Statue Built In Arunachal In Memory Of IAF Corporal Killed In Pahalgam Attack

The serene town of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh witnessed an emotional first death anniversary observance of Indian Air Force (IAF) Corporal Tage Hailyang, one of the 26 victims of the horrific Pahalgam terror attack exactly a year ago. 

Hailyang -- gunned down by terrorists at Pahalgam's Baisaran Valley -- was just days away from getting transferred out of Kashmir. He was one of the 26 people the terrorists shot in cold blood.

On Wednesday, a memorial statue of the brave soldier was inaugurated at Rakhe Lembo in his native Tajang village, Lower Subansiri district, drawing family members, local leaders, and residents to pay homage.

The Pahalgam attack took place on April 22, 2025, in the picturesque Baisaran Valley meadow near the popular tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. Armed terrorists, estimated at 2-7 in number, opened indiscriminate fire on civilians and tourists between 1 pm and 2.45 pm, turning the peaceful pine-forested area accessible only by foot or horseback into a bloodbath.

Corporal Hailyang, who joined the IAF in 2017 after education in Ziro, Haryana's Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, and graduation from Don Bosco, Itanagar, was vacationing with his newlywed wife after a transfer from Srinagar to Dibrugarh Air Force Station. 

Posted in Srinagar, he had returned to collect his belongings when tragedy struck. Eyewitness accounts and tributes highlight his heroism: despite chances to flee, he stayed back, guiding civilians to safety amid gunfire before succumbing to bullets.