On Republic Day those who fought for the nation will be felicitated for their bravery

This picture has been used for representational purposes

T Shakeela (52) from Madurai whose entire family (husband and two sons) are serving the Army with younger son enrolled as lieutenant on December 2020, will be amongst the fifteen wounded army men and eight war widows who lost their lives during 2019-2020 while fighting insurgents / terrorists will be felicitated on January 26 (Republic Day).

Organised by the Shanmukhananda, besides this, Lieutenant General SK Prashar, General Officer Commanding (Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa) will be conferring Sri Shanmukhananda Shaurya Ratna award and a cash price of Rs 1 lakh, to Shakeela Shoukat Ali whose entire family, husband Naik Shaukat Ali (retired from Army), sons Major Javed Khan and Lt. Jafar Khan are serving in the Army. Her younger son Jafar, passed out his NDA and later joined Indian Military Academy, from where he passed out as Lieutenant in December 2020.

"I supported them to pursue their dreams as nothing is bigger than serving the nation. If I had two more sons, I would have given them also to the Army. With the kind of upbringing, I gave them, I am sure they will perform their duty with full integrity" said Shakeela.

"Every year jointly with the Indian Army, on Republic Day, the Sabha felicitates sepcially-abled Armymen who were incapacitated while defending the nation and the families of those who sacrificed their lives in the cause of the nation on Independence Day. This year, due to lockdown, the August 15 function could not be held. Hence both functions will be held jointly," said Dr V Shankar, president of the Sabha.

The wounded warriors will be presented a purse of Rs 1 lakh cash and mementos, and the family of martyrs will each get a purse of Rs 2 lakh and mementos.

The eight brave men who laid life for the country

- MV Arif Pathan, 18 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, (attained martyrdom on July 22, 2019) during ceasefire violation by enemy at Akhnoor sector near LOC.

- Sunil Ravsaheb Valte, 24 Maratha Light Infantry (attained martyrdom on October 23, 2019) during the unprovoked firing by enemy at Rajouri Sector (LOC).

- Jotiba Ganapti Chougule, 6 Maratha Light Infantry (attained martyrdom on December 16, 2019) during ceasefire violation by enemy at Bandipore sector.

- Sawant Sandip Raghunath, 16 Maratha Light Infantry (attained martyrdom on December 31, 2019) due to counter infiltration operation at Naushera Sector.

- Suresh Gorakh Chitte, 1 Mahar Regiment, died in harness on January 14, 2020 due to prolonged exposure to extreme weather condition in Siachen glacier.

- Anuj Sood, 21 The Brigade of Guards, was martyred on May 2, 2020 during the counter insurgency operation in Wadarbala - Rajwara forests, J&K.

- Satish Suresh Pehare, Bengal Engineer Group- Attained martyrdom on July 14, 2020 due to enemy attack in Ladakh sector.

- Sonavane Manoraj, 21 Para (SF), Indian Army attained martyrdom on October 30, 2020 due to extreme weather conditions in Arunachal Pradesh while patrolling the borders.