Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 29 (ANI): Days after Havildar K Palani was posthumously awarded Vir Chakra, his wife P Vanathi Devi said on Sunday that she is proud of her husband.

Kolkata Nov 26 PTI The Swarnim Vijay Mashaal Victory Flame which was lit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi last year marking the beginning of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Indias victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war was welcomed at a colourful ceremony in Kolkata on Friday Enthralling presentations by young boys and girls a military band display and a film 1971 War of Liberation were part of the function at Eco Park Several officers of the three services - the Army Navy and Air Force - were present at the function apart from retired officers including former Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha The Victory Flame will be stationed at Kolkata till December 4 a Defence official said Air Marshal retd Raha said the flame is an eternal sign of sacrifice We must remember the sacrifices made by the Indian soldiers and the Bangladesh Mukti Joddhas liberation warriors he said adding that the modern generation needs to be made aware of their valour in the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to the birth of a new nation - Bangladesh The Victory Flame will be taken to the residences of the heroes of the 1971 war who were awarded medals for their gallantry the Defence official said Colonel retd Sheel Kumar Puri who was awarded Vir Chakra for his valour in the war said he is thrilled to be part of the golden jubilee celebrations of a war in which he fought Born in 1939 Puri was a Major and a company commander in the Army when he fought the Pakistani forces on the western front When you go out in the war you dont know whether you will come out alive or not but I came out alive he told PTI But in my wildest of dreams I never thought that I will be alive in the 50th anniversary There cannot be a better moment than that Puri who is settled in Kolkata said standing proudly in front of the Victory FlameFour Victory Flames lit from the eternal flame at the National War Memorial in New Delhi are being carried throughout the cities and villages across the nationThe victory flames have been sent to four cardinal directions of the country and they will converge back at New Delhi in December 2021 PTI AMR NN NN

New Delhi: Today Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony. Varthaman was awarded for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in aerial combat on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman, then a Wing Commander was engaged in a fight with a Pakistani fighter jet in the aerial skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani Air Forces that followed the Pulwama attack.

Chennai Nov 22 PTI Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday greeted Group Captain Varthaman Abhinandan on being conferred the Vir Chakra award by President Ram Nath Kovind Stalin hailed Abhinandan as the valorous son of the Tamil soil who guarded the motherland in line with the traditions of bravery celebrated in the Tamil classic work Purananuru I greet him with abundant joy on him being conferred the Vir Chakra award the Chief Minister tweeted President Kovind presented the Vir Chakra to Wing Commander now Group Captain Varthaman Abhinandan He showed conspicuous courage demonstrated gallantry in the face of the enemy while disregarding personal safety and displayed exceptional sense of duty said a Rashtrapati Bhavan tweet On Monday Kovind conferred gallantry awards to personnel of the armed and paramilitary forces Vir Chakra is the nations third highest gallantry medal In 2019 Abhinandnan Varthaman had downed a Pakistani fighter aircraft before his jet was shot down during aerial combat He was held captive by Pakistan for days after his capture and was later released by the neigbouring country PTI VGN APR APR

New Delhi: Today Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony. Varthaman was awarded for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in aerial combat on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman, then a Wing Commander was engaged in a fight with a Pakistani fighter jet in the aerial skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani Air Forces that followed the Pulwama attack.

New Delhi: Today Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony. Varthaman was awarded for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in aerial combat on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman, then a Wing Commander was engaged in a fight with a Pakistani fighter jet in the aerial skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani Air Forces that followed the Pulwama attack.

New Delhi: Today Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony. Varthaman was awarded for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in aerial combat on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman, then a Wing Commander was engaged in a fight with a Pakistani fighter jet in the aerial skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani Air Forces that followed the Pulwama attack.

New Delhi: Today Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony. Varthaman was awarded for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in aerial combat on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman, then a Wing Commander was engaged in a fight with a Pakistani fighter jet in the aerial skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani Air Forces that followed the Pulwama attack.

New Delhi Nov 22 PTI Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman who downed an enemy jet during an aerial combat with Pakistan in 2019 and was held captive for three days in that country was on Monday honoured with the Vir Chakra award by President Ram Nath KovindThe fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force has been decorated with Indias third-highest wartime gallantry medal for displaying an exceptional sense of duty during the dogfight the award citation saidThe award ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several other dignitariesSeveral other military officers were also honoured at the eventEarlier this month the Indian Air Force approved the rank of Group Captain for VarthamanPresident Kovind presents Vir Chakra to Wing Commander now Group Captain Varthaman Abhinandan He showed conspicuous courage demonstrated gallantry in the face of the enemy while disregarding personal safety and displayed exceptional sense of duty the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted Wing Commander Varthaman now Group Captain downed the Pakistani jet on February 27 2019 before his MiG 21 Bison jet was hit Pakistan launched retaliation against India for the Balakot airstrikes a day beforeThe citation read out at the ceremony said a large force of the Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft consisting of advanced fourth-generation F-16 and JF-17 was detected heading toward the Line of Control LOC at around 955 am that dayIt said Wing Commander Varthaman displaying exceptional air combat acumen and knowledge of the enemys tactics scanned the low altitude airspace with his Airborne Intercept AI radar and picked up an enemy aircraft that was flying low to ambush the Indian fighter-interceptor aircraft It said he alerted the other formation pilots about the surprise threat and then consolidated the riposte against the hostile Pakistani aircraft that were attempting to drop weapons on the Indian Army positionsThis audacious and aggressive manoeuvre forced the enemy aircraft into tactical chaos All the enemy aircraft thereafter turned back including the rear echelon aircraft that were yet to launch their air to ground weapons the citation saidWing Commander Varthaman then pursued a retreating enemy fighter bomber aircraft and in the ensuing aerial combat shot down an F-16 aircraft with his onboard missile it saidHowever in the melee one of the enemy aircraft fired multiple advanced BVR beyond visual range missiles one of which hit his aircraft forcing him to eject in enemy territory it saidThe citation said despite being captured by the enemy he continued to display exceptional resolve in dealing with the adversary in a brave and dignified manner till he was repatriated on March 1 2019His actions raised the morale of the armed forces in general and the IAF in particular it saidThe strike by Indias warplanes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot and the Pakistani Air Forces subsequent retaliation the next day triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighboursThe government had announced its decision to confer the Vir Chakra on Varthaman in 2019 PTI MPB DV DV

New Delhi: Today Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind in an investiture ceremony. Varthaman was awarded for shooting down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft in aerial combat on February 27, 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman, then a Wing Commander was engaged in a fight with a Pakistani fighter jet in the aerial skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani Air Forces that followed the Pulwama attack.