Captain Vijyant Thapar

The Final Assault


Vijyant after getting commissioned on the 12th Dec'98 joined the 2 Rajputana Rifles at Gwalior. The battalion stayed barely for a month before they move to Kashmir to check counter insurgency. Before being inducted he was given some training in an Army establishment then move to Kupwara where he was involved in two fierce encounters. While talking to his mother on telephone he described how he lived through a live encounter in which about thirty bullets were fired at him. While still involved in this counter insurgency tasks orders were received for the unit to move to Drass to evict the enemy who had occupied Tololing, Tiger Hill, and adjoining heights.

Vijyant moved under the command of his CO Col. M.B. Rabindernath, VrC and his company commander Major P. Acharya. The battalion was then given the task of capturing Tololing. This was a God sent opportunity for Vijyant as he was an officer always looking for action. After the initial assault by Major Mohit Saxena was held up, on the night of 12th June'99 Capt. Vijyant Thapar led his platoon to capture Barbad Bunker. His diary notes shows how in the close combat he killed two militants and his disappointment at not being able to capture two enemies alive.

After the successful capture of Tololing he spoke to his mother on telephone and proudly said "Mama we have captured Tololing". Later to Raj. Rif. was given the task of capturing Three Pimples, Knoll and Lone Hill area. The attack started with Vijyant's platoon leading on a full moon knight along razor sharp ridge wih no cover to offer. There was intense and accurate artillery shelling and heavy enemy fire. he lost some of his men and sime more were injured causing the attack to be disrupted. However with his indominable spirit and tremendous urge to capture knoll he got together the balance of his men and moved through a ravine to face the enemy.

While the exchange of fire was going on, full of excitement Vijyant reached his company which had already secured a foothold on knoll. By this time his company commander Major P. Achrya had been killed. At this news Vijyant's anger was explosive. He surged ahead with his colleague Naik Tilak Singh. Both of them started engaging the enemy merely 15 mts. away. There were two enemy machine guns firing towards them. After about an hour and a half of fierceful exchange of bullets and abuses Vijyant decided that he had to end the enemy. As he moved up to do so a burst of fire struck him on his head. He fell in the arms of his comrade Naik Tilak Singh. A brave son of India had fallen. It was after that the men of his company charged and fully captured knoll.

Vijyant was a die hard soldier and a proud Indian. He was always smiling no matter what the circumstances are. He was a God fearing person. He was a great devotee of Karni Mata. Before going to any battle he used to offer prayers to Karni Mata. He displayed an exemplary devotion to duty during the main attack at Knoll even at the cost of his life.

He was too Occupied to be tired, too busy to be afraid
- Major Sandeep Bajaj 2IC 2nd Raj. Rif.

Captain Vikram Batra





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

Early life and career
Vikram Batra was born on September 9th, 1974 in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, to Mr. G.L. Batra and Mrs. Jai Kamal Batra.

Batra joined the Indian military academy in Dehradun in 1996, and was commissioned in the Indian Army as Lieutenant of the 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles at Sopore, in Jammu and Kashmir. He rose to the rank of Captain.

Popular Quotes and Exchanges

Batra's Yeh Dil Maange More!, erstwhile a popular slogan for a Pepsi commercial, became an iconic battle cry that swept across the country and remains popular with millions of Indians, invoked at patriotic public events, in memory of the war and the soldiers, and as a symbol of an inevitable spirit of Indian patriotism and valor in face of future attacks.
Upon reaching the Point 5140 he got into a cheeky radio exchange with an enemy commander, who challenged him by saying, "Why have you come Sher Shah (Vikram’s nick name given by his commanding officer), you will not go back." Captain Vikram Batra is said to have replied, “We shall see within one hour, who remains on the top."
While dragging Lt. Naveen back under cover, Naveen pleaded to Captain Batra to let him continue the fight in spite the injuries to which Captain Batra replied "Tu baal bachedaar hai!! Hatt jaa peeche," ("You have kids and wife to look after! Get back!").
Batra's last words were the battle-cry "Jai Mata Di!" ("Victory to Mother Durga!")

Param Vir Chakra

Captain Vikram Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor on August 15th, 1999, the 52nd anniversary of India's independence. His father Mr. G.L. Batra received the honor for his deceased son from the President of India, the late K.R. Narayanan.



