Vikram Batra "Sher Shah"

CAPT VIKRAM BATRA
Lieutenant Vikram Batra had to complete his mission successfully.
Pakistani invaders had taken positions in bunkers at a height of 17,000 feet on Peak 5140 in Jammu and Kashmir. Lieutenant Batra and Captain Sanjeev Jamwal -- both from the Kangra valley in Himachal Pradesh -- were ordered to recapture the peak on the night of June 19, 1999, about five weeks after the Kargil war began.

The operation was much too dangerous to be carried out during the day.

Aware of the enemy's vantage point, Lt Batra -- who was later promoted to captain on the battlefield -- decided to attack the enemy from the rear.

Peak 5140, the highest point on the Tololing Ridge, was one of the most arduous and crucial peaks in the Drass region. If it fell, it would clear the Pakistanis from that sector and pave the way for further victories. He knew they had to win.

Captain Vikram Batra in the Drass sector
It was dark and cold. The men crawled, quietly. Batra, who had earned an instructor's grade as a commando, was determined not to lose any men.

He was deeply upset when a terrorist's bullet meant for him had struck his man behind him during his first posting in the terrorist-prone region of Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir. 'Didi, it was meant for me and I lost my man,' he had told his elder sister over the phone.

But tonight his guide was the framed motto of the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun, that he had brought home to Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, at the end of his training.
The safety, honor and welfare of your country come first always and everytime.
The honor, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next.
Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and everytime.
The motto had been molded into his heart as a Gentleman Cadet. There was no better time to live by it than now -- when India was at war and he, in his first major battle.

24-year-old Vikram and his men assaulted the enemy. The camp was routed, many enemy soldiers killed and 13 J&K Rifles won a decisive victory. All his men had made it alive. Vikram was elated. 'Yeh Dil Maangey More' -- the Pepsi catchline those days -- he told his commander at base camp.

His words became the catchline for the Kargil war.

Vikram Batra had led a brilliant operation in one of India's toughest campaigns in mountain warfare. His men swore by him. General Ved Prakash Malik, then the Chief of the Army Staff, called to congratulate him. His triumph was being beamed from television screens across the country.

Photographs of him and his men striding the captured Pakistani gun at the base camp made it to every newspaper.

In a time of war, he became the face of the young Indian soldier who fought ferociously and died fearlessly.
Read more:
STORY OF CAPT VIKRAM BATRA, PVC AS TOLD BY HIS TWIN BROTHER
Another Link:
Capt Vikram Batra