New Delhi:
The names have been published in the Roll of Honour section of the National War Memorial website and inscribed at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, marking the first formal public acknowledgement of fatalities suffered by the armed forces during the operation.
The personnel honoured are Subedar Major Pawan Kumar of Headquarters 10 Infantry Brigade, Rifleman Sunil Kumar, Vir Chakra, of 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar of 5 Field Regiment, Aviation Technician Mood Muralinaik of 851 Light Regiment, Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh of 237 Field Workshop Company, and Sergeant Surendra Kumar, Vayu Medal, of 39 Wing.
Their names have been engraved on Wall 3D of the memorial in the 2025 section, which honours military personnel who laid down their lives in service of the nation.
Until now, the government had not officially disclosed the identities of those killed during Operation Sindoor, despite reports and speculation over casualties during the four-day military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May 2025.
Operation Sindoor was launched in the early hours of May 7, 2025, weeks after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians, most of them tourists, were killed. The Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes on nine terror-linked sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, targeting infrastructure linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
India and Pakistan agreed to halt military action on May 10 following talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries.
The names now revealed show that casualties during Operation Sindoor were spread across the Army and the Indian Air Force, underlining the joint nature of the campaign. Among those honoured are Rifleman Sunil Kumar, who was awarded the Vir Chakra for gallantry, and Sergeant Surendra Kumar, a recipient of the Vayu Medal.
The National War Memorial, inaugurated in 2019 near India Gate, commemorates Indian armed forces personnel who have died in military operations and conflicts after Independence. The addition of the six names formally places Operation Sindoor among the operations remembered at the memorial.