BHARAT KE VEER THE HEROS OF KARGIL WAR

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February 17, 2020

LIEUTENANT MANOJ KUMAR PANDEY(1/11 GORKHA RIFLES) According to his father, Manoj Kumar Pandey had joined the Indian Army with the sole ambition of getting a Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry award. He got one in Kargil conflict albeit posthumously. Lieutenant Pandey was a soldier of 1/11 Gorkha Rifles. His team was tasked to clear enemy positions in order to prevent his battalion from getting exposed in the daylight. The battlefield was Khalubar. He led his team valiantly and was shot on a ledge but he made it to the top of a cliff. He busted enemy bunkers before succumbing to bullets. His dardevilry finally led to the recapture of Khalubar.

February 17, 2020

RIFLEMAN SANJAY KUMAR (13 J&K RIFLES) Rifleman Sanjay Kumar was once a taxi driver and had been rejected thrice by the army. Today, he is the youngest of three surviving Param Vir Chakra decorated soldiers of the Indian Army. During the Kargil war, he was part of a column that was tasked to capture area Flat Top of Point 4875 in the Mushkoh Valley. When automatic fire from one of the enemy bunkers posed stiff opposition and stalled the column, Kumar charged at them head on. He was hit in the leg and hip. But he single-handedly wiped out a bunker after others from his unit had fallen.

February 17, 2020

MAJOR PADMANI ACHARYA (2 RAJPUTANA RIFLES) Major Padmapani Acharya was a company commander and assigned the task of recapturing an enemy position in Tololing. Bracing a hail of Pakistani shells and bullets, Major Acharya overran the enemy position. He was grievously injured in the process and succumbed to his injuries soon after completing his mission. Days before the battle, he had written a letter to his father telling him "combat is an honour of a lifetime". In the same letter, he requested his father to tell "a story a day from the Mahabharata" to his daughter Charu, who could never got to see her father again but at 20, she wishes to join the army.

February 17, 2020

NAIK DIGENDRA KUMAR (2 RAJPUTANA RIFLES) Naik Digendra Kumar is best known for his plan to recapture Tololing that is located an altitude of 15,000 feet. His plan had surprised General VP Malik, the then army chief, who held a Sainik Darbar in Drass on June 2, 1990 after three failed attempts to get back Tololing. His idea of following the same route as the enemy sounded too risky to the army chief. But Naik Digendra Kumar insisted and set off on the mission. The team of 10 commandos came under heavy firing from 250 Pakistani soldiers. Nine commandos died. But before that they handed over their guns and grenades to Naik Digendra Kumar, who lodged them in all 11 bunkers of the enemy. He killed Major Anwar Khan of Pakistan Army in hand-to-hand combat slitting enemy's throat with his dagger. He planted Indian flag on the hilltop before falling unconscious. He woke up in an army hospital.

February 17, 2020

MAJOR VIVEK GUPTA(2 RAJPUTANA RIFLES) Vivek Gupta of the 2 Rajputana Rifles was leading a dangerous uphill assault against the Pakistani intruders. He captured two bunkers before being enemy bullets to reopen his torso in Dress. The Major lay in the snow alongside dead colleagues for two days. He died fighting exactly seven years after being commissioned in the 2nd Rajputana Rifles -- June 13, 1992.

February 17, 2020

MAJOR RAJENDRA ADHIKARI ( 18 GRENADIERS) On May 14, 1999, Major Rajesh Adhikari was leading the central arm of three 10-man teams trying to capture a bunker at 16,000 ft at the Tololing feature. He displayed exemplary valour in recapturing Tololing, where he engaged in direct combat with the Pakistani soldiers guarding the bunkers. Major Adhikari suffered serious bullet injuries to which he succumbed beyond enemy lines on May 15. He was the second army officer to be martyred in Kargil war. His body was recovered 13 days later. In his pocket was an unread letter from his wife. He was posthumously awarded Mahavir Chakra for his bravery.