The Uri Attack
On the morning of 18 September 2016, an Indian Army administrative base at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir came under a deadly terrorist attack.
At approximately 5:30 am, four heavily armed terrorists opened fire on the Army base. They used automatic weapons and incendiary ammunition, which caused tents and temporary shelters inside the complex to catch fire.
The firefight continued for around three hours. The four attackers were neutralised by the Army. Seventeen Indian Army personnel made the supreme sacrifice during the attack that day, while several others were injured. The Ministry of Defence officially listed the 17 soldiers who were martyred on 18 September 2016.
These are the 18 soldiers whose names became part of the story of the Uri attack and the supreme sacrifice made in its aftermath.
Havildar Nimb Singh Rawat
Havildar Nimb Singh Rawat served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the terrorist attack at Uri on 18 September 2016.
He hailed from Rajwa village in Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. He had served in the Army for more than two decades and was due to retire after his long service.
He was among the 17 soldiers officially recorded as martyred at Uri on 18 September 2016.
Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh
Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh served with 6 Bihar. He made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Naik Sunil Kumar Vidharthi
Naik Sunil Kumar Vidharthi served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Ganesh Shankar
Sepoy Ganesh Shankar served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Rajesh Kumar Singh
Sepoy Rajesh Kumar Singh served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Naiman Kujur
Sepoy Naiman Kujur served with 6 Bihar. He made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Harinder Yadav
Sepoy Harinder Yadav served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Uike Janrao
Sepoy Uike Janrao served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Biswajit Ghorai
Sepoy Biswajit Ghorai served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Gangadhar Dalai
Sepoy Gangadhar Dalai served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Rakesh Singh
Sepoy Rakesh Singh served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav
Lance Naik Rajesh Kumar Yadav served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Lance Naik G Shankar
Lance Naik G Shankar served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy Javra Munda
Sepoy Javra Munda served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Sepoy T S Somnath
Sepoy T S Somnath served with 6 Bihar and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
Havildar Ravi Paul
Havildar Ravi Paul served with 10 Dogra and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
He hailed from the Jammu region and was survived by his wife and two sons. His family received the news of his martyrdom on the morning of the attack.
Subedar Karnail Singh
Subedar Karnail Singh served with 10 Dogra and made the supreme sacrifice during the Uri attack on 18 September 2016.
He hailed from Shibu Chak in Bishnah, Jammu. He had served in the Army for more than two decades and had risen to the rank of Subedar.
He was survived by his wife Geeta Devi and three sons. His mortal remains were taken to his native village and he was accorded a final farewell with military honours.
The 18th Braveheart
While 17 soldiers made the supreme sacrifice on 18 September, another soldier who had been critically injured in the attack continued to battle for his life.
Sepoy K. Vikas Janardhan was shifted to the Army's Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi. On 19 September 2016, he succumbed to the injuries sustained during the Uri attack. His death raised the number of Army personnel who had died in the attack to 18.
Sepoy K. Vikas Janardhan
Sepoy K. Vikas Janardhan served with 6 Bihar and was among the soldiers injured when terrorists attacked the Army base at Uri on 18 September 2016.
Critically injured in the attack, he was shifted to the Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi for treatment. Despite medical efforts, he succumbed to his injuries on 19 September 2016.
Vikas had joined the Army in 2008 and had been posted at the Uri camp around six months before the attack. He was survived by his wife Sneha, their four-month-old daughter, his parents and younger brother.
His martyrdom brought the number of Army personnel who had died as a result of the Uri attack to 18.
Eighteen Names, One Legacy of Service
Seventeen soldiers made the supreme sacrifice at Uri on 18 September 2016. One more, Sepoy K. Vikas Janardhan, succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Together, their names became part of the history of the Uri attack and of the long record of sacrifice by Indian soldiers serving in Jammu and Kashmir.
Their ranks, units and places of origin may have been different, but on that September morning they stood together in service of the nation.
The Honour Post preserves their names so that the stories of these Bravehearts remain remembered beyond the date on which they made the supreme sacrifice.
