Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on Monday said people of the country were indebted to the brave soldiers who made supreme sacrifices in the freedom struggle and then safeguarding the borders and maintaining the integrity of the country.
He said valiant soldiers of Himachal Pradesh had always led from the front in making sacrifices for the cause of the motherland and they have brought laurels to the country and the State. The Chief Minister was presiding over a function organised by the Sainik Welfare Department at Shaheed Samarak, Dharamshala to commemorate the Vijay Diwas. He paid homage to all martyrs on behalf of the people of the state.
Singh said 195 brave soldiers of the State laid their lives during the historic war against Pakistan in 1971.
The highest gallantry award Param Veer Chakra of the country was first awarded to Major Somnath of Himachal Pradesh and out of total four Param Veer Chakras given for Kargil aggression; two were given to brave sons of Himachal Pradesh.
He said 14 Himachali soldiers had been conferred with Maha veer Chakra, 61 with Veer Chakra and till now 1140 soldiers of the State had sacrificed their lives for the cause of the country. The Chief Minister said a War Museum would be established at Shaheed Smarak Dharamsala where brief description of all the martyrs since British period would be highlighted. An expert committee would be constituted for this purpose and the War Museum would be developed as per the recommendations of the committee.