For Captain Pawan Kumar, a Jat and a JNU degree holder, all that mattered was love for the country and not calls of "azadi" on the campus or reservation demand by his community members in Haryana.
"Kisiko reservation chahiye to kisiko azadi bhai. Humein kuchh nahin chahiye bhai. Bas apni razai. (Some want reservation and some independence, I don't want anything, brother, I want only my quilt)," said the 23-year-old captain of the Special Forces, who laid down his life while leading his team against terrorists in Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir in his last Facebook post yesterday.
The young para commando had been in the Army for only three years after graduating from the National Defence Academy. Under a tie-up NDA has with JNU, he had a degree from the prestigious university in Delhi.
The 10 Para Special Forces officer was leading his men from the front in a complicated operation in a 7-storey building in Pampore where at least three terrorists had holed up.
The army described him as an "inspiring leader", who in spite of being injured in an earlier anti-terrorist operation, went on to volunteer for more operations.
The young officer belonged to Haryana which is witnessing large-scale violence over the demand by Jats for reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.
His Facebook account gives one a glimpse into his life. He has posted pictures of him with motorbikes and jeeps. One of his profile pictures he posted last year was of his dog Tyson, a young Rottweiler.