Rajnath Singh pays homage to fallen soldiers of battle of Rezang La

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a revamped war memorial in eastern Ladakhs Rezang La the site of an epic battle at an altitude of 18000 feet where over 100 Indian troops inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese military 59 years ago displaying indomitable grit and braveryThe battle of Rezang La is largely considered as the finest moment for the Indian Army in the IndiaChina war six decades ago Paying his tributes to the fallen heroes Singh described the monument as an example of the determination and indomitable courage displayed by the Indian Army that he said is not only immortal in the pages of history but also beats in our heartsThe defence minister said the battle of Rezang La is considered one of the 10 greatest and most challenging military conflicts in the worldThe historic battle of Rezang La fought at an altitude of 18000 feet is difficult to imagine even today Major Shaitan Singh and his fellow soldiers fought till last bullet and last breath and wrote a new chapter of bravery and sacrifice he saidI am saluting the 114 Indian soldiers who made supreme sacrifices in the 1962 war after reaching Rezang La located amidst the inaccessible hills of Ladakh Singh tweetedThe battle of Rezang La began at around 4 am on November 18 1962 and lasted till around 10 pm during which the C company of 13th battalion of the Kumaon Regiment led by Major Shaitan Singh not only stood their ground but inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese despite being outnumbered by the adversaryMajor Singh was later posthumously conferred with Param Vir Chakra Indias highest military decorationDefence Minister Singh also met Brig retd R B Jatar who was part of the battle of Rezang La I am overwhelmed by the feeling of respect for him and I salute his courage May God keep them healthy and live long Singh saidThe revamped war memorial has been thrown open at a time India and China have been locked in a bitter border row in eastern Ladakh for nearly oneandhalf years The Indian Army had occupied a number of mountain peaks in Rezang La region in August last year following Chinas aggressive posturing and failed attempt to intimidate Indian troopsThe eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponryThe tension escalated following a deadly clash in Galwan Valley on June 15 last year As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks the two sides completed the disengagement process in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in February and in the Gogra area in AugustThe last round of military talks on October 10 ended in a stalemate following which both sides blamed each other for the impasse In a strong statement after the 13th round of talks the Indian Army said the constructive suggestions made by it at the negotiations were neither agreeable to the Chinese side nor could Beijing provide any forwardlooking proposalsEach side currently has around 50000 to 60000 troops along the Line of Actual Control LAC in the sensitive sectorAlso Read Dont mess up with education system Supreme Court junks plea seeking hybrid CBSE ICSE examsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever