Service No : IC-37820K
Date of Birth : August 4, 1957
Place of birth : Pune (Maharashtra)
Service : Army
Last Rank : Major
Unit : 4 Grenadiers
Arm/Regt : The Grenadiers
Operation : CI & IS Ops
Martyrdom : May 9, 1994
Major Sunil Bakshi
Major Sunil Bakshi hailed from Pune district of Maharashtra and was born on 04th August 1957. He joined the Army after completing his school education. He was commissioned into 4 Grenadiers of the Grenadiers Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers with a rich history of various battle honours. He gradually developed into a dedicated and professionally competent soldier and a fine officer. Besides being a deep-rooted soldier, he was an affable and jovial person, who was liked by his peers and juniors as well. He was a keen sportsman too and, especially excelled in football and basketball.
After serving for some time he got married to Ms Rashmi on 09 Oct 1986 at the age of 29 years and the couple had two daughters Smriti and Shruti. Later he was deputed to serve with 20 Assam Rifles, the oldest para-military force of India with its headquarters at Shillong. The battalion was engaged in defending the Indo-Myanmar border as well as conducting counter-insurgency operations in the North East states.
Manipur Ambush : 09 May 1994
During May 1994, Major Sunil Bakshi's unit 20 Assam Rif battalion, was deployed in Ukhrul district of Manipur for counter-insurgency operations. There had been increased militant activity in the border region of Manipur since the early part of the year 1994 and in response to this, the Army and paramilitary forces had been conducting coordinated operations along the unfenced border between Manipur and Myanmar. The Naga militants belonging to National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) were active in the AOR (Area of Responsibility) of the battalion and as a result Major Sunil Bakshi and his troops had to maintain a high state of alert at all times. NSCN was a Naga militant and separatist group operating mainly in northeastern part of India with minor activities in northwest Myanmar. In April 1988, the NSCN split into two factions; the NSCN-K led by Khaplang, and the NSCN-IM, led by Chishi Swu and Muivah. The split was accompanied by a spate of violence and clashes between the factions, which further exacerbated the situation on ground for the security forces. On 09 May 1994, 20 Assam Rif battalion troops were undertaking a patrol in Wino bazar of Ukhrul town along with Major Sunil Bakshi and Captain Labh Singh and 15 other soldiers.
However in a pre-planned move at around 4;30 pm the suspected NSCN men launched an attack on the troops. As the attack was sudden and by the militants firing from safe places, Major Sunil Bakshi and his men did not get adequate time to move to a safe place and retaliate. Major Sunil Bakshi and Captain Labh Singh took direct hits and got severely injured. They soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Besides the two officers, two other soldiers Lance Naik NP Singh and Lance Naik KC Ghosh sustained injuries. Major Sunil Bakshi was a brave soldier and a committed officer, who laid down his life at the age of 36 years in the line of his duty.
Major Sunil Bakshi is survived by his wife Smt Rashmi Bakshi and daughters Smriti Bakshi and Shruti Bakshi.
19 Comments
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Sachin Bali
2023at1:07 pmSuper proud! May our motherland continue to produce such Heros!
Akhil Joshi
2023at2:01 pmHusband of my closest cousin, he was a gem of a human being. Very warm, gentle. Didn’t say much but his demeanour assured everyone that he would stand by them if and when required. Silent but solid like a rock.
Mrs Sarita Singh Adhikari
2023at4:37 pmAlways and Forever in our hearts .Courageous, prestigious Husband of my dear childhood brave friend Mrs Rashmi Bakshi and wonderful father of ❤️❤️
Precious Daughters. I was not fortunate enough to meet ( Datta Family ‘sHero) him personally but knew about him since his roka with my dear Kittu. He is, was and will be a great inspiration
APD Rai
2023at1:54 amA true national hero and proud to have had him as a close friend.
Maj Gen Ravindra Singh Bhadauria (Retired)
2023at1:00 pmI was commissioned into 4 GRENADIERS on 09 Jun 1984. After a brief leave at home and a short ‘Orientation Course’ at the Regimental Centre, in Jabalpur, i reported to the unit towards mid- July 1984. The unit was located at a place called, Brahmna Di Bari (BD Bari), near Jammu. It was a field area, so we were living in temporary accommodation, close to each other. It was here that i met Maj Sunil Bakshi. In him i found a wonderful human being, a very jovial person, easy to mix around with and a thorough professional. He quickly took me into his wings, as if i was his responsibility. I would say, he became my friend, philosopher & guide. He loved to live his life to the hilt; would work hard, play hard and enjoy even harder. As my senior, he guided and groomed me at every level.
After our tenure in BD Bari, we moved to Shahjahanpur, Sikkim and Dehradun. By now we grew fond of each other. There were many occasions when we roughed it out together during Exercises in the hills of Almora, Nainital Etc. He was fond of sports, especially football and basket ball. Being health conscious, he would jokingly ask us if he had put on weight, and we always laughed it out as he seldom put on an additional pound. In Dehradun, our offices were close by. All of us used to get together for tea and Samosas when we had some break from work.
It was when we were in Shahjahanpur, around 1985-86, that he got married to Rashmi. I remember having attended the wedding in Delhi. Sunil, introduced me to all his sisters-in-law, as an athlete and gymnast and i became an instant hit with them. Friendship with the family kept on growing after that. Their first daughter Smriti and ours Sneha, were born three days apart during October 1990. As luck would have it i was in Dehradun at that time, and experienced pacing outside the hospital along with Sunil, when Shruti was born. I could not be present for my daughter’s birth, at Jodhpur, though.
Our family friendship blossomed and we remained in touch even when we were posted to different stations. Sunil continued to be a guiding beacon and i would say my mentor.
During the year 1994, i was posted in Pune, when we learnt about the shocking news of Sunil’s martyrdom. Phone connectivity was poor those days. It was quite a while by the time we learnt about the incident. When we met Rashmi after the incident, barely out of her grief, she handled life courageously. Their second child, Smriti, was born after Sunil’s departure. Her world had shattered but she braved it out. The rest, they say is history. There were lot’s of ups and downs, but Sunil’s memory and Rashmi’s doggedness kept the family strong.
I wish Rashmi, Shruti and Smriti the very best in their future endeavours.
Anupama Munjal
2023at12:12 pmMiss you dear brother on the other hand proud of you
Anupama Munjal
2023at8:48 pmMissing you always