‘A gentleman, doting parent’: Sainik schools alumni association pays tribute to Col Babu

All India Sainik Schools Alumni Association posted a video as a mark of tribute to Col Santosh Babu, who died in the clash between Indian and Chinese forces in Galwan.

Col Santosh Babu with his wife Santoshi and their children — daughter aged nine and son aged four | By special arrangement

New Delhi: The All India Sainik Schools Alumni Association (AISSAA) has created a video as a tribute to Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, the commanding officer (CO) of the Indian Army’s 16 Bihar unit, who died Monday night in a clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley. 

The video tribute shows moments from Colonel Babu’s school days, his time in the National Defence Academy (NDA), and with friends and his family. The video was posted Wednesday by the AISSAA, which comprise alumni from different sainik schools across the country, on Facebook and Twitter.

Tribute to Col. Santosh Babu

Regards
AISSAA Family
Core Committee Member
[e-mail] pic.twitter.com/Eqk1XvnFRS

— AISSAA-All India Sainik Schools Alumni Association (@AISSAAFamily) June 17, 2020

 

The video tribute starts with the message: “This is all where it started”, displaying pictures of the colonel performing skits and sports during his time in Sainik School, Korukonda, Andhra Pradesh where he studied from 1993-2000.

His pictures from trekking, and playing sports with his batchmates in NDA, Pune, are shown under the message: “At the cradle of leadership-NDA.” 

‘Salute braveheart’

The alumni association described Colonel Babu as a “dearest friend, great subordinate, fatherly superior” and called him a “gentleman par excellence” in the video.

The video tribute has pictures of the colonel with his wife and his children, calling him a “doting parent and family man”. The tribute ends with the note — “Salute braveheart, You wouldn’t have it any other way”.

A resident of Suryapet in Telangana, Santosh was commissioned into the 16 Bihar regiment in 2004 and posted in Jammu for the first time. Since then, he had been posted in various border locations. 

The mortal remains of the colonel reached his residence in Vidyanagar Wednesday night and were consigned to flames with full military honours at the family’s own farm land at Kesaram village in Suryapet district of Telangana.

The funeral procession, which began from his residence, passed through the streets of Suryapet town that observed a complete shutdown as people paid their last respects to the departed soul.