Nazir Ahmad Wani
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Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, AC, SM & Bar was an Indian soldier in the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry of the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...
. He was posthumously awarded the
Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
, India's highest peacetime military decoration, in January 2019. He was the first recipient of the Ashok Chakra award from
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
region of the Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
. In June 2019, in a tribute to Nazir, Indian Army renamed their 'Army Goodwill School (AGS) Wuzur' to 'Shaheed Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani, Ashok Chakra, Sena Medal** Army Goodwill School Wuzur'.


Early life

Nazir was a resident of Cheki Ashmuji village in the
Kulgam district Kulgam district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of towards south-west of Anantnag. The district comprises block, tehsil and town of Kulgam. Location Kulgam is situated near the ...
of the
Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...
of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
into a
Kashmiri Muslim Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Islam and are native to the Kashmir Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir. Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has b ...
family of the Wani clan. In the early 1990s, when Wani was a young boy, he weaved Kashmiri carpets for a monthly salary of few hundred rupees. When the
insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
broke out in the 1990s, it impacted their work and finding work became a struggle.


Militancy

According to a senior Army officer who spoke to ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...
'', "Wani was a terrorist initially and became a counter-insurgent after he realised the futility of violence". He then surrendered and became a part of the Ikhwan, a pro-government militia group led by Javed Ahmad Shah in late 1994. According to Wani's brother Mushtaq, Wani had joined Ikhwan "out of his free will, and that of God, nothing else". Three militia groups of that time had merged to form the Ikhwan to fight against the militancy. In 2002 the state government of Jammu and Kashmir under
Mufti Mohammad Sayeed A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion (''fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...
disbanded the Ikhwan, which led to the loss of livelihood for its members. By then Wani had a wife and two children.


Military service

Nazir joined 162 Infantry Battalion ( Territorial Army), a Territorial Army battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, in 2004. He was awarded
Sena Medal The Sena Medal is awarded to members of the Indian army, of all ranks, "for such individual acts of exceptional devotion to duty or courage as have special significance for the Army." Awards may be made posthumously and a bar is authorized for s ...
in 2007 for gallantry and for a second time in 2018, for killing a terrorist in close combat. He took part in several major
counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
operations in which top terrorists were either arrested or killed. According to one of his relatives, Wani had killed around thirty terrorists including some major terrorists. At the time of his death, Wani's battalion, 162 Infantry Battalion TA was attached to the 34th battalion,
Rashtriya Rifles The Rashtriya Rifles (RR; ) is a counter-insurgency force in India, formed in 1990, to specifically serve in the Jammu and Kashmir region. They also maintain public order by drawing powers from the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Po ...
while conducting counter-insurgency operations.


Operation Batagund

On 25 November 2018, a counter-terrorist operation known as Operation Batagund was launched by 34 Rashtriya Rifles at
Hirpora Hirpora (or Heerpora) is a village, near Shopian town in the Shopian district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the second largest village in the district, after Devepora. It is situated on the Mughal Road, west of Sho ...
village near Batagund,
Shopian district Shopian district (), known as Shupyan () in Kashmiri, is a hill district with its administrative division in Shopian town, located in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, since it is situated on the historical road commonly known a ...
. After intelligence relating to the presence of senior
Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...
terrorists in the area was received, a cordon and search operation was initiated at midnight by a joint team of security forces consisting of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, army units and Central Reserve Police Force in the area. The terrorists then fired upon the forces after which the forces retaliated. At 12:25 am, according to an army officer, one of the soldiers was hit. The soldier fell near the garage of a house. Under covering fire provided by his fellow soldiers hiding behind walnut trees, Wani attempted to pull the injured soldier to safety. In the meantime, the terrorists kept firing at them and changing their positions. Despite being under fire, Wani pulled out the wounded soldier. During the gunfight, Wani entered the house and killed the district commander of
Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...
and another foreign terrorist. Wani received multiple wounds on his body and head, but despite his injuries, Wani shot and injured a third terrorist. The other soldiers had entered the building by then and killed the remaining terrorists. First aid was immediately provided for his injuries and he was taken to hospital where he died due to his wounds. According to the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the six terrorists killed in the operation belonged to
Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ( ar, حزب المجاھدین, ), is an Islamism, Islamist militant organization operating in the Kashmir region. Its goal is to separate Kashmir Valley, Kashmir from India and merge it with ...
and Lashkar-e-Taiba and were identified as: * Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, alias Hammad, district commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba for Shopian district * Mohammad Abass Bhatt of Cheki Mantribugh Shopian * Umar Majeed Ganai, alias Maaz, alias Abu Hanzalla, of South Kulgam * Mohammad Waseem Wagay, alias Saifullah, of Amshipora, district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen for Shopian district * Khalid Farooq Malik, alias Rafi, of Aliyalpora, Shopian, the district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen for Kulgam district * One foreign terrorist from Pakistan. The bodies of all six terrorists were retrieved. A large number of weapons and ammunition were recovered. Police stated that terrorist Abbas Bhat who was killed, was wanted in connection with the murder of Lt. Ummer Fayaz, who was abducted and murdered by terrorists in May 2017.


Funeral

On 26 November, Wani's body was taken to his family at Chak Ashmuji, wrapped in the Indian flag. During the funeral ceremony attended by 500–600 people, Wani was accorded a
21-gun salute A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exception ...
while his body was lowered into his grave.


Ashoka Chakra

On 26 January 2019 on Republic Day, President
Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...
posthumously awarded the
Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...
to Nazir Ahmad Wani. The award was accepted by his wife Mahajabeen at an official ceremony during the
Delhi Republic Day parade The Delhi Republic Day parade is the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade takes place every year on 26 January at Rajpath, New Delhi. It is the main attraction of India's Republic ...
. He was the first recipient of the Ashok Chakra award from the Kashmir region of the Indian state of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
. The Ashoka Chakra citation reads as follows:


Personal life

Nazir is survived by his wife Mahajabeen who worked as a teacher and two sons, Athar and Shaid. ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...
'' reported that "Wani comes from a humble background and had worked for the benefit of the underprivileged section in his village and surrounding area."


References


Further reading

* Sonal Chaturvedi (18 February 202
The Real Wani—Kashmir’s True Hero: A Definitive Biography of Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani
Bloomsbury Publishing


External links


Video of Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani Honoured With Ashok Chakra On Republic Day
{{Ashoka Chakra award recipients Year of birth missing 2018 deaths Indian Muslims Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) Ashoka Chakra