Captain Vikram Batra, 13 JAK Rifles, and his Delta Company was given the task of recapturing Point 5140. Nick-named Sher Shah for his unstinting courage, he decided to lead the attack from the rear as an element of surprise would help stupefy the enemy. He & his men ascended the sheer rock-cliff and as the group neared the top, the enemy opened machine gun fire on them, pinning them on to the face of the bare rocky cliff. Captain Batra along with five of his men climbed on regardless and after reaching the top, hurled two grenades at the machine gun post. He single handedly engaged three enemy soldiers in close combat and killed them. He was seriously injured during this combat, but insisted on regrouping his men to continue with the given task at hand. Inspired by the extraordinary courage displayed by Captain Batra, the soldiers of 13 JAK Rifles charged the enemy position and captured Point 5140 at 3:30 a.m. on 20 June 1999. His company is credited with killing at least 8 Pakistani soldiers and recovering a heavy machine gun.

The capture of Point 5140 set in motion a string of successes like Point 5100, Point 4700, Junction Peak and Three Pimples. Captain Batra led his men to even more glorious victories with the recapture of Point 4750 and Point 4875. He was tragically killed, when he tried to rescue an injured officer during an enemy counterattack against Point 4875 in the early morning hours of 07 July 1999. His last words were, "Jai Mata Di." For his sustained display of the most conspicuous personal bravery and junior leadership of the highest order in the face of the enemy, Captain Vikram Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest medal for gallantry, posthumously. His father, Mr. G.L. Batra, received the award from the President of India, on behalf of his brave son. Jai Hind!! Jai Jawan!!


In Media

The 2004 Hindi film Lakshya (Aim) was a largely fictionalized film on Captain Batra's exploits and valor during the Kargil conflict.

The 2001 Hindi film LOC Kargil based on the entire Kargil conflict had Abhishek Bachchan playing the role of Captain Batra.

Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav

Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav was part of the Ghatak Platoon that captured three Bunkers on Tiger Hill Top on the night of 03-04 July 1999. The approach was a vertical cliff face, snowbound at 16,500 feet. Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav, volunteering to lead the assault, was climbing the cliff face and fixing the ropes for further assault on the feature. On reaching half way up, an enemy bunker opened up machine gun and rocket fire. His Platoon Commander and two others fell to the heavy volume of automatic fire. Realising the enormity of the situation, he continued to scale the sheer cliff face alone through a volley of fire. Inspite of having been hit by three bullets in his groin and shoulder, displaying superhuman strength and resolve, he climbed the remaining 60 feet, all by himself and reached the top. With rare grit and courage, he crawled up to the bunker critically injured and lobbed a grenade killing four Pakistani soldiers and neutralising enemy fire.

This act was directly instrumental in facilitating the rest of the Platoon in climbing up the cliff face. Grievously injured, but with reckless disregard to personal safety, Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav now charged on to the second bunker and neutralised it with two of his colleagues in an extremely fierce hand to hand combat, killing three Pakistani soldiers.

This extraordinarily gallant act motivated the rest of the Platoon which quickly traversed the treacherous terrain and braving hostile fire, charged onto the enemy to capture Tiger Hill Top, a vital objective. Throughout this operation, from scaling the sheer vertical cliff face by rope for destruction of two Pakistani bunkers in succession, Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav displayed indomitable spirit, determination and action beyond the call of the duty.

For displaying the most conspicuous courage and spirit of self-sacrifice, Grenadier Yogender Yadav has been awarded Param Vir Chakra.

The high casualty rate could have been avoided if they crossed LOC in POK at Kargil. The Paki were seriously going to use nukes. They should have nuked pakistan so that we would have one less nuisance to worry about.

TIGER HILL



It was on May 14 that 8 Sikh was assigned the task of recapturing Tiger Hill. The information given or gathered was scanty. It was believed that only a few Mujahideens were holding the feature. As the assault began in the shape of an initial probing action along the southern approach, intense fire, both direct and indirect, was opened by the enemy. Undeterred by the fire, Subedar Joginder Singh and his platoon continued its march forward and successfully reached the base of the spur leading to the Tiger Hill top. Subedar Joginder Singh, who alongwith Lance Naik Ranjit Singh spearheaded the retaliatory fire, made the supreme sacrifice. The crucial foothold gained by the Subedar proved critical in the ultimate capture of the Tiger Hill.

The quantum of fire of the enemy proved beyond doubt that it was in strength and well-fortified at the Tiger Hill. The Hill complex comprises Tiger Hill (top), Eastern Spur, Western Spur, IndiaGate, Rocky Knob and Helmet.


The Army had planned to isolate Tiger Hill before capturing it. This was achieved by 8 Sikh by May 21 after dare-devil actions by Sepoys Rashwinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh in occupying key heights to neutralise enemy fire. In utter disregard to their personal safety, these gallant men succeeded in occupying key positions.

