Second Lieutenant Narinder Kumar Dua was an officer of the 5th Battalion, Jammu & Kashmir Rifles (5 JAK Rifles), who made the supreme sacrifice during the Indo-Pak War of 1965.
He was born in 1942 in Sargodha, in undivided Punjab, which is now in Pakistan. Following the Partition of India, his family settled in Amritsar, Punjab. He subsequently joined the Indian Army and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into 5 JAK Rifles. His service number was EC-52090.
During the 1965 Indo-Pak War, 5 JAK Rifles was deployed in the Sialkot sector as part of 35 Infantry Brigade. The battalion took part in the Indian offensive towards Sialkot and was subsequently committed to operations around Chawinda.
The Chawinda area was strategically important because of its road and rail communications and the presence of strong Pakistani defensive positions supported by artillery and armour. The Indian assault in the Chawinda sector began during the night of 18/19 September 1965. 5 JAK Rifles encountered determined resistance from well-prepared enemy positions and came under heavy artillery and armoured fire.
The battalion continued operations in extremely difficult battlefield conditions and subsequently carried out a fighting withdrawal after sustaining heavy casualties. During these operations in the Sialkot–Chawinda sector, Second Lieutenant Narinder Kumar Dua continued to serve with 5 JAK Rifles.
On 22 September 1965, Second Lieutenant Narinder Kumar Dua made the supreme sacrifice while serving with his battalion. He was 29 years old according to the available biographical record.
His name is recorded among the fallen personnel of 5 JAK Rifles from the 1965 Indo-Pak War. His sacrifice forms part of the wartime history of the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles and the Indian Army's operations in the Sialkot–Chawinda sector.