Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated on Thursday a revamped war memorial in eastern Ladakh's Rezang La, the site of an epic battle where Indian troops valiantly fought the Chinese military in 1962.

“After reaching Rezang La, located amidst the inaccessible hills of Ladakh, I paid my respects to the 114 Indian soldiers who made their supreme sacrifice in the 1962 war. The Battle of Rezang La is considered one of the 10 greatest and most challenging military conflicts in the world,” the Defence Minister said after the inauguration.

“It is not India’s character to occupy the land of any other country. But, if any country has looked at India with sinister eyes, we have given them a befitting reply. The brave soldiers of our army are capable of protecting every inch of India’s land. This monument is an example of the determination and indomitable courage displayed by the army at Rezang La, which is not only immortal in the pages of history, but also in our hearts,” Singh said.

The memorial is inaugurated on the day of anniversary of the legendry battle of Rezang La when a well-equipped PLA had attacked an Indian post. The Indian Army, ill-equipped but full of bravery, inflicted heavy casualties upon PLA. Nearly 400 intruding PLA troops were neutralised. Charlie Company, 13 Kumaon, had repulsed seven attacks by the Chinese before the entire company was martyred in combat.

The Indian side was led by Major Shaitan Singh, who was awarded a posthumous Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration, for his actions.

The renovation of the Rezang La war memorial on the Sino-India border started earlier this year, amid ongoing border tensions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). India had lost 20 soldiers on June 15 last year in the Galwan Valley in fierce hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops.

The original memorial structure was erected in Chushul in 1963 close to the site of the battle. Now the expanded Rezang La war memorial has an auditorium and a photo gallery to honour soldiers of Charlie Company of 13th Kumaon regiment.

In addition to this, the memorial will inscribe the name of the 20 soldiers also who made a supreme sacrifice during the Galwan Valley clash last year.

The auditorium will be named after Major Shaitan Singh whereas the photo gallery will display rare photographs to depict the valour of the Charlie Company. A model of the battlefield area is also being set up to let people know how the Indian Army had fought a difficult battle on a high altitude with minimum resources and crushed the Chinese army.

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