A young captain of the Indian Army stayed behind to cover his battalion’s retreat and a loyal Havildar refused to leave his senior despite orders in the early days of the Kargil conflict. Both fell to enemy fire, but their courage and sacrifice saved at least 30 lives in a story that embodies the true spirit of the Indian Army’s motto: ‘Service before Self’.
The intrusions into the Kargil area began in February 1999 and peaked around April. A brainchild of the then-Pakistan army chief (later President) General Pervez Musharraf, it involved sending regulars from Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry (NLI), supported by the Special Services Group (SSG) commandos, across the LoC to occupy key strategic heights on the Indian side.
The intruders, despite being part of regular forces, did not wear uniforms and were dressed instead in local ethnic wear. The NLI, which recruits its ranks almost entirely from the tribal communities inhabiting the Gilgit-Baltistan areas in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was thus well-suited for the task.
As part of a general understanding between the two armies, both sides would withdraw from the posts along the LoC during the harsh winter months, when temperatures fell several degrees below zero, and return in May when the snow started melting. But that year, Pakistan occupied several of the strategic heights in lower Mushkoh Valley, Dras, Kaksar (near Kargil town), Batalik as well as in Chorbat La and Turtuk even before summer set in.
Inside the The Kargil War Memorial in Dras
The first hint of something awry came in early May, when local shepherds reported groups of men climbing the heights carrying guns and equipment. The 4th battalion of the Jat Regiment oversaw the Kaksar area at this time.
A patrol party was sent out on May 15, 1999, under the command of Lt. Saurabh Kalia, accompanied by five other ranks, to inspect the reported sightings. Kalia, who had been commissioned in December 1998 and joined the unit in January, was the youngest in the battalion.
Kalia’s patrol came under heavy fire at Bajrang outpost on the Indian side. He reported the incident and engaged the enemy. The patrol put up a brave fight, but eventually ran out of ammo; Kalia and his men were captured.
When 4 Jat HQ got news of the intrusion, the fate of Kalia’s patrol remained unknown.
Captain Amit Bhardwaj from Jaipur, a young officer in the same battalion and Kalia’s mentor, was especially worried. Bhardwaj wrote about his feelings in a letter back home to his sister.
When the commanding officer decided to send out a patrol to look for the missing men, 27-year-old Bhardwaj volunteered to lead it. He felt a sense of moral responsibility towards his younger compatriot and the need to do something about it.
Bhardwaj set out with a 32-man patrol but met with the same fate on reaching the Bajrang outpost. A quick tactical assessment of the scenario told Bhardwaj that the enemy was present in far greater numbers than previously assumed and if his patrol engaged them, chances of all of them perishing were high. He also correctly surmised that getting across the news of the massive scale of the intrusion and the extremely well-armed enemy was more important.
A memorial engraved with the names of 559 bravehearts who laid down their lives in Operation Vijay
Bhardwaj ordered the withdrawal of the patrol to the battalion base, but decided to stay back to ensure a safe retreat for his patrol members. He was aware his decision meant he was on a one-way street and there was going to be no return for him. But, even then, the young officer did not flinch.
The patrol obeyed the commander’s order and reluctantly began retreating. But one person refused to comply with the captain’s order. Havildar Rajvir Singh declared he would stay back and help his commander execute his task. Bhardwaj tried to convince Singh to change his mind, making emotional pleas about the latter’s wife and children, but to no avail. A desperate Bhardwaj is said to have threatened Singh with disciplinary action for not obeying orders. But Singh’s response was “Punish me later sahab, but I am not leaving you now!”
Realising he could not make Singh change his mind, Bhardwaj turned his attention to the task at hand. Together, the two men stood like a rock, firing at the enemy and ensuring that their compatriots returned alive.
Bhardwaj and Singh were hit by multiple bullets and both succumbed to their wounds. Their bodies could not be retrieved for 57 days. By then, their bodies had started decaying. But, it was evident that both men had their guns in their hands, fingers on the trigger. They had continued to fight till the last breath.
Kalia and the five men of his patrol were taken prisoners and subjected to torture in captivity. On June 9, 1999, their remains were handed over to the Indian Army. On June 15, 1999, India served the government of Pakistan a notice of breach of the Geneva Convention regarding treatment of POWs.
Operation Vijay, the military campaign initiated by the Indian Army to clear the Kargil heights of Pakistani intruders and reclaim Indian suzerainty over the same, was declared closed by the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 26, 1999.