A Big Salute To The Kargil War Heroes

WE RECAPTURED OUR LAST HILL FROM PAKISTAN
BUT WE LOST OUR MOST VALUABLE, GREAT WARRIORS, BRAVE BROTHERS .TODAY IT’S TIME TO REMEMBER THEM

KARGIL’S FIRST HERO Lt.Saurabh Kalia

Captain Saurabh Kalia (1976 – 1999) was an officer of the Indian Army who was killed during the Kargil War while being held as a prisoner of war by the Pakistani security forces.[1] He along with five other soldiers of his patrolling team was captured alive and kept in captivity where they were tortured, then killed. His ear drums were pierced with hot iron rods, eyes punctured and genitals cut off during torture by the Pakistani Army.

Lt Saurabh Kalia was selected for the Indian Military Academy, in August 1997 through Combined Defense Services and was commissioned on 12 December 1998. His first posting was in the 4 JAT Regiment (Infantry) in the Kargil Sector. Saurabh arrived there in mid-January 1999 after reporting at the Jat Regimental Centre, Bareilly on 31 December 1998.

Capt.Vikram Batra Param Vir Chakra(Posthumous)

Captain Vikram Batra, PVC (9 September 1974 – 7 July 1999) was an officer of the Indian Army, posthumously awarded with the Param Vir Chakra,[2] India’s highest and prestigious award for valour, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

Vikram Batra was born on 9 September 1974 in Ghuggar village near Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, to G.L. Batra and Jai Kamal Batra. He got his primary education from his mother, who herself is a teacher. He received his education up to Middle Standard at the D.A.V. Public School in Palampur and up to senior secondary stage in Central School, Palampur. After passing his 10+2 in 1992 from Central School Palampur, he got admitted in D.A.V. College, Chandigarh in B.Sc where he was adjudged the best N.C.C. Cadet (Air Wing) in two zones. Later, he was selected to join the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun in 1996 in Jessore company of Manekshaw Battalion, and was commissioned in the Indian Army as a Lieutenant of the 13 Jammu & Kashmir Rifles at Sopore, in Jammu and Kashmir. He rose to the rank of Captain.

On 1 June 1999, his unit proceeded to the Kargil Sector on the eruption of a war-like situation in Kargil, Drass and Batalik sub-sectors from where he was sent along with his company on the first strategic and daring operation to recapture the first peak of utmost importance – Point 5140, which was at an altitude of 17,000 feet. Captain Vikram Batra, 13 JAK Rifles, and his Delta Company was given the task of recapturing Point 5140. Nicknamed Sher Shah (‘Lion King’) in Hindi for his courage which also doubled as his call sign,[1] he decided to lead the rear, as an element of surprise would help stupefy the enemy.

Grenedier. Yogendra Singh   Param Vir Chakra

Subedar[2] Yogendra Singh Yadav PVC is a soldier and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian army. He was awarded the highest Indian military honour, Param Vir Chakra for his actions during the Kargil War on 4 July 1999.

Yogendra Singh Yadav was born in Aurangabad village, Bulandshahr District, Uttar Pradesh

Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav of the 18 Grenadiers was part of the Commando ‘Ghatak’ (Deadly or Lethal) Platoon tasked to capture three strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill in the early morning hours of 4 July 1999. The bunkers were situated at the top of a vertical, snow-covered, 16,500 foot high cliff face. Yadav, volunteering to lead the assault, was climbing the cliff face and fixing the ropes for further assault on the feature. Halfway up, an enemy bunker opened up machine gun and rocket fire, killing the platoon commander and two others.

Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar, PVC

Naib Subedar Sanjay Kumar, PVC (b. 3 March 1976[3]) is an Indian Army soldier, a Junior Commissioned Officer and recipient of the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest military award.

Kumar was born in the village Kalol Bakain in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. Prior to joining the army, he worked as a taxi driver in New Delhi.[4] His application was rejected three times before he was finally selected to join the army.

On July 4, 1999, as a member of the 13th Battalion, Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, he was the leading scout of a team tasked to capturing Area Flat Top, during the Kargil War. The area was held by Pakistani troops. Having scaled the cliff, the team was pinned down by machine gun fire from an enemy bunker, about 150 meters away.

Major Padmapani Acharya

Major Padmapani Acharya MVC was a Military officer in the Indian army. He was awarded the Indian military honour, Maha Vir Chakra posthumously for his actions during the Kargil War on 28th Jun 1999.

