A year after the Pahalgam terror attack, life remains deeply changed for the family of Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, the Indian Navy officer who was among the 26 persons killed in the tragic incident.
The family says they are still unable to overcome their grief and continue to remember the young officer who had carefully planned his future, said Rajesh Narwal, father of Lt Vinay.
Twenty-six-year-old Lt Vinay and his wife Himanshi were on their honeymoon in Pahalgam in south Kashmir when terrorists shot him at point-blank range. The April 22, 2025 attack also claimed the lives of 25 others, most of them tourists.
Speaking to mediapersons at his residence in Karnal, Rajesh Narwal, a government employee, said the family has been struggling to cope with the loss for the past one year. He said Lt Vinay’s death was not only a personal tragedy for the family but also a significant loss for the country.
"After the tragedy, everything in our lives changed. Earlier, life was moving smoothly, but now we live with an emptiness that cannot be filled. We continue to live because we must, but for us, life stopped the day we received this devastating news," he said.
"A father who loses a young son knows what the pain is. With the passage of time, one may recover from small jolts in life, but this pain will remain forever," he said.
Rajesh said Lt Vinay had clear goals and dreams for his future. "He became an officer at a young age and even maintained a notebook where he wrote down his life plans," he said. He described Lt Vinay as a caring person who treated other people’s problems as his own.
"He was my son, but to me, he was like an angel," he said. "I still remember the happiness on his face when he took his first steps while holding my finger," he recalled emotionally. He also shared memories from days before Lt Vinay’s wedding. "We had gone to Delhi for shopping, and he spoke about many plans he had for his family," he said.
Rajesh added that Lt Vinay had initially aspired to join the Air Force but later felt proud and happy after being selected for the Navy to serve the country. He said the family now wants to honour Lt Vinay’s memory through meaningful efforts and appreciated the government for standing by them after the attack.
Lt Vinay is survived by his wife Himanshi, sister Srishti, and parents Rajesh and Asha.
In May, after Operation Sindoor, Rajesh Narwal had praised India’s response and commended the Narendra Modi-led government for sending what he called a strong message to those responsible for the attack. He had then said terrorists would "think 100 times" before attempting such attacks again.
Also read: Pahalgam anniversary: Army sends strong message to terror groups
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