Kargil War hero Colonel Sonam Wangchuk, famously called the “Lion of Ladakh” and credited with securing one of the early victories for the country during the battle, died on Friday following a heart attack. He was 61.
The untimely death has shocked the region as well as army veterans, who praised him for his exceptional courage and outstanding service. Col Wangchuk breathed his last at his home in Leh.
The retired officer, widely revered in Ladakh, had received the Mahavir Chakra, the country’s second-highest gallantry award.
“Very sad to learn about the passing away of Sonam Wangchuk, MVC, Kargil War hero who captured Chorbat La with his Ladakh Scouts troops. A brave leader and a thorough gentleman. Heartfelt condolences to the family. Salute to the braveheart,” General (retired) Ved Prakash Malik, who was the country’s army chief during the Kargil war, said on X.
Col Wangchuk had led an operation in Chorbat La on May 31, 1999, considered the first successful drive of the war to remove Pakistani intruders.
The army’s Northern Command Chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, said Col Wangchuk was a brave soldier, a committed leader and a son of Ladakh whose life embodied courage, service and unity.
The army’s additional directorate general of public information shared a citation that says Col Wangchuk led his team amid intense firing that day to clear the Chorbat La Axis in the Batalik sector up to the line of control during Operation Vijay.
“(He) was leading a column for occupation of Ridle Line on the Line of Control in a glaciated area at a height of above 5,500 metres. This was essential so as to pre-empt its occupation by the enemy and any subsequent infiltration,” it reads.
Turning loss into fury, the citation says, the team was ambushed by the enemy while moving towards the LoC, “by firing from vintage position and one NCO (non-commissioned officer) sustained
fatal injuries”.
“Major Sonam Wangchuk held his column together and in a daring counter ambush, led a raid on an enemy position from a flank, killing two enemy personnel,” the citation says.
While Col Wangchuk did not associate himself publicly with the Sixth Schedule or statehood movement in Ladakh, he was not a passive
voice when it came to the country’s defences.
In 2020, he had expressed his anguish at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that China had not intruded into Indian territory, saying the ground realities were to
the contrary.
“What the PM said today that the Chinese have not taken any land or post is a little surprising, as the ground reality is something else. What media reports or the locals say is contradictory (to the Prime Minister’s remarks),” Col Wangchuk had told Leh-based news portal Reach Ladakh.
“They (China) have made a lot of changes on the ground, (sometimes) sending small strength patrol and big strength patrol at other points. When it becomes a routine, people think perhaps it is a routine…. Under the present circumstances, it would have appeared to us that the Chinese forces activity is routine. That is where we were misled and they came in
large numbers.”
Col Wangchuk was born on May 11, 1964, in Sankar village of Leh in Ladakh. After a dedicated 30 years of military service, he retired in 2018.