The CRPF Sacrifice
Pulwama Martyrs and CRPF Soldiers Across Kashmir
On February 14, 2019, a suicide bombing killed 40 CRPF jawans at Pulwama - the deadliest terror attack on Indian security forces in three decades. This lesson honors the Pulwama martyrs and the thousands of CRPF soldiers who face terrorism daily. The unsung paramilitary forces who bear the brunt of counter-insurgency.
Valentine's Day, 2019
February 14, 2019. While much of India celebrated Valentine's Day, a convoy of 78 vehicles carrying 2,547 CRPF personnel was moving along National Highway 44 in Kashmir. They were returning from leave, heading back to duty in the Srinagar-Jammu sector.
At 3:15 PM, near Lethpora in Pulwama district, a Mahindra Scorpio packed with 350 kg of RDX explosives rammed into one of the buses. The explosion was so powerful that it scattered body parts over a 100-meter radius. The bus was vaporized.
40 CRPF jawans were martyred in an instant. It was the deadliest terror attack on Indian security forces since 1989.
The 40 Martyrs
They came from every corner of India. From Bihar and Jharkhand, from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, from Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Young men in their 20s and 30s, with wives, children, parents who loved them.
Head Constable Naseer Ahmad, a Kashmiri Muslim, was among the dead. He had joined the CRPF to protect his homeland. Constable Jaimal Singh from Rajasthan was just 27, with a young daughter. ASI Mohan Lal from Uttarakhand was to retire in months. They died together - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh - united in service to India.
The CRPF: India's Sentinel Force
The Central Reserve Police Force is India's largest paramilitary organization, with over 300,000 personnel. Raised in 1939, the CRPF serves as the country's primary internal security force. In Kashmir alone, tens of thousands of CRPF jawans are deployed for counter-insurgency operations.
They face dangers that most Indians cannot imagine. IEDs on patrol routes. Ambushes in forests. Stone-pelting by mobs. Terrorist attacks on camps. Year after year, CRPF personnel are killed in action, far from the news headlines that cover the Army.
Since 1989, over 2,000 CRPF personnel have been martyred in Kashmir alone. They are India's sentinels in the valley.