The government, for the first time, has officially revealed the names of six Indian military personnel killed in action during Operation Sindoor, the cross-border military campaign launched to destroy terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May last year.
The names of the six individuals have been published in the Roll of Honor section of the National War Memorial website and are inscribed at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, marking the first official public acknowledgment of the deaths suffered by the Indian Armed Forces during the operation.
The fallen personnel include Major Pawan Kumar of 10th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, Rifleman Sunil Kumar, Veer Chakra, 4th Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar of 5th Field Regiment, Flying Technician Maude Muralinayake of 851st Light Regiment, Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh of 237th Field Workshop Company and Sergeant Surendra Kumar, Vayu. Medal 39 Wing.
The names are engraved on the memorial’s three-dimensional wall in the 2025 section dedicated to military personnel who gave their lives in service to the nation.
The first official disclosure of the victims
So far, the government has not officially revealed the identities of the individuals killed during Operation Sindoor, despite reports and speculation about military casualties during the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May 2025.
The publication of the names in the National War Memorial’s Roll of Honor effectively amounts to the first official confirmation of members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives in action.
The operation began after the Pahalgam attack
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 the JeM and Lashkar-e-Taiba groups. India and Pakistan agreed to stop military action on May 10 following talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries.
Among the dead were members of the army and air force
The newly revealed names indicate that casualties during Operation Sindoor were spread across the Indian Army and Air Force, reflecting the joint nature of the military campaign involving coordinated action by multiple services.
Among those honored were Archer Sunil Kumar, who was awarded the Vir Chakra for gallantry, and Sergeant Surendra Kumar, who was awarded the Vayu Medal, highlighting the role played by decorated individuals in the operation.
The National War Memorial was opened in 2019 near India Gate, to commemorate members of the Indian Armed Forces who died in military operations and conflicts after independence. The addition of the six names officially places Operation Sindoor among the operations remembered at the memorial.