Maj. Acharya was originally from Odisha and was a resident of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Acharya, was married to Charulatha, Acharya’s father, Jagannath Acharya, was a retired wing commander of the Indian Air Force, during 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan. He is presently working with the Defence Research and Development Laboratories at Hyderabad.[3] Maj. Acharya was survived by his parents, wife and daughter.

On 28 June 1999, in the battalion attack on the Tololing feature by the 2nd Rajputana Rifles, Major Padmapani Acharya as a Company Commander, was assigned the formidable task of capturing an enemy position which was heavily fortified and strongly held with mine fields and sweeping machine gun and artillery fire. Success of the battalion and brigade operation hinged on the early capture of this position. However the company attack almost faltered at the very beginning, when the enemy’s artillery fire came down squarely on the leading platoon, inflicting large numbers of casualties. With utter disregard to his personal safety, Major Padmapani Acharya took the reserve platoon and led it through raining artillery shells.

Lieutenant Balwan Singh,Maha Vir Chakra

Balwan Singh Panghal was born in Sasrauli village in Jhajjar District of Haryana.

Lt. Balwan Singh, an alumnus of Sainik School Kunjpura, was commissioned from the OTA on 06 March 1999 into 18 Grenediers. The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) was awarded to him for his acts of bravery in Kargil war.

Lieutenant Balwan Singh and his Ghataks were tasked to assault Tiger Hill Top on 03 July 1999 as part of multi-pronged attack from the North East direction.

The route to the objective was untrodden, interspersed with pointed rocks and thick snow at a height of 16,500 feet. The officer executed his task with courage and determination.

Major M Saravanan,Vir Chakra

Major Mariappan Saravanan (10 August 1972 – 29 May 1999), was an officer in the prestigious Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army who was killed during the Kargil War. He was killed in hand to hand combat with intruders after killing four intruders in the Batalik area of Kargil Sector on 29 May 1999, along with 33 soldiers and four other officers. Saravanan had just completed four years of service on 10 March 1999.

Major Sarvanan was possibly the first officer killed in the Kargil War. The attack led by him came in the early stages of the conflict when adequate information was not available.[1] His actions have led to him being referred to as the “Hero of Batalik”

The First Bihar Regiment was in Assam when the Kargil War broke out. They were ordered to move to Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir. On the night of May 28, 1999, Major Sarvanan was assigned the task of capturing a well-fortified Pakistani position at 14,229 feet (4,337 m) in the Batalik sector. He and his men launched an attack at 04:00 IST. Despite intensive firing from the enemy with artillery and automatic weapons, they charged into a volley of bullets. Saravanan fired a rocket launcher into the enemy position that killed two enemy soldiers. During the combat, he was hit by shrapnel and injured but continued fighting. His commanding officer ordered him to retreat because too many Indian soldiers had been injured. He killed two more invaders but this time he was hit by a bullet in the head and at around 06:30 IST, he martyred.

Captain Jerry Prem Raj

Captain Jerry Prem Raj VrC, was a commissioned officer in the Indian Army during the Kargil War. He was the officer in charge of India’s fight at Tiger Hill (Point 5140) on 9 July 1999, during which he was severely injured. He died later the same day. Because of his effort in the battle, he was declared a war hero. His body was cremated in his native Thiruvananthapuram. He was awarded the Vir Chakra, the third highest military honor of India that is awarded posthumously.

Capt Jerry Prem Raj was born in Venganoor, near the famous tourist place Kovalam in Trivandrum District of Kerala State. His father is Mr Retna Raj (who worked in the Department of Technical Education, Kerala) and his mother is Mrs Chella Thayee (who worke

He answered the call of duty and rejoined the unit in Operation Vijay under operation Rakshak after voluntarily cutting short his honeymoon. On the night of 6/7 July 1999, he was the Forward Observation Post Officer with two Naga during its assault on Twin Bumps in area Point 4875 (Gun Hill) in Dras Sector. During the assault, while directing the artillery fire onto the enemy positions with devastating effect, he was wounded by enemy sniper fire.

Major Sonam Wangchuk,Maha Vir Chakra

Colonel Sonam Wangchuk, Maha Vir Chakra is an Indian Army officer, serving with the Ladakh Scouts regiment. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, for his actions during the Kargil War

Born in 1962 at Sankar, Colonel Wangchuk is a native of Khakshal, in the Ladakh region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.[1] He moved to Solan, Himachal Pradesh in the year 1969 at the age of about seven years. There he studied at St. Louis till fouth standard. Later in 1973 his family moved to Dharamshala where he studied at Sacred Heart High School.