Major M Saravanan was the Company Commander of one of the companies of 1 BIHAR launched in the Battalion attack on Point 4268 in the Batalik Sector during OPERATION VIJAY. Young officer, Major Sarvanan was truly a daredevil at heart, so much so that just at the beginning of the Kargil war he wrote to his mother how he had been waiting for such an opportunity and would bring home a “Vir Chakra”, and that he surely did. His exceptional bravery and bold leadership can be traced in the final command he gave to his men on the battlefield, “Do or Die”. Son of an Army officer, Major Sarvanan could not have made his family and the motherland prouder, given the valour he displayed when the time came.

 

During the war, Major M Saravanan while moving forward to eliminate the last position held by the enemy was fired upon by the enemy with a heavy volume of small arms fire. Unmindful of the enemy fire, Major M Saravanan crawled forward to destroy the last remaining enemy position and before being fatally hit by an enemy bullet, killed two enemy personnel. The officer displayed unparalleled bravery, valour, and exemplary leadership, fighting from front destroying two enemy sangars and killing two more enemy soldiers before laying his life for the motherland and in the process eliminating an important enemy position.

 

 

M Saravanan was born on 10 Aug 1972 in Rameshwaram in Tamilnadu to army officer Lt Col Adi Mariappan and Amrithavalli Mariyappan. Since his childhood, Saravanan had made up his mind to join the forces and follow in the footsteps of his father. His father Lt. Colonel Adi Mariappan, a doctor in the army had passed away in a road accident in Bangalore in 1989, while serving in the Indian Peace Keeping Force during Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka.

 

 

 

Young Saravanan, after completing his schooling in various places like Belgaum, Kannoor, Gurdaspur, Jorhat, and Bihar, had joined St Joseph’s College in Tiruchirapalli which was founded in 1844. During his college days, Saravanan was also the president of the student union at St. Joseph’s College in 1992 and was a C certificate holder of NCC.

 

In 1995, Maj Saravanan graduated from the OTA and was commissioned into 1 Bihar of the Bihar Regiment, a regiment known for its numerous battle honours. After passing out of OTA, he was posted to Tamulpur, Cooch Bihar, and Bhutan before moving to Kargil. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 1996 and Major in 1999.

 

 

At the beginning of the Kargil war in 1999, Major M Sarvanan’s unit was moved from Assam to Jammu & Kashmir for the Kargil operation. He wrote to his mother that he had been waiting for just such an opportunity and would bring home a “Vir Chakra”. Operation Vijay was launched on 26 May and his unit was tasked to capture Point 4268 in Jubar Ridge located on the western side of the Batalik sector, the second highest battlefield in the world after Siachen. The terrain comprised of jagged rocks covered with snow and knife-edge ridges with no greenery.

 

In the initial days of the war following the failure of two attacks, Major Saravanan volunteered to launch the third attack. A frontal attack was the only way. The enemy was well entrenched on heights but the steep climb did not deter him. The attack was launched at 4 a.m. on 29 May with his final command to the men, “Do or Die”. He killed two enemy soldiers by firing a rocket launcher and was wounded in the stomach by shrapnel, but he did not give up. His commanding officer asked him to fall back in view of many casualties. Maj Saravanan replied that he was close to the objective and would not spare the enemy who had killed his men. He added, ‘Nothing will happen to your Genghis’, which was his code name. He charged through a hail of bullets and killed two more enemy soldiers. He was the first to reach the top but received a bullet injury in the head at 6.30 a.m. and fell into a ravine. His unit 1 Bihar took an oath to capture Point 4268, which they did by 6 July.

 

 

Major Saravanan’s body could be recovered 37 days after his martyrdom, following a bitter fight. The entire Jubar ridge was cleared by 8 July.

 

The body of Major Sarvanan was brought by air and the Tri-colour draped coffin was placed at the feet of his mother. Hundreds of garlands were placed on it and thousands of people came to pay homage to the hero of Batalik- the first officer casualty of Operation Vijay.

 

 

 

Major Sarvanan was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra and it was presented to his mother by President K Narayanan.

 

Major M Saravanan is survived by his mother, and two sisters Chitra and Revathy. The nation will forever be in debt of heroes like him.