25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas: Meet the unsung heroes of the 1999 war

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas.

The day commemorates India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1999 war and the end of “Operation Vijay.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Ladakh tomorrow to mark the occasion.

He will pay tribute to India’s soldiers at the Kargil War Memorial at 9:20 am. Modi will also meet the war widows and visit the field of battle.

On Thursday, Lieutenant Colonel Barsha Rai, who retired as an Indian Army officer, completed a 160-kilometre run from Srinagar to Drass to observe the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

“I was in Class VII when the Kargil War started and my father, Colonel Keshab Rai, who retired 10 years ago, had then moved out overnight [to the border] along with his entire unit. For fauji families like ours, what followed were days of uncertainty, loss and despair. This run was not just a personal journey for me, but a tribute to the indomitable spirit of the soldiers who fought valiantly during the Kargil War,” she told PTI.

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Nearly 490 Indian army officers, soldiers and jawans were killed during the course of the battle.

While Captain Vikram Batra, Captain Vijayant Thapar, and Grenadier Yogender Yadav are household names, many others also made valiant contributions.

Let’s meet them:

Captain Amol Kalia

Captain Amol Kalia and his team started their mission to capture point 5203 in the dead of the night and reached the foothill of the ice capped mountain before daybreak.

The enemy attacked Kalia and his team of 13 men in the pitch darkness at 3am. Without even a blade of grass to give them cover, the team of Indian soldiers faced Pakistani firing head on. Captain Kalia was also hit by a burst of bullets in the morning at around 9am.

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Even though he was grievously injured, he fought till the end before succumbing to his injuries.

Captain Neikezhakuo Kenguruse 

Captain N Kenguruse was an Indian Army officer of 2nd Battalion, Rajputana Rifles. He was martyred at the Lone Hill, Drass Sector on 28 June, 1999 in the Kargil War.

He was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra for his bravery at the battlefield.

As the leader of the Ghatak Platoon he was tasked with the capture of the area ‘Black Rock’ in the Drass sector during the Kargil War.

The Ghatak Platoon came under intense enemy fire as it was scaling the cliff face and Captain Kenguruse was severely injured in the abdomen. Without paying any heed to his injury, he led the platoon to the top of the cliff and was faced with a sheer rock that separated the platoon from the enemy.

Since his feet were slipping while climbing the rock face, he kicked off his boots and launched a frontal assault on the enemy barefoot. He fired a rocket launcher and charged at the enemy, killing two infiltrators with his rifle and another two with his commando knife in hand-to-hand combat.

He later succumbed to his injuries but not before securing the enemy position.

Rifleman Sanjay Kumar

According to The Indian Express, rifleman Sanjay Kumar, 13 Jammu And Kashmir rifles was the leading Scout of the team entrusted with capturing Area Flat Top, which was being held by the enemy.

During the mission, he was shot in the chest and forearm.

However, he sustained the attack despite severe injuries.

His act of bravery also charged the rest of the platoon who then attacked the enemy bunkers and captured Area Flat Top. Rifleman Kumar was awarded with Param Vir Chakra.

Captain Haneef-ud-din

Just two years into the army, Captain Haneef was deployed with a company of 11 Raj Rif in Operation Thunderbolt on 6 June, 1999 in the Turtuk region in Ladakh.

The company was tasked to capture an enemy position that would have facilitated the army to monitor the movements of the enemy troops better.

They managed to capture many nearby positions on the nights of June 4 and 5 and set out to capture the primary position on June 6.

During their ascent to the position, they were spotted by the enemy and fired upon by heavy artillery.

Even though Captain Haneef managed to save his men from the worst of the firing, he was badly injured in the battle.

He engaged the enemy till his men reached a safe distance. He succumbed to his injuries at the tender age of 25, just 200 metres from the position they set out to capture.

Captain Sumeet Roy

On 28, 1999, during ‘Operation Vijay’, Captain Sumeet Roy was assigned to capture Point 4700 in the Drass sector as second-in-command of the Delta company. Captain Sumeet realised that the Point 4700 could be captured only if the observation post of the enemy on the cliff was neutralised.

After observing the movement of the enemy for nearly two hours in the dead of the night, he decided to make a surprise attack to capture the observation post.

He managed to capture the post after killing the two sentries in a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

This action of Captain Sumeet changed the course of the battle and cleared the way for the Indian Army for future victories.

However, he sustained injuries during enemy artillery fire and succumbed on July 3, 1999 at the age of 21.

He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra for his contribution towards the capture of Point 4700.

Major Vivek Gupta

Major Vivek Gupta of the 2nd Battalion, Rajputana Rifles, died in the Kargil conflict on 12 June, 1999, after capturing two important posts in the Drass sector.

He was felicitated with Maha Vir Chakra for his heroism at the war front.

With inputs from agencies