Award instituted in memory of Major who saved journalists

Nearly 16 years after his presence of mind and courage saved three journalists from certain death, the Army has instituted an award in the memory of Major P Purushottam, martyred during the only suicide attack on Badamibagh cantonment here in 1999.
The trophy that goes with the award will be given to one of the 30 'Army Goowill School' run by the 15 Corps in the Kashmir Valley which has performed best in spreading goodwill among the masses.
Major Purushottam, who as the public relations officer during the Kargil conflict, was in his office when the LeT's Fidayeen squad stormed the cantonment on November 3, 1999.

The Major, face of the Army during the conflict, was with three journalists--S Tariq, Fayaz Ahmed and Habib Naqash- when the militants barged in, firing a hail of bullets.
As gunshots rang, one after the other, Purushottam, without caring for his own safety, pushed the journalists and a personnel from his unit into the washroom attached to his office.
Firing indiscriminately, the marauders entered the the Major's room and, when they had left, Pramod Purushottam and seven members of his staff lay dead. All three journalists had, however, cheated death, courtesy a quick-thinking Purushottam.

"Since he was the messenger of goodwill and peace in the Valley, the army decided to institute this trophy in his honour," Lt Gen Subrata Saha, Commander of 15 corps, told PTI.

"He held the flag of peace high among the civilians during the period he was posted in the Valley," Lt Gen Saha said of the man who was instrumental in improving the image of the force during the conflict when the Army faced accusations of human rights abuses.
Purushottam's wife, Lt Col (retd) Valsa Purushottam, has been invited to present the trophy. "I have no complaints left now. I never had complaints about Army as an institution but a grudge that his courage and bravery had not been recognised. Now even that has been addressed," she told PTI over phone from Jabalpur.

The Major's 94-year-old father, K M Purushottam, who passed away last year after remaining bedridden for four years, had written several letters to the Army headquarters for honouring his son.
"I wish he was alive today," Valsa said longingly.
A journalist of a TV news channel recalls the Major's visit to a journalism class at Kashmir University where he was bombarded with uncomfortable questions about human rights abuse by the men in uniform.
"He faced all uncomfortable questions from the students but stayed calm. After a volley of questions, Major Purushottam disarmed the students with his smile as he spoke about Army's efforts in reaching out to the people. At the end of the class, he was the darling of every student," he said.