Mohan Nath Goswami


Mohan Nath Goswami AC was a soldier in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime military decoration. On 3 September 2015, while serving with the 9th battalion of the Parachute Regiment, Goswami was martyred in an ambush operation while fighting four terrorists in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir. For his actions in Kupwara, he was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra.

Early life

Goswami was born in Indira Nagar-I village in Lalkuan, Nainital district, Uttarakhand, India. He had one daughter, Bhumika Goswami, with his wife Bhawna. His father had also served in the Army.

Military career

Goswami volunteered to join the elite Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army in 2002. He was actively involved in three operations in which ten terrorists were killed and one captured alive in his last 11 days. The first operation was conducted in Khurmur, Handwara, on 23 August 2015 and resulted in the elimination of three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. He then volunteered for second operation in Rafiabad. The operation, which lasted over two days, led to the elimination of three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists and the capture of one terrorist, Sajjad Ahmad alias Abu Ubed Ullah. Goswami's last operation was on 3 September 2015, where he was part of an ambush team. He was injured during the gunfight and succumbed to his wounds, but not before killing two and wounding another two terrorists.
Goswami's body was flown by an Indian Air Force aircraft to Bareilly, from where it was taken by an army helicopter to Pantnagar and on to his birthplace. He was cremated with full military honours in his native village.

Ashok Chakra

The Ashoka Chakra citation for Mohan Goswami reads:
.