Six years after a suicide bomber killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Opposition leaders on Saturday led tributes to the fallen soldiers, recalling their courage and sacrifice on the February 14 anniversary.
The 2019 attack, one of the deadliest on Indian security forces in recent memory, continues to shape India’s national security discourse and remains a deeply emotional moment in the country’s fight against terrorism.
In a message posted on X, the Prime Minister said, “Remembering the brave heroes who laid down their lives in Pulwama on this day in 2019. Their devotion, resolve, and service to the nation remain forever etched in our collective consciousness. Every Indian draws strength from their enduring courage.”
Remembering the brave heroes who laid down their lives in Pulwama on this day in 2019. Their devotion, resolve and service to the nation remain forever etched in our collective consciousness. Every Indian draws strength from their enduring courage.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 14, 2026
Leaders across parties pay homage
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also paid tribute: “Pulwama mein 2019 ke dussahasi aatanki hamle mein shaheed hue hamare veer jawano ko meri bhavpoorn shraddhanjali. Bharat Mata ki raksha mein unke sarvochch balidan ke liye desh sadaiv unka rini rahega.”
He said the country would remain “forever indebted” to the martyrs who laid down their lives in defence of the nation.
पुलवामा में 2019 के दुस्साहसी आतंकी हमले में शहीद हुए हमारे वीर जवानों को मेरी भावपूर्ण श्रद्धांजलि।
भारत माता की रक्षा में उनके सर्वोच्च बलिदान के लिए देश सदैव उनका ऋणी रहेगा। pic.twitter.com/UrEV7Xu3VR
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 14, 2026
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge described the sacrifice of the soldiers as “eternal” and said the nation would never forget them. “We pay our deepest homage to the brave martyrs of Bharat Mata, who laid down their lives in Pulwama. Their indomitable courage and unflinching devotion to the nation will forever be etched in our collective memory,” he wrote on X.
We pay our deepest homage to the brave martyrs of Bharat Mata, who laid down their lives in Pulwama.
Their indomitable courage and unflinching devotion to the nation will forever be etched in our collective memory.
Their supreme sacrifice remains eternal.
We shall never forget.… pic.twitter.com/tKiem16aXr— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) February 14, 2026
On February 14, 2019, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-filled vehicle into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. Forty personnel were killed. Pakistan-based group Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack.
The incident left the entire country in shock. There was deep sorrow and anger, and tensions between India and Pakistan rose sharply soon after. India responded with diplomatic and military steps in the weeks that followed.
Since then, February 14 has been observed as a day of remembrance across the country, with memorials and tributes honouring the 40 CRPF personnel who lost their lives.