GANGTOK: Finally, Ganju Lama – a war hero and Victoria Cross awardee – has been honoured in Sikkim.
A museum dedicated to Ganju Lama – the war hero – has been set up by his family and relatives.
The museum dedicated to war hero Ganju Lama has been established at his ancestral village of Sangmoo in South Sikkim.
Ganju Lama is popularly known as “Tank Killer”.
Notably, during the second world war, Ganju Lama took down at least two Japanese tanks with an anti-tank weapon.
In the honour of Ganju Lama, a statue has also been erected at the museum.
The museum was inaugurated by Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang.
Lama’s medals, uniforms, souvenirs and memorabilia are all on display at the museum.
Ganju Lama was born in the Kingdom of Sikkim on July 22, 1924 to Shangdarpa parents of the Bhutia community.
He enlisted in the British Indian Army in 1942 at the age of seventeen, as a rifleman in the 1st battalion, 7th Gurkha rifles.
Ganju Lama is the only Bhutia recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
After India gained its independence, he joined the Indian 11th Gorkha Rifles, retiring in 1968, to become a farmer in Sikkim.
He was appointed honorary ADC to the President of India for life.
He died at Gangtok in Sikkim following a battle with cancer on July 1, 2000, aged 75.