Who Is Major Abhilasha? UN to Honour Indian Officer as Two Fallen Heroes Receive Top Medal

New Delhi: The United Nations will honour three soldiers from India on International UN Peacekeeping Day. The two martyred peacekeepers will be posthumously awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal, while Indian Army Major Abhilasha Barak will be awarded the Military Gender Advocate of the Year 2025. This honour is an international recognition of India's contribution to global peacekeeping operations and the courage of Indian soldiers.

Which Indian soldiers will receive the honour posthumously?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will award Dag Hammarskjöld Medal to two Indian soldiers at a special ceremony. Both sacrificed their lives while serving in UN missions. Lance Havildar Harbhajan Singh was deployed under the UN Stabilisation Mission, MONUSCO, in Congo. Naib Subedar Sujit Kumar Pradhan was martyred in the line of duty while deployed in the UN Mission, UNMISS, in South Sudan.

Which award will Major Abhilasha Barak receive?

Major Abhilasha Barak will be given the Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for the year 2025. She has received this honour for promoting women's empowerment and gender equality in peacekeeping missions. The UN has described his work as extraordinary.

Why is Major Abhilasha Barak's achievement different?

Major Abhilasha Baraka played a major role in increasing women's participation during her deployment with UNIFIL, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon. She is currently the Commander of the Female Engagement Team under UNIFIL. His team interacts directly with local communities, especially women. Connecting women's voices to the peace process in conflict areas and implementing gender sensitivity on the ground has been an important part of her work.

What does this honour mean for India?

India is among the countries sending the maximum number of troops to UN peacekeeping operations. For decades, Indian soldiers have been deployed to maintain peace and stability in conflict-torn areas of the world. In such a situation, posthumous honour to two martyrs and prestigious international award to a woman officer show India's growing global role.

This honour makes three things clear. One, women in the Indian Army are now assuming command responsibilities and making a mark on the international platform. Two, India's contribution to UN missions continues to be important. Three, it reinforces India's commitment to peace-keeping to the world