AFVOA Newletters of Year 2003

Page 38 of 170 Chennai). His son, Jayant has completed his training at the NIPM and is embarking on a deck career in the Merchant Navy. Gp Capt Dass may be contacted at: Flat 502, Tungabhadra Apartments, Phase II Saptagiri Colony, Near Neredmet Cross Roads, Sainikpuri PO, Secunderabad 500 094; Tele (040) 2711 1359 AFVOA wishes Gp Capt & Mrs Dass all happiness! ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ ˵ Editorial Team Contributions From Brig V A Subramanyam Tele: 2491 4776 Col A Krishnaswami VrC, VSM**; Tele 2491 1233; Wg Cdr M E Muthu; Tele 2441 6289 Lt Col L Balakrishnan, YSM, Tele 2621 6009 Lt Col V S Rajan, Tele 2446 2636 Wg Cdr Ravi Mani Tele: Tele 2491 6705 Smt Sulochana Krishnaswami Tele 2491 1233 Maj Gen N Viswanathan, 2434 3947 As mentioned above, brief accounts about Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria, and Major Dhan Singh Thapa winners of the Param Vir Chakra are given below. IC-8497 Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria 3/1 Gurkha Rifles (posthumous) Date of Action: 5 December 1961 Place of Action: Elizabethville, Katanga, Congo Date and Place of Birth: 29 November 1935, Jangal village, Gurdaspur tehsil, Punjab, son of M. Ram Commissioned: 9 June 1957 Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria, was born on 29 November 1935, in Gurdaspur, Punjab. He was commissioned in the 1 Gorkha Rifles on 9 June 1957. After the Belgians quit Congo, a civil war situation developed in that country. When the United Nations decided upon military intervention to retrieve the situation, India contributed a brigade of around 3000 men to the U.N. Force. In November 1961, the U.N. Security Council had decided to put a stop to the hostile activities of the Katangese troops in Congo. This greatly angered Tshombe, Katanga’s secessionist leader, and he intensified his ‘hate the UN’ campaign. The result was more violence against UN personnel.