Mariappan Saravanan

Mariappan Saravanan

Major Mariappan Saravanan (10 August 1972 – 29 May 1999), was an officer in the prestigious Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army who was killed during the Kargil War. He was killed in hand to hand combat with intruders after killing four intruders in the Batalik area of Kargil Sector on 29 May 1999, along with 33 soldiers and four other officers. Saravanan had just completed four years of service on 10 March 1999.

Major Sarvanan was possibly the first officer killed in the Kargil War. The attack led by him came in the early stages of the conflict when adequate information was not available. The men in 1 Bihar took an oath after Maj. Sarvanan’s fall to fight to the finish and recover the heights, to the battle cry of ‘Bajrang Bali ki Jai’, they launched subsequent offensives that saw it not just take the heights but drive the Pakistanis all the way across the Line of Control. His actions have led to him being referred to as the "Hero of Batalik".