Lieutenant

Ummer Fayaz
Portrait of Fayaz
Birth nameUmmer Fayaz Parray
Born(1994-06-08)8 June 1994
Kulgam district, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Died9 May 2017(2017-05-09) (aged 22)
Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Allegiance India
Service/branch Indian Army
Years of service2016–2017
Rank Lieutenant
Unit2 Rajputana Rifles
Alma materJawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Anantnag
National Defence Academy
Indian Military Academy

Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz (8 June 1994 – 10 May 2017) was an Indian Army officer who was abducted and killed in May 2017 by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, India.[1][2][3][4][5][6] He had been commissioned as a lieutenant in the Indian Army from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun on 10 December 2016, and was serving in the 2nd battalion, Rajputana Rifles.[7]

Early life

Ummer Fayaz was born in Kulgam, Jammu & Kashmir, India in 1994, and studied at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Anantnag and the National Defence Academy.[8] He faced several difficulties while in training as people in his home were not supportive of his decision to join the Indian Army. However, Fayaz was determined to join, as he used to say "I will change my Kashmir, I will make it heaven on earth again".

Abduction and killing

At the time of Fayaz's abduction he was on leave from duty and was also unarmed. He had come to his uncle's house in Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir to attend a marriage ceremony in his family. On the night of 9 May 2017 he was abducted from his uncle's house. Militants shot him twice, and his dead body was found the next morning.[9][10][11]

Aftermath

He is survived by his father, who is a farmer, his mother and two sisters.[12] He was given a guard of honour and the funeral was attended by 400 people.[13] His murder was extensively criticized on social media.[14][15] A candle march in his memory was also organised at India Gate, Delhi on an evening in May 2017, which attracted enormous support and publicity.

All the militants who were responsible for his murder were killed in operations on 31 March and 1 April 2018 by Rashtriya Rifles units.[16] Jammu & Kashmir Police stated that militant Abbas Bhat, who was wanted in connection with Fayaz's abduction and murder, was among the militants killed in Operation Batagund on 25 November 2018.[17]

Legacy

In 2017, Lt Ummer Fayaz was the 847th name to be engraved on the War Memorial at the Indian Military Academy.[18] In May of the same year, the Army Goodwill School, an army school in Jammu and Kashmir, was renamed to Shaheed Lt. Ummer Fayaz Goodwill School by the Indian Army to honour Fayaz.[19][20][21]

A book named, Undaunted: Lt. Ummer Fayaz of Kashmir by Bhaavna Arora is based on the life of Ummer Fayaz.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Twitter outraged over killing of Army man in Shopian". The Statesman. 10 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "'Brave boy, brilliant student': Family, friends remember Kashmiri army officer". Hindustan Times. 11 May 2017.
  3. ↑ "LeT, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists involved in killing of Ummer Fayaz identified". Times of India. 11 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Hizbul Mujahideen behind army officer Ummer Fayaz's killing: J-K police". Hindustan Times. 12 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Killing Of Indian Army Officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz Indicates A New Kind Of Terrorism Emerging In Kashmir". Huffington Post. 10 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "View from Kashmir Observer: Young army officer's killing shows how both sides have been brutalised". Scroll.in & Kashmir Observer. 13 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Army officer killed in Kashmir: Ummer Fayaz, 22, had been commissioned only 5 months ago - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Saha, Abhishek (6 March 2018). "Brave boy, brilliant student': Family, friends remember Kashmiri army officer". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Young Kashmiri army officer shot dead while home on leave". tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "Valley seethes at Fayaz killing". The Hindu. 11 May 2017.
  11. ↑ Naqash, Rayan (15 May 2017). "'How can we say who it was? They were all masked': Despair in Shopian after Army officer's killing". Scroll.in.
  12. ↑ "'Ummer was sitting with the bride. They pulled him, many others were waiting outside' | The Indian Express". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  13. ↑ "Martyr Lt. Ummer Fayaz Killed In Kashmir – Indian By Birth, Army Officer By Choice". IndiaTimes. 10 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Debate on social media: Kashmiris divided on army officer's killing". Hindustan Times. 11 May 2017.
  15. ↑ Iqbal, Sheikh Zaffar. "Anger On Social Media Over Killing Of Army Officer Ummer Fayaz". NDTV.
  16. ↑ "In Jammu And Kashmir Pre-Dawn Ops, 8 Terrorists Killed, 2 Soldiers Dead". NDTV.com. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Army soldier, 6 militants killed in gunfight in Shopian district of J&K". The Tribune. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  18. ↑ Sujlana, Lt Gen R. Singh (16 May 2017). "Making of a warrior & the ultimate sacrifice". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  19. ↑ "J&K: Indian Army to name school in honour of slain hero Lt Ummer Fayaz". DNA India. 13 May 2017.
  20. ↑ 'Army Goodwill School' renamed 'Shaheed Lt Umer Fayaz Goodwill School' in honour of martyred officer 15 August 2017
  21. ↑ Ashiq, Peerzada (14 May 2017). "Even after death, Lt. Ummer Fayaz is an inspiration". The Hindu.
  22. ↑ "A hero against all odds". Daily Pioneer. 19 May 2019.


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