Between May 31 and July 2, the men and officers of this battalion continued to cause heavy damage to the enemy by both direct and indirect fire and continued their progress forward so as to close in on the enemy. Each night, they would burrow through the snow, create a crawl trench and set up a new post -- moving towards the peak slowly but steadily. Unmindful of the extremely harsh weather conditions, with rain, sleet and snow coming upon them along with the enemy fire everyday, the brave soldiers dared their enemy to show up and get ready for their final "kalma". A number of casualties were inflicted.

The assault party lost Lieutenant Kanad Bhatta-charya in a brave patrolling encounter. In all, 10 jawans were killed and 48 others were wounded. These casualties notwithstanding, they closed on and isolated Tiger Hill from three directions. It was imperative that the Western Spur was also captured to bottle up the intruders at Tiger Hill top.

Major Ravinder Singh and Lieutenant Sehrawat accompanied by four JCOs and 52 ORs took up the challenging assignment of capturing the Western Spur. It was on the night of July 4/5 that this group of gallant soldiers of 8 Sikh left amidst the war cries of Bole so Nihal to capture Rohino Horn, Rocky Knob, Helmet and India Gate. These positions had been heavily fortified and were dominated by the enemy from Tiger Hill on the east and Trig Heights on the west. The task was challenging as the approach was from a slope with a 75 to 80 degree gradient.

For the marjivre Sikhs, the extremely bad weather and the steep gradient hardly mattered. Subedar Nirmal Singh, Naib Subedar Karnail Singh and Naib Subedar Ravail Singh established a firm base. Lieutenant RKSehrawat was to coordinate the assault by three teams. By midnight, all the three teams were suitably poised for the capture of India Gate, Helmet and Rocky Knob. As the war cries of Bole So Nihal, Sat Siri Akal rent the air, the men got going and all hell broke loose. Intense enemy shelling and direct firing opened up. A "c@ck fight" ensued during which bunkers were cleared one after another. By 4 am, India Gate and Helmet had been captured. The attacking troops, in the meanwhile, had firmed up defences in an area 700 metres by 500 metres. Construction of protective sangars was immediately taken up. Apprehending a violent retaliation from the enemy, all preparations for repulsing any attack were made.

In fact, two major attacks were repulsed in which Major Iqbal of SSG and Capt Kamal Sher of 12 NLI were killed along with 30 others. Three JCOs - Sub Nirmal Singh and Karnail Singh and Naib Subedar Rawail Singh - and 18 ORs made the supreme sacrifice. The wounded included Major Ravinder Singh and Lieutenant Sherawat besides 18 ORs. The capture and defence of the Western Spur facilitated the capture of Tiger Hill top on July 7. The unit lost a total of 35 men. About 70 werewounded -- a high price. But by sheer grit , 8 Sikh won the day at Tiger Hill. After 8 Sikh had accomplished its task in the high traditions of the regiment, it was the turn of 14 Sikh, the youngest of the Sikh battalions, to teach another lesson to the enemy.

On May 27 the battalion was airlifted to Leh. The advance party led by Major Rohit Sehgal had already been moved to Channigund to contain the enemy's intrusion in Kaksar area. This party occupied a defensive locality to prevent any further intrusion into the sensitive Batalik sector and provide a firm base for offensive operations which were to follow.

On May 27, the enemy brought down effective and intense fire on this defensive location. To neutralise enemy fire, Sepoy Buta Singh, in an act of exemplary courage and bravery, moved the Medium Machine Gun to an advantageous postion and brought effective fire on the enemy for about four hours. The enemy concentrated its fire to neutralise effective MMG fire. Sepoy Buta Singh, hit by small arms fire of the enemy, continued to operate his MMG till he breathed his last and prevented the enemy from capturing the Company defended locality.

Immediately on arrival at Leh, 14 Sikh dispatched a Company column to Chorbatla to strengthen the lightly held position there. The Company moved to Hanuthang and on to Handanbrok covering 22 km at an altitude exceeding 15,000 feet. This was a feat in itself and reflected the physical and mental robustness of the brave Sikh soldiers.

On June 7, the balance of 14 Sikh was given the responsibility of Chorbatla. It moved and occupied the commanding heights along the Line of Control.

The enemy activity in the sector was at a somewhat low key. Naib Subedar Jasbir Singh, in an exemplary effort, established a Section Post at point 5620 (approx. 19,000 ft). His drive and enterprise secured the eastern flank of Chorbatla. Subsequently, the enemy was totally dominated.

Has anyone loaded these stories on wikipedia?