Lance Naik Albert Ekka, PVC (27 December 1942 – 3 December 1971) was a soldier in 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 martyred in action in the Battle of Gangasagar, during the

Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani Instrument of Surrender, Pakistani ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Param Vir Chakra The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India's highest military decoration, awarded for displaying distinguished acts of valour during wartime. Param Vir Chakra translates as the "Wheel of the Ultimate Brave", and the award is granted for "most conspicu ...

, India's highest award for valour in the face of the enemy.

Early life

Albert Ekka was born on 27 December 1942, in village Zari in Gumla, Jharkhand. His parents were Julius Ekka and Mariam Ekka. Ekka's family belonged to an Adivasi tribe . Hunting was a common sport among the Adivasis, and Ekka was interested in it from his childhood. With his experience of hunting in jungles, he was able to be a better soldier with his skilful use of ground and movements. As he grew, Ekka developed interest for the army, and was enrolled in the

Bihar Regiment The Bihar Regiment is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It traces its origins back to the British Indian Army. The Bihar Regiment was formed in 1941 by regularising the 11th (Territorial) Battalion, the 19th Hyderabad Regiment, and r ...

on 27 December 1962.

Military career

After the 14th Battalion of the

Brigade of the Guards The Brigade of The Guards is a mechanised infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised as the first "all India", "all class" infantry unit of the Army where troops from all parts of India serve together, as opposed to other regiments that ...

was raised in January 1968, Ekka was transferred to that unit. He saw action in counter-insurgency operations while in the

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

. During the preparations anticipation of

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decem ...

, Ekka was promoted to Lance Naik.

Battle of Gangasagar

As the war broke out, 14 Guards was attached to the IV Corps. The capture of Gangasagar, located to the south

Akhaura Akhaura ( bn, আখাউড়া ) is an upazila of Brahmanbaria District, a district under Chattogram, Bangladesh. Akhaura Upazila has an area of 99.28 km2. The main river that run through this upazila is the Titas River. Akhaura play ...

in the

Brahmanbaria District Brahmanbaria ( bn, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, translit=Brahmôṇbaṛiya) is a district in eastern Bangladesh located in the Chittagong Division. Geographically, it is mostly farmland and is topographically part of the Ga ...

, was crucial for the advancement of IV Corps, and 14 Guards was tasked for that. As the operation began, the unit placed itself south of Gangasagar, about from Akhaura railway station, and formed its defences. The high ground around the railway station was their main defence, followed by

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first dev ...

and

anti-personnel An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles ...

mines. During a patrol, Pakistani troops were found moving on the railway tracks. Soon two companies of the battalion attacked the enemy positions along the track.

Citation

The

citation on the Official

Website reads as follows:

Legacy

Lance Naik Albert Ekka statue at Param Yodha Sthal Delhi

Lance-Naik Albert Ekka was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

awarded India's highest wartime gallantry award, the

. In 2000, on the occasion of 50th Republic day, the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

issued a postal stamp in his memory. The son of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

was honoured by naming the major intersection in front of Firayalal store in

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area o ...

as Albert Ekka Chowk, which also bears his statue. A block (sub-district) in

Gumla Gumla is a city which is the district headquarters in the Gumla subdivision of the Gumla district in the state of Jharkhand, India. History Gumla began as a hamlet. A week-long "Cow Fair" (''Gau-Mela'') took place every year, where items in d ...

has also been created in his name -

Albert Ekka (Jari) block Albert Ekka (Jari) block is a CD block that forms an administrative division in the Chainpur subdivision of Gumla district, in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Albert Ekka, was born in village Jari. He was posthumously awarded the ...

. In

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...

there is a eco park Albert Ekka Park named after him for his action to save

Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located ...

from Pakistan during 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Early life

Military career

Battle of Gangasagar

Citation

Legacy

References

Further reading