Shravan Singh: 10-Year-Old Hero of Operation Sindoor

New Delhi, December 27: When Shravan Singh walked into Vigyan Bhawan, he looked like any other child who had been dragged somewhere far from home. He clutched his certificate tightly. His eyes wandered. The hall felt too big. Too quiet.

Shravan is ten years old. He comes from Chak Taran Wali, a border village in Ferozepur, Punjab, where silence often means trouble and loud noises are not always celebrations. On Friday, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, handed him the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

The award was for bravery. But Shravan does not talk like a brave person. He talks like a child who did what felt normal.

A Village That Lives With Fear Quietly

Chak Taran Wali is about two kilometres from Pakistan. People there do not need news alerts to know when tensions rise. They know from the way elders stop chatting outside. They know when the lights are switched off early. They know from the sound that comes at night. Shravan has grown up seeing soldiers around his village. Army vehicles pass by often. Sometimes soldiers stop for water. Sometimes for tea. For Shravan, they were never strangers.

When the Pahalgam terror attack happened in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people, fear returned quickly. Then came the air strikes. Then the shelling. Everyone knew things were serious.

This was when Operation Sindoor began.

What The Boy Did, Without Thinking Much

As soldiers moved closer to the border and stayed there for long hours, Shravan noticed something simple. They were standing in the heat. They looked tired. So he started taking things to them. Water. Milk. Lassi. Tea. Ice. Whatever he could manage. According to reports by NDTV, Hindustan Times, and The Indian Express, Shravan went to forward posts even when people were told to stay indoors.

There were drone threats. There was shelling. Still, he went. Army officers later said there were places he reached where adults refused to go. One officer said the boy would arrive calmly, ask if they needed anything more, and leave. Shravan never thought of it as danger. He thought soldiers needed something cold to drink.

No One Told Him To Be Brave

There was no plan behind this. No training. No instructions. Shravan’s family survives on farming. Life is simple. Money is tight. Like most border families, they are used to sudden tension. According to Hindustan Times, Shravan never spoke about fear. He spoke about helping.

Only after the situation settled did the Army realise how often the boy had shown up.

The Situation At The Border

After the Pahalgam attack, the Indian Air Force carried out strikes on May 7, 2025, hitting terror camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen across nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As reported by The Hindu and Business Standard, Pakistan responded with shelling and attacks on Indian positions. Border districts in Punjab and Jammu stayed tense for nearly three days before things cooled down.

For most Indians, this was news on television. For Shravan, it was happening outside his home.

When The Army Spoke First

Before Delhi noticed Shravan, the Army already had. At Ferozepur Cantonment, Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar, head of the Army’s Western Command, honoured the boy quietly. Soldiers who had met him during the operation were present. For them, Shravan was not a headline. He was the child who showed up with tea when everyone was exhausted.

Pride, But Also A Pause

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is meant to honour special children. Shravan deserves it. But his story also makes people stop and think. Children should not have to grow up so close to danger. Courage should not be forced on them by geography. Celebrating Shravan is right. Making border life safer for children like him is just as important.

Back To School, Back To Life

After the ceremony, Shravan went back home. There were no loud functions. Just neighbours smiling. Some sweets. Quiet pride. Life in Chak Taran Wali goes on. Soldiers are still there. People stay alert. Fields still need work. Shravan is back in school. He talks more about how big Delhi was than about the medal.

And maybe that is exactly how it should be.

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Ananya Sharma

Senior Political Correspondent – Ananya@hindustanherald.in – Web

Covers Indian politics, governance, and policy developments with over a decade of experience in political reporting.

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