B. Santosh Babu

Early Life and Military Career

Bikkumalla Santosh Babu was born on 13 February 1983 in Suryapet district, in what is now the Indian state of Telangana, the only son of his parents. After primary school he went on to the Sainik School at Korukonda, and in December 2000 he entered India's National Defence Academy, later continuing his training at the Indian Military Academy. On 10 December 2004 he was commissioned as a lieutenant into the 16th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment. He served in Jammu, held platoon and company commands, was an instructor at the National Defence Academy, and served with the Indian contingent of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Kivu conflict. According to records compiled on Wikipedia, he was promoted captain in 2006 and major in 2010, attended the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington, was promoted lieutenant colonel in 2017, took command of 16 Bihar on 2 December 2019 and was promoted colonel in February 2020.

The Galwan Valley Clash

At the time of the China–India clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, Babu, a colonel, was commanding officer of 16 Bihar. According to the Indian account, the battalion was responsible for ensuring that Chinese personnel did not cross Patrolling Point 14 in the Galwan Valley, and disengagement there had begun after the 6 June talks, but on 14 June Chinese troops returned and set up tents and an observation post on the Indian side of the LAC; Babu led his men there to take the matter up, and the clash followed. China's account of how the clash began and unfolded differs from India's; see the event entry. Babu was killed in the fighting on the night of 15 June, one of the 20 deaths announced by India, and was cremated in his home town of Suryapet on 18 June.

Posthumous Honour

On 23 November 2021, at an investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Ram Nath Kovind posthumously conferred the Maha Vir Chakra on Babu; his wife and mother received it on his behalf. The Maha Vir Chakra is India's second-highest military award for gallantry in the presence of the enemy; the citation recognised his "exemplary leadership, astute professionalism and supreme sacrifice". A statue of him was later erected in Suryapet.

Family and Legacy

Babu was an only son; his father was a retired State Bank of India manager and his mother is named Manjula. He married Santoshi in 2009, and they had a daughter and a son. After his death the Chief Minister of Telangana announced an ex gratia payment of 50 million rupees to his family and a state government job for his wife, who was subsequently appointed a Deputy Collector in Telangana's revenue department. His mother told reporters: "I am happy that my son sacrificed his life for the country but as a mother, I grieve his loss. He is my only son."