maximum in the next academic year. The junior doctors will get an increment of 15 per cent every two years, official sources said. — UNI

Property worth Rs 1.10 cr seized
JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau has seized property worth Rs 1.10 crore, including Rs 8 lakh in cash, from a government doctor’s residence during a raid, official sources said on Monday. The bureau also seized his lockers, shares and fixed deposit papers and found life-saving drugs and heart valves from his possession in the raid on Friday, the sources said. — PTI

Ganja plantations destroyed
KOZHIKODE: In one of the biggest anti-narcotics operations in recent times, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) destroyed 12-acre ganja plantations worth Rs 30 crore in the dense forests along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border on Saturday, DRI sources said here on Monday. The sources said a team of DRI officials went to Bandar, a remote area in the Devikulam taluk of Idukki district, embedded within the western ghats, in the wee hours of Saturday. The team found that the entire hill sides had been denuded of vegetation and ganja had been planted extensively. — PTI

9 killed in road mishap
CHENNAI: Nine persons, including seven school children, were crushed to death and 12 others were seriously injured in a collision between a school bus and a private bus at Arakonam town in Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday. According to reports received at the police headquarters here, a bus from Gangasamy Naidu School collided head on with the private bus at the Arakonam-Thiruttani road, killing six school children on the spot. Another student died on the way to the Government General Hospital here. The victims included the driver of the school bus and the cleaner of the private bus. — UNI

NDFB ultra killed in encounter
GUWAHATI: A hardcore NDFB militant has been killed in an encounter with the Army, five rebels apprehended and a senior ULFA leader has come overground in Assam since Monday, the police said here on Tuesday. Troops of the 26 Madras Regiment exchanged fire with National Democratic Front of Bodoland extremist Amla Boro on Monday at Harigaon village in Nalbari district. Boro was killed on-the-spot. The Army also nabbed four Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (MULTA) activists from Nalbari town and apprehended another from Jorang Pathar village in Nagaon district and seized two powerful bombs from him, the police said. Kachin trained ULFA Nalbari district commandant Lohit Deori quit the militant outfit recently. — PTI