Born on Saturday, the 8th October 1983, Rushikesh Ramani was son of Shree Vallabhbhai Ramani and Smt. Geetaben Ramani. Rushikesh had inherited love and devotion for mother India from Ramani family. Ancient moral values and Indian culture were deeply imbibed in his parents who further inculcated the same in their only son. As a teenage boy, during his school days, he had a special interest in adventurous games. Emotional by nature, Rushikesh was very close to his father and mother.
From 1995 to 2001, he completed his primary and high school education from BalachadiSainikSchool. During his school days, Rushikesh had set an example of quality leadership by carrying out the responsibility of effective School Captain. He was also known for his brilliant records in academics in the school and was one of the favorite students of most of the educators to whom he always addressed as “Sirji”. He had a burning desire to offer his services to the motherland. Rushikesh secured 85% in his class XII examination by working hard for just 15 days prior to the examination.
Immediately on completion of his schooling instead of choosing the monotonous options of doctor or engineering, he opted for a career in Indian Armed Forces and joined the NationalDefenseAcademy at Dehradoon. He completed his training at the very young age of 21 years and joined the Indian Army on 11th June 2005 as a Lieutenant in 23 Punjab Regiment. It must be noted here that the soldiers in the infantry units are trained to fight face to face with the enemy troops. Rushikesh has written in his diary “I heartily believe that army is not a profession, it is a religion.” This quote alone says a lot about his devotion for his motherland.
Rushikesh’s boldness, daring and leadership quality was quickly recognized by the senior officials in the army and he was chosen in the Special Operation Task Force. In a very short span ,he was promoted to Major from Lieutenant through Captain’s rank . In March 2009, he was sent to Kupwara, in Jammu Kashmir as a Commander of an Infantry Company. The Line of Control passes at a distance of 10 kilometers West of district Kupwara through the dense forest and where he was posted . His team was tasked to detect and prevent infiltration from Pakistan through his company post.
In the late evening of the 6th June 2009, an input was received that a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists have silently crossed the Kupwara border. Major Rushikesh Ramani instinctively gathered his team and went off on a sting operation in search of these infiltrators. He sensed some movement near the Line of Control & 3 kilometers away from the Gulab Checkpost. In spite of being a dark , rainy mid night and without wasting time, Major Ramani detected the terrorists hiding in the woods and challenged them.
A reserve & back up team was also approaching the site of incident but Major Ramani could not summon them for additional help as the bad weather and heavy rainfall had cut of the communication system at this very critical time. Major Ramani and his soldier buddy came face to face during the guerrilla fight with the terrorists at 01.15 AM on 7th June 2009. Heavy firing of bullets from both the sides went on for a long time. The infiltrators saw a defeat coming their way and started backing off but did not cease the heavy firing while escaping.
During the fight, Major Rushikesh got seriously injured, but he did not give up. Blood was flowing uncontrollably from his wounds that did not affect his non-stop and accurate firing which killed three terrorists. Major Ramani took 12 bullets on his chest and abdomen and lay badly injured . The injuries could not save his life and he died protecting his motherland. The bravery he showed during the whole operation was beyond imagination and words . This noble act makes him worthy of the highest honor and award by the nation .
