Scaling Kargil peaks again to mark 20 yrs of victory

New Delhi, June 14: It will be an emotional remembrance to fallen soldiers of the Kargil conflict with Pakistan. Troops from three battalions — or ‘paltans’, as they are called colloquially — will conduct expeditions on the same peaks on which their ‘paltans’ had fought under impossible conditions to drive out Pakistani troops exactly 20 years ago.

Nuclear- armed neighbours India and Pakistan had fought the war in May-July 1999 along the 168-km Himalayan ridgeline that forms the Mushkoh-Drass-Kargil-Batalik-Turtuk axis of the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K.

Sources said three important battles have been selected and troops from three ‘paltans’ will pay their tributes, which includes troops climbing to the top. 

In 1999, the enemy was firing at Indian troops as they climbed to the top.

The battle at Tololing, the fight to capture Point 4875 (now known as Batra top) and battle of Khalubar will see troops of 2 Rajputana Rifles, 13 JAKRIF and 1/9 Gorkha Rifles, respectively, do the honours.

At Point 4875, the 13 JAKRIF will be joined in by Vishal Batra, the identical twin of Capt Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra, who led the assault. Capt Batra died on July 7 and the expedition will reach the top the same day. Vishal Batra is in a senior position at a private bank. 

GL Batra, the father of the twins, told over phone: “Yes, Vishal will be going there.”

Sources  said the Leh-based 14 Corps Commander, Lt Gen YK Joshi, who was commanding 13 JAKRIF during the Kargil conflict, is expected to join the expedition. A treacherous ridgeline in the Batalik sector, Khalubar saw a major battle with 1/11 Gorkha Rifles leading the fight. Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey led the final assault and was, like Capt Batra, awarded PVC.

At Tololing, seen as a turning point in the Kargil War, 18 Grenadiers had set the stage for assaults and 2 Rajputana Rifles achieved the victory against overwhelming odds.  Tololing, a dominant position overlooking the Srinagar-Leh Highway (NH-1D), was so strategic that after it was conquered, it was only a matter of six days for Indian troops to notch up a string of successes by evicting well-entrenched intruders in four nearby outposts. 

Major Vivek Gupta, Major Rajesh Adhikari, Naik Digendra Kumar were awarded Maha Vir Chakra, India’s second highest military honour. 

Emotional remembrance to martyrs

Troops of 2 Rajputana Rifles will scale Tololing peak, 13 JAKRIF will climb Point 4875 (now known as Batra top), while 1/9 Gorkha Rifles will reach Khalubar summit 

Tribune News Service