President Pranab Mukherjee posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra to Havildar Hangpan Dada, who was martyred in Jammu and Kashmir in May last year while fighting terrorists.
Dada's sobbing widow Chasen Lowang received from the President the highest peacetime military award given for awarded for valour, courageous action and self-sacrifice.
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the guest of honour and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, watched in silence as Mukherjee saluted the courage of the deceased soldier.
Dada was martyred on the night of May 26 after he first fought three terrorists in close combat in Naugam sector. He badly injured the fourth who fatally wounded him with a gun. The wounded soldier pinned down the fourth too and thus foiled an infiltration attempt from Pakistan.
Also, a documentary on Dada was released by the Indian Army minutes before his wife received the Ashok Chakra.
Dada hails from the Borduria village in the Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh. He was from the Assam Regiment and was on deputation with the Rashtriya Rifles when he was martyred.
In November last year, during the Platinum Jubilee ceremony of the Assam Regimental Centre (ARC) in Shillong, the administrative block was renamed after the braveheart